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Jun 09, 2026
More Problems Exposed with Canada’s Euthanasia Law
Canada’s euthanasia law is bad enough. What some doctors can get away with is worse. Canada desperately needs to reverse course on euthanasia, and federal and provincial governments must do more to protect Canadians.
Troubling Euthanasia Cases
Thomas Dillon was 45 years old when he was euthanized. Thomas suffered from inflammatory bowel disease. He was dependent on others and could not keep a job or maintain personal relationships. He had a dream of becoming a pilot, but his illness derailed that dream. Thomas had a history of alcohol addiction, mental illness, and suicidality.
A psychiatrist asked Thomas during a medical appointment if he knew about MAID. Thomas’s family was opposed to MAID, but Thomas’s family doctor, Dr. James MacLean, told him not to worry about what his family thought, but about what he wanted.
Dr. Maclean, also a “MAID assessor”, met Thomas at a Tim Hortons, where MacLean assessed Thomas as eligible for MAID. Six months later, Dr. Maclean met Thomas at Tim Hortons again and drove him to a holding facility where cadavers are prepared for transport to funeral homes. There, he ended Thomas’ life.
In another case, Dr. MacLean attempted to euthanize 67-year-old Bradley Stewart in his home, surrounded by family members. Dr. MacLean couldn’t find one of the drugs normally used for MAID, so he used the other available drugs. He pronounced the patient dead, only to be called back to finish the job when Stewart resumed breathing.
The Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons investigated Dr. MacLean’s conduct in these and other cases and found that it “exposes or is likely to expose patients to harm or injury in five out of twenty [patient] charts reviewed.”
The College issued a “caution” and will “supervise” Dr. MacLean’s practice for 6 months, including by making unannounced inspections of his medical practice and records. The families of both Thomas Dillon and Bradley Stewart plan to appeal the college’s decision.
Oversight Failures
Between 2018 and 2023, the Ontario coroner’s office identified over 400 possible criminal violations in Ontario. Only four were reported to the regulatory college, and none were referred to law enforcement. In 2023, a quarter of all euthanasia providers heard from the Ontario coroner’s office at least once about a compliance issue.
Provincial governments and regulatory colleges across Canada are not eager to criminally prosecute or even professionally discipline doctors for how they do MAID. Alberta, however, has enacted a suite of provincial euthanasia safeguards, which prescribes professional penalties where safeguards are not followed. These penalties may include being prohibited from performing MAID, or having one’s practice suspended or medical license revoked.
Ontario’s coroner’s office treats euthanasia review as a learning opportunity. That’s perhaps better than nothing, but it neither clarifies the law nor holds people accountable for violating it. Provincial safeguards like Alberta’s help clarify what is not permitted in the province and make safeguards easier to enforce.
Canada Prioritizes Euthanasia
As of this summer, 100,000 Canadians have been euthanized since legalization. In 2024,16,499 Canadians were euthanized. More than 1 in 20 deaths in Canada are deliberately caused by a doctor or nurse practitioner. Compare that with the state of California. California has a very similar population to Canada, and legalized assisted suicide the same year Canada did. But California had 1,032 assisted deaths in 2024 compared to Canada’s 16,499.
Unlike Canada, California only allows assisted suicide (in which the patient takes the lethal drugs himself), not euthanasia (in which the doctor directly causes the death of the patient). Canada allows people who have years left to live to receive euthanasia. California only allows assisted suicide for those with less than 6 months to live. These two differences help explain why California’s MAID rate is 16 times lower than Canada’s.
But another factor is simply that Canada prioritizes death, where euthanasia is often offered as a solution to suffering of various kinds and safeguards are lacking. Doctors too often suggest euthanasia to patients based on their frailty or disability. And euthanasia has been hailed as a brave and dignified death.
The Road Ahead
Canadians must continue calling on the government to care for, not kill, those who are suffering. There is momentum against legalizing euthanasia for those with mental illness. In the upcoming months, Parliamentarians will have an opportunity to support Bill C-218, which would cancel the impending legalization of euthanasia for mental illness. Please send an email to your MP asking them to support Bill C-218 when it comes to a vote at 2nd reading.
A Parliamentary Committee also recently heard testimony about many serious problems within Canada’s existing euthanasia framework, including how MAID is often proactively offered to people with disabilities and mental illness – people like Thomas Dillon. Such cases served as a catalyst for Alberta’s new law, which shows that provinces can also protect people from euthanasia.
Governments must not simply accept Canada’s dystopian euthanasia regime but must do what they can to protect more Canadians from euthanasia.
