The Quebec government spent a total of $5,880,162 on Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) to euthanize those seeking services, according to government documents.
A freedom of information request by “Run with Life” blogger, Patricia Maloney, revealed that general practitioners and medical specialists charged nearly $6 million in fees in order to render MAiD services to patients in Quebec.
Quebeckers paid $674,102 for initial consultations lasting 15 minutes and $2,333,692 for additional 15-minute consultations. Patients then paid nearly $350,000 to have physicians administer MAiD to them. Additional costs were collected from administrative fees, forms, visits and recurring consultations.
10,064 Canadians chose doctor-assisted suicide as a means to end their lives in 2021. Data for 2022 is currently not available.
In March, Conservative MP Ed Fast announced he will be tabling a private member’s bill that will reverse the forecasted expansion of MAiD legislation to include those whose sole condition is a mental illness.
“My fear is that the most vulnerable Canadians, those with mental illnesses, will be placed at risk through Canada’s current MAiD regime,” said Fast in an interview with True North. “I am hoping that Bill C-314 will cause Canadians to wake up and raise the alarm bell to the fact that our current liberal government is moving way too forward and way too fast with assisted suicide legislation.”
“It is very clear, poll after poll, that there is no consensus across Canada to expand MAiD to the mentally ill.”
The bill is currently in its second reading in the House of Commons. The expansion to include mental illness as the sole condition for being approved for MAiD has been delayed until at least March 17, 2024.
Under current legislation, Canadians are eligible for MAiD if they satisfy certain criteria, including being over the age of 18, having “a serious and incurable illness” and enduring “intolerable physical or psychological suffering that cannot be alleviated.”
If you or someone you know is suicidal and in need of help please call the toll-free 1-833-456-4566 or text 45645 to speak to someone from TalkSuicide.ca.
