Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition
On January 14, I wrote an article urging EPC supporters to participate in the Canadian Department of Justice Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) consultation questionnaire. In my article I stated:
The language of the consultation questionnaire is not great, nonetheless, the questionnaire does allow you to leave further comments.
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| Alex Schadenberg |
On January 15, I published a guide to answering the Canadian MAID euthanasia questionnaire. I am pleased to report that more than 18,000 different people used the guide.
The online consultation is now closed and the Department of Justice has stated that 280,000 Canadians participated in the online consultation.
Here is my experience with the process.
The online consultation questionnaire was a sham.
Many of the questions implied an outcome. It is a sham to ask people to complete a questionnaire when some of the questions are designed to provide a predetermined outcome.
For instance, Question 2 asked about safeguards. Question 2a asked:
A different reflection period (currently a 10-day reflection period) between the submission of a person’s written request for MAID and receiving MAID.
The answers to this question lacked meaning because they didn’t indicate whether it is important to maintain the waiting period, increase the waiting period or remove the waiting period. In other words, the data is useless.
The other (Question 2) safeguard questions assume that the participant supports MAID.
Once again, the only good part of the consultation questionnaire is that it provided a box (500 words) that enabled the participant to offer their concerns or thoughts.
The online consultation questionnaire was fraudulent.
After encouraging our supporters to participate in the consultation questionnaire, I began to receive emails stating that the website kicked them out as they completed the questionnaire. I simply urged these people to try again.
The second complaint was far more of an issue. Several of our supporters indicated that the consultation website enabled them to complete the questionnaire more than once. One person contacted me stating that he had completed the questionnaire more than 50 times from the same computer.
I did not encourage this nor did I tell others about this problem. I only encouraged our supporters to participate in the questionnaire that was questionable to begin with.
The Department of Justice stated that 280,000 people completed the questionnaire. Since the website did not prevent people from participating multiple times they have no idea how many people actually participated and the data collected in the online consultation is unreliable.
If the government wanted to do a proper consultation it would have asked clear questions that were written in a neutral manner and enabled people, who oppose killing, to answer in that manner.
Question 2a concerning the 10 day “reflection period” lacked meaning and is therefore null and void. Based on the online questionnaire, the government cannot conclude that the questionnaire provided data for a policy to: maintain, extend, or remove the waiting period.
EPC asked our supporters to participate in the online consultation questionnaire.
Other than the odd story, the media and the government have ignored the failures of Canada’s euthanasia law, even though there are several key problems and abuses of the law.
If you have any comments or concerns, email me at: alex@epcc.ca
For further information please read some of these articles:
- Historical: Canadian Senate passed euthanasia law in time for summer break (Link).
- Approximately 5000 Canadians died by assisted death in 2019 and 13,000 assisted deaths since legalization (Link).
- Ontario euthanasia deaths are rising quickly (Link).
- UN Disability rights envoy urges changes to Canada’s euthanasia law (Link).
- Québec court expands euthanasia law by striking down the terminal illness requirement (Link).
- Physically healthy depressed man died by euthanasia in BC (Link).
- Ontario doctor experiences abuse of euthanasia law (Link).
- Québec Fourth Interim Euthanasia Report, 13 deaths did not comply with the law (Link).
- BC Health Minister orders Delta Hospice to do euthanasia by February 3 (Link).
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