The number of Canadians undergoing euthanasia is the highest in the world as the country expands access to the procedure.
In this documentary, Fault Lines examines how Canada has become the most permissive place in the world for people seeking medical assistance in dying, or MAID, the country’s term for euthanasia, and whether this puts vulnerable Canadian citizens at risk.
In September 2021, Rosina Kamis, a 41-year-old Malaysian woman, was euthanized under Canada’s newly expanded Medical Assistance in Dying Regime. Rosina told doctors she was seeking euthanasia to end the suffering caused by fibromyalgia, which she developed in her 20s. However, in conversations with friends and in dozens of videos, emails and phone calls, she made it clear that she actually sought death as an escape from the poverty and isolation she faced every day.
In a few months, the country will expand euthanasia eligibility again – this time to people whose sole cause is mental illness, such as Mitchell Tremblay, a 41-year-old man from Guelph, Ontario, who plans to apply as soon as he becomes eligible.
