Canada has recorded cause of death from euthanasia as ailment patient suffered prior to suicide since program began

Statistics Canada has been disguising the number of deaths attributable to Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) euthanasia since the program began in 2016. However, Health Canada clerically tabulates the total number of MAiD deaths as almost 45,000 since 2016 and over 4 percent of total deaths in Canada in 2022. 

An admission on the government agency’s X site this week appeared to indicate that the categorization was a new policy. 

“The classification of cause of death has not changed,” Maryse Carrière, an engagement advisor with Statistics Canada’s media relations division, told The Post Millennial Wednesday.

“Statistics Canada has always tabulated causes of deaths using the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD). Currently, we are using the 10th revision (ICD-10),” Carrière wrote in an emailed statement.

“Using the rules outlined in ICD-10, a singular underlying cause of death is determined, which is what is published by Statistics Canada. The underlying cause of death is (a) the disease or injury which initiated the train of events leading directly to death, or (b) the circumstances of the accident or violence which produced the fatal injury.”

“There is no code for MAID in the ICD,” she explained. “Death certificates for decedents of MAID are coded to the condition that led the decedent to avail themselves of MAID.”

Information about MAiD deaths can still be found on the Health Canada website, which reports that in 2022 “there were 13,241 MAID provisions reported in Canada, accounting for 4.1% of all deaths in Canada.”

The site describes the increase in assisted suicide as representing “a growth rate of 31.2% over 2021. All provinces except Manitoba and the Yukon continue to experience a steady year-over-year growth in 2022.”

Health Canada even provides the total figure of MAiD fatalities: “When all data sources are considered, the total number of medically assisted deaths reported in Canada since the introduction of federal MAID legislation in 2016 is 44,958.”

The producers of the the expose documentary, “MAiD in Canada” say the curious record-keeping of Statistics Canada should be expected from a government that runs an ever-expanding euthanasia program.

“We're not surprised that a government which modified the criminal code to reframe murder as medicine would play around with numbers. But we think Stats Canada should be honest and call a MAiD a MAiD.”

“Their lack of transparency around doctor-assisted suicide should concern Canadians. It definitely concerns us. But no matter how they represent the numbers, they cannot bury the fact that more Canadians than ever before are dying at the hand of their doctors. Nor can they hide the tragedy that MAiD is becoming a leading cause of death in our nation,” Daniel, Matthew and Andrew Kooman said in an exclusive statement to The Post Millennial.

In April, Canada will extend the “eligibility” of its euthanasia program to the mentally ill, a category that could also include drug addicts and alcoholics. Critics say that is not just euthanasia but eugenics. Psychologists in Canada are split on whether extending the MAiD program is a good idea or not. 

Member of Parliament Ed Fast (CPC-Abbotsford) sponsored a private member’s bill to exclude mental illness from MAiD but the legislation went down to defeat by a 167-150 vote.

A parliamentary committee composed of both MPs and senators is continuing to assess whether there is sufficient “degree of preparedness” to introduce MAiD for the mentally ill next spring.