Canadian statistics on government sponsored suicide mark cause of death as ailment patient suffered before they were euthanized

The revelation appeared on the X account of Statistics Canada, the official Government of Canada agency responsible for compiling data.

https://twitter.com/StatCan_eng/status/1729539259076334034?s=20

“In the database, the underlying cause of death is defined as the disease or injury that initiated the train of morbid events leading directly to death. As such, MAID deaths are coded to the underlying condition for which MAID was requested,” StatsCan said, in response to a user asking why MAiD did not appear on the report as a cause of death.

That acknowledgment bothered X poster Sarah Colero, who noted:

“Statistics Canada altering the national death stats by putting people who died from MAID's cause of death as the patient's disability/illness instead of as MAID scares me because it's an obvious way of hiding the fact that MAID has become a leading cause of death & is growing.”

https://twitter.com/Sarah_Colero/status/1730045463217213676?s=20

Canada has become the assisted suicide capital of the world with deaths accelerating every year the program has been in operation. In 2022 – the most recent year with figures available – over 13,200 people used MAiD to kill themselves. The previous year accounted for over 10,000 suicides. MAiD is now responsible for 3 percent of all deaths in Canada.

By the end of the year, that number could easily reach a total of 30,000 deaths.

During the COVID-19 pandemic hospitals in Canada and the United States usually tallied deaths in a different type of extreme: listing anyone who tested positive for the virus as a COVID fatality.

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.