A coalition of disability rights groups filed a Charter challenge September 25 against a portion of Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) assisted suicide and euthanasia law, on the basis that it is discriminatory towards people with disabilities.
The plaintiffs include the groups Inclusion Canada, Indigenous Disability Canada, Council of Canadians with Disabilities, and the DisAbled Women’s Network Canada, along with two individuals. In their suit, they are asking the court to overturn Track 2 of the MAiD law, which they say unfairly targets those with disabilities. The track allows euthanasia for anyone with a disability, even if the person is not dying and does not have a “reasonably foreseeable” death.
“People are dying. We are witnessing an alarming trend where people with disabilities are seeking assisted suicide due to social deprivation, poverty, and lack of essential supports,” said Krista Carr, Executive Vice-President of Inclusion Canada.
“This law also sends a devastating message that life with a disability is a fate worse than death, undermining decades of work toward equity and inclusion. It’s time to put an end to helping people with disabilities commit suicide and start supporting them to live.”
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In an interview with Law Times, Carr further explained that the groups are not seeking to end MAiD deaths altogether, but only those eligible under Track 2, as that “is only available to one particular group of people: people with disabilities.”
“So, one Charter-protected group only has access to dying by lethal injection, assisted suicide funded by our government when they are not already dying,” she said.
“We have one group of people that society has said, well, your lives we see as being so unbearable and so unworthy that we’re going to offer you this option of dying – not an option to get support that you need to live on an equal basis with others, but support you need to end your life.”
People with disabilities have long had to advocate for equal rights and fair treatment, especially in areas where assisted suicide and euthanasia are legal. Often, reports find that these people are not given the support and healthcare they need, and instead are pressured to end their lives, feeling that they don’t want to be a burden to others.
Heather Walkus, National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, said, “This challenge is about protecting the equality and human rights of all people with disabilities in Canada. Instead of providing the support and resources we need to live, our government is offering death. It’s unacceptable, and we won’t stand for it.””
