Dr. Heidi Janz:

I will talk about assisted dying and the impact that Canada's expansion of eligibility for medical assistance in dying to include people with disabilities, whose death is not reasonably foreseeable, is having on Canadians with disabilities.

While I acknowledge the complex and sensitive nature of this topic, my main message to you is simple: do not be Canada. Since the initial legalisation of MAID in 2015, Canada has become the poster child for the dangers of legalising assisted suicide. It is fundamentally important to recognise that both the initial 2016 legalisation of MAID for people with grievous and irremediable medical conditions, whose natural death is reasonably foreseeable, and the 2021 expansion of eligibility to include people with disabilities, whose natural death is not reasonably foreseeable, marks seismic shifts in the already often troubled relationship between people with disabilities and healthcare providers. This is because the legalisation and expansion of MAID to people with disabilities who are not at end-of-life created a situation in which clinicians embedded in a healthcare system where ableism is routinely taught, learned and practised were given the responsibility of deciding which disabled lives should be ended via MAID and which should not.

Do not be Canada. Pay heed to your disability rights advocates when they warn that legalising assisted death for people with disabilities who are not at end-of-life will very quickly and inevitably lead to the creation of society in which it is easier and more expedient for people with disabilities to get assistance in dying than it is to get assistance to live self-determined and dignified lives in the community.

Growing numbers of Canadians with disabilities are being driven to choose MAID as their only viable alternative to intolerable living conditions. Among these are Chris Gladders, who died by MAID in January 2021 at the age of 35. He was battling Fabry's disease, a genetic condition. He had two daughters, Hailee, 13, and Savannah, five. He lived in a long-term care facility. His brother reported that at the time of his assisted death, the bedding had not been changed for weeks, there was faeces and urine on the bed and on the floor. The room was absolutely disgusting. The day before his death, Chris pulled the call bell beside his bed. I was on the phone with him for 40 minutes and nobody answered that bell. That was his last night.

Equally, disturbing is the case of Sofia. This is the preferred pseudonym of a 51-year-old Ontario woman who had multiple chemical sensitivities, a chronic condition. She underwent a medically assisted death after a frantic effort by friends, supporters and even her doctors to get her safe and affordable housing. She left behind letters showing a desperate two-year search for help, in which she begged local, provincial and federal officials for assistance in finding a home away from the smoke and chemicals wafting through her apartment. Four local doctors were aware of Sofia's case, and they also wrote to federal housing and disability officials on our behalf. In that letter, the doctors confirmed that her symptoms improved in cleaner air environments and asked for help to find or build a chemical free residence. They wrote that as physicians they found it unconscionable that no other solution was proposed to this situation other than medical assistance in dying.

There is the equally troubling and tragic story of Sathya Dhara Kovac. She died by medical assistance in dying, MAID, on 3 October 2022. Ms Kovac lived with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS. Her condition was worsening but she felt she had more life to live - just not enough home care support to do so.Kovac wrote in an obituary to loved ones, "Ultimately it was not a genetic disease that took me out, it was a system". Her obituary continues:

There is desperate need for change. That is the sickness that causes so much suffering. Vulnerable people need help to survive. I could have had more time if I had more help.

Do not be Canada. Further expansion of eligibility for MAID to people with a sole diagnosis of mental illness, those with advance directives requesting MAID if they become mentally incompetent and, ultimately, so-called mature minors with illnesses and disabilities is looming on the near horizon. Canada is thus continuing its rapid descent down a slippery slope which many still claim does not exist. I sit before the committee today to implore it: for the sake of preserving true dignity and true choice for disabled, ill, old and other structurally vulnerable people in Ireland, do not be Canada. Tread carefully and prioritise ensuring that all disabled, ill and structurally vulnerable people in Ireland have adequate assistance to live over ensuring the legalisation of assistance to die.

I thank the committee for the opportunity to speak to it about this important topic. I look forward to the members' questions.