{"id":17401,"date":"2025-09-18T11:53:56","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T15:53:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vivredignite.org\/?p=17401"},"modified":"2025-09-18T13:48:31","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T17:48:31","slug":"newsletter-sept-18-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vivredignite.org\/en\/newsletter-sept-18-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Disproportionate Impact of MAiD on People with Disabilities, Palliative Care on \u201cDe garde 24\/7\u201d, and Our Presence in the Montreal Gazette, the National Post, and on T\u00e9l\u00e9 Handicap"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Dear allies,<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

I am pleased to share with you our second newsletter of the season, which contains both encouraging news and some less positive updates. You can count on us to highlight the good developments and to speak out, on your behalf, against what needs to be challenged. I am very proud of your citizens\u2019 network for being present in the public sphere and for promoting the ideas that matter most to you!<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

Thank you for your continued support,<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/p>

Jasmin Lemieux-Lefebvre
Coordinator
Living with Dignity Citizen Network<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Spotlight on Palliative Care on \u201cDe garde 24\/7\u201d TV Show<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Did you\ncatch the episode of \u201cDe garde 24\/7\u201d<\/i> last Thursday on T\u00e9l\u00e9-Qu\u00e9bec?
\nDr. Olivia Nguyen is one of the physicians featured in the second episode of\nthis 11th season, and it\u2019s hard to imagine a better showcase for palliative\ncare!<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

Two clips\nare circulating on Facebook and Instagram:<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

    \n
  1. https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/watch\/?v=25278396885095379<\/a><\/o:p><\/span><\/li>\n
  2. https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/watch\/?v=637120266121518<\/a>
    \n <\/span>    https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DOYzaQADv-P<\/a><\/o:p><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>

    The full\nepisode is excellent (available on the T\u00e9l\u00e9-Qu\u00e9bec app or website: <\/span>https:\/\/video.telequebec.tv\/details\/55017<\/a>).
    \n
    \nIf you don\u2019t have time to watch it all, here are the four segments where\npalliative care is discussed:<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/p>

      \n
    1. 05:13\n to 08:42<\/o:p><\/li>\n
    2. 16:14\n to 19:41<\/o:p><\/li>\n
    3. 26:01\n to 28:20<\/o:p><\/li>\n
    4. 41:18\n to 44:10 (screenshot above)<\/o:p><\/li>\n<\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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      According to a New Cardus Report:\n\nMedical Assistance in Dying Has a Disproportionate Impact on Canadians with Disabilities\n<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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      A new report by Alexander Raikin \u201ccompares the\ninternational evidence accepted in 2012 by the British Columbia Supreme Court\nin Carter, which the Supreme Court of Canada subsequently upheld and affirmed,\nwith evidence from the nearly 10 years of MAiD in Canada:\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

      We invite\nyou to read the Cardus press\nrelease<\/a> and the 34-page\nreport<\/a> entitled \u201cIn Contrast to Carter\u201d.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

      Excerpt: When\nassisted suicide (MAiD) was legalized in Canada, courts and legislators\nexpected that safeguards could be put in place to protect vulnerable groups,\nsuch as persons with physical or mental disabilities, from heightened risk or\ninordinate impact.<\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>

      This\nreport examines whether these expectations have been borne out in reality,\nusing the available national and provincial data and peer-reviewed medical\nstudies.<\/o:p><\/i><\/p>

      This\nreport concludes that Canada\u2019s legalization of assisted suicide has led to an\nintensified risk of premature death for vulnerable groups, and that the\nexpected safeguards have failed to materialize.<\/o:p><\/i><\/p>

      \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/p>

      From\n2019 to 2023, at least 42 percent of all MAiD deaths were of persons who\nrequired disability services, including over 1,017 persons who required but did\nnot receive these services. MAiD providers in Canada have euthanized disabled\npersons who needed disability supports and were unable to access them.<\/o:p><\/i><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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      Advance Requests for MAiD <\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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      Dr. Catherine Ferrier from Our Board Cited in the Montreal Gazette and the National Post<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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      An article by journalist Aaron Derfel – featured on today\u2019s front page of both the Montreal Gazette and the National Post –<\/span>reports that \u201cFrom Oct. 30 last year \u2014 when Quebec\u2019s new provisions took effect \u2014 until Sept. 4 (the latest date for which complete statistics were available), a total of 1,425 advance requests for MAID have been added to the registry in the province. In addition, 179 requests were rejected.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

       <\/span><\/p>\n

      Excerpt :
      Dr. Catherine Ferrier, a member of the board of directors of the (\u2026) group Vivre dans la dignit\u00e9, noted the number of advance requests registered is much lower than initial projections on the order of 10,000. She\u2019s opposed to advance directives for people with dementia and to MAID in general, especially in the context of a health care system that does not have adequate resources. \u201cI think that MAID by advance request is not really workable,\u201d Ferrier said. \u201cI don\u2019t think you can have adequate consent. I think for the more than 1,400 people who have already requested it, I\u2019m doubtful about whether they consented properly, because consenting to your own death is beyond what most people can conceive of when it\u2019s not immediate.\u201d Ferrier, who is assistant professor in the department of family medicine at McGill University, treats patients with dementia and their views on their quality of life can change over time. From her experience, many individuals adapt well to living with dementia, but if some had previously consented to an advance directive, they may not be in position to say they\u2019ve changed their mind prior to MAID being administered.<\/i><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

      <\/p>\n


      Read more at:<\/span><\/p>\n

      <\/span>https:\/\/www.montrealgazette.com\/news\/health\/article1171462.html<\/a><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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      Our Coordinator on the T\u00e9l\u00e9 Handicap YouTube Channel<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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      We would like to thank the Quebec Cerebral Palsy Association for this 40-minute interview with their president, Joseph Khoury, and our coordinator Jasmin Lemieux-Lefebvre.

      After discussing his personal and professional journey,       Jasmin talks about his\nrole within our citizens\u2019 network (9:46)<\/a>.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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      To Watch, Read, or Listen To<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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      1) <\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/span>Some of Canada\u2019s latest MAiD recipients:
      An obese woman and a grieving widower<\/b>
      An article from the National Post<\/a><\/i> and an open letter by Ramona Coelho, “Shouldn\u2019t care come before MAiD?”, in National Newswatch<\/a><\/i>.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n


      <\/span><\/p>\n

      2) \u201cSavings\u201d and Palliative Care \u2013 Dear Government, What If It Were You?<\/b>
      The testimony of Martine Delvaux,       to read in La Presse<\/i><\/a>.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n


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      3) \u201cAnother article that romanticizes euthanasia for people with disabilities. A death of despair is portrayed as inevitable, a heroic act to be celebrated, an emotional soap opera episode.\u201d<\/b>
      Jonathan Marchand\u2019s response to the
      La Presse <\/i>article S\u00e9bastien voulait partir en faisant le bien<\/i> can be read       on his LinkedIn<\/a> or Facebook page<\/a>.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n


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      4) Author Robert Munsch is approved for MAID, but his daughter clarifies he’s ‘not dying’
      <\/b>      CBC Story<\/a>
      Will You Love Me Forever?
      <\/b>A beautiful response from Amanda Achtman       in Public Discourse<\/a>

      <\/o:p><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

      5) The Link Between Music Therapy and Alzheimer\u2019s Explored This Fall on TV<\/b>
      An article from the daily newspaper Le Devoir<\/i><\/a>.
      Two television projects from the fall season are explored:<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n