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January 30, 2026 (Globe and Mail). Ontario woman calls for reform after her son “shopped” for MAID approval in BC
Margaret Marsilla said her 26-year-old son, Kiano Vafaeian, received MAID after being denied it by doctors in his home province in recent years. She alleges that he “shopped around” until he could find the two physicians needed to approve the procedure. [Kiano is memorialized on our Remembering Lives Lived page].
Kiano Vafaeian’s death certificate was signed on Dec. 31 by the notorious Ellen Wiebe, a prolific BC MAID provider who was also at the centre of an Alberta case in 2024. Dr. Wiebe said in a statement to The Globe and Mail on Wednesday that every one of her patients was [technically] capable of consenting to MAID and that in each Track 2 procedure she ensured her assessment of their eligibility took the requisite 90 days (Apparently the only limit she considers enforceable).
His mother is crying foul, and insists that he was not in pain, was not in decline, and had been declared ineligible for Track 2 MAID in Ontario.
A committee of the United Nations last spring reviewed Canada’s treatment of disabled people and called on Ottawa to end MAID for anyone without a terminal illness.
January , 2026 (Euthanasia Prevention Coalition) Canadian woman was approved for euthanasia is now being treated by US doctors.
Jolene Van Alstine of Regina, Saskatchewan was approved for death by MAID instead of receiving treatment for her a rare and extremely painful parathyroid disorder. There was no surgeon in Saskatchewan capable of performing a surgery that she was told might help. In America, a doctor treated her hormonal condition and delayed surgery. The treatments seem to be helping. She never wanted to die by MAID, but simply wanted to stop being so sick.
“Van Alstine, Brady and Ducluzeau were all able to die by euthanasia but were not offered medical treatment for their conditions. Brady and Ducluzeau were successfully treated in the US. These are three out of many stories of Canadians who were denied or not offered effective medical treatment.”
While the EPC is a Catholic and often right-wing organization, it is a valuable resource for information on patients that might not otherwise come to our attention. Thank you, Alex.
November , 2025 Annual Report for 2024 released
With little fanfare or media coverage, the long-awaited year old report was released in November. A total of 16,499 people died by MAiD in 2024. 732 of those people were not dying and would not have died without the active life-ending action of a medical practitioner. There have been 76,475 MAID provisions in Canada since the legalization of MAID in 2016. The report seeks to allay fears of exponential growth by reporting that the uptake rate has decreased and may be stabilizing. People’s stories are lost in every type of statistical reporting, we know. The effect of overall “normalization” of both Track 1 and Track 2 MAID is undeniable. Ho hum. 732 people who weren’t dying are dead by doctor, almost 60% of them for unspecified “other” reasons. These reasons break down as shown in the graph below. Loneliness and perceived burden on others continues with alarming frequency, particularly in Track 2 recipients. Likewise existential distress, fear, and anxiety. I will continue to ask, were these people reassured, comforted by a spiritual advisor, provided with warm, friendly volunteer visitors? Or were they offered MAID as a solution to their distress?
Figure 3.4a: Reported nature of suffering, by track
Melissa Ellsworth from Nova Scotia here. WCB is continuing to deny supports so my MAID intake appt is tomorrow Jan 12. I am down to 88 pounds and am traumatized by the way my situation, by intent, has led me to this point. I pray another first responder never has to endure this type of kafkaesque treatment
Oh, Melissa! Thanks so much for reaching out before entering into this life-ending “Intake Process”. I’m so sorry it’s come to this and you will be in my thoughts. I want to encourage you to be skeptical of the government’s willingness to help you end your life when they have been so recalcitrant about supporting it! I know you think you’ve tried everything, but have you? Are there other possible sources of support that you haven’t felt entitled to claim? Nova Scotia does have a disability support program, which you are entitled to explore and apply to: https://novascotia.ca/coms/disabilities/ And a legal aid program: https://www.nslegalaid.ca
Just a couple of thoughts as you face the day ahead.
I do understand the ethical need for examination and scrutiny of the changes proposed to MAID. And I thank you for it as I know why you are doing it. However, as a child of parents, one of whom suffered terribly from FTD before dying thankfully, from the side effects of the off label drug they were taking. And now watching the other going through the same torture and suffering, I cannot in all conscience support your concerns.
I personally would choose to end my life with a diagnosis of FTD or ALD without a second thought. I will do everything I can to prevent my children having to live through what my siblings and I started living with in 2005 which continues. The impact financially and emotionally is devastating.
The emotional, constant gut wrenching pain that just doesn’t end. But dying mercifully ends it.
I believe that the push to exclude dementia from MAID plays into the warehousing industry which profits from suffering of our family members in the twilight years. We watch another parent die without dignity or the choice. No one, should spend their last days, alone overmedicated and abandoned in these horrible places. I speak from experience.
I will work hard to ensure that access to dying with dignity will be available to those of us who LIVED WITH DIGNITY and who now should have the right to DIE WITH DIGNITY.
Thank you, Jaye, for engaging with Living with Dignity’s post and our point of view. You have my sincere sympathy for the ordeal you and your family have been through. Caring for your parents and watching their condition deteriorate, whether quickly or slowly, is painful and distressing for everyone. I can understand why you would want to spare your children from the agony that you experienced, if ever you were in your parents’ situation. However, it is not the family’s or the caregiver’s pain and distress that MAiD is intended to relieve, is it? I wasn’t familiar with the diagnosis that you mentioned — FTD. When I looked it up, it appeared to me that anyone diagnosed with that condition faces a “reasonably foreseeable natural death” and so would qualify for assistance in hastening their death. Living With Dignity Canada does not oppose that option. However, something to keep in mind is that a big majority of people with terminal illnesses generally do NOT choose to die early, even when that choice is easily available. So your parents might not have wanted that for themselves either, even if you passionately wanted it for them. Surely you can see how this situation could easily lead to elderly folks feeling pressured to end their lives early in order to save their adult children distress and expense — even if it’s not what they really want. External pressure is supposed to be screened for under MAID rules, but it’s subtle and hard to catch, especially by a medical professional who may share the family’s desire to end suffering quickly, no matter whose suffering is at issue.
Again, thank you for your comment. Rest assured that we here at Living With Dignity Canada feel your pain and wish you comfort and gentleness as the process you face continues to unfold.