The Canadian lobby group, that doubles as a charity, is pushing for the assisted dying of minors.Dying with Dignity Canada (DWDC) says it's a "national human-rights charity" that works to "improve quality of dying, protect end of dying rights, and help people across Canada avoid unwanted suffering."According to DWDC, medical assisted dying (MAID) should be allowed for "mature minors."Per an article on MAID for minors, "mature minors" are individuals under 18 who "understand information relevant to a treatment decision and can appreciate the reasonably foreseeable consequences of a decision or lack of decision.”.Currently, to be eligible for MAID in Canada, a patient must qualify for health services federally or provincially, be 18 years or older and mentally competent, have a "grievous and irremediable medical condition”, make a voluntary request, and get informed consent.The article also states "mature minors" are determined through either a legal process or through a healthcare practitioner. DWDC claims it believes MAID should apply to "mature minors" who are suffering a "grievous and irremediable medical condition.""It is unfair to allow a 70-year-old with terminal cancer the choice of a peaceful death but deny a 17-year-old who has been given the same prognosis and demonstrates a clear capacity to make the decision as an adult, the same choice," states DWDC.."Especially when the 17-year-old already has the legal right to accept or refuse medical treatment that may prolong their life."Some of the donors of DWDC (of which there are many) include MAID Family Support Society, an organization that provides "support" to people whose loved ones are planning or considering MAID.Another donor, McMaster University, whose body donation program has accepted "six MAID bodies" for organ donation since the introduction of MAID legislation in 2016, according to an article published in 2019.Other big-name donors include Microsoft, Bell, Best Buy, PayPal, Telus, Sunlife Financial, Suncor, and London Drugs Limited..DWDC is also a member of the World Federation of Right to Die Societies, a global organization that pushes for "the right to die with dignity, peace, and without suffering."Reported by the Walrus, in February 2015, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) annulled DWDC's charity status because of "serious non-compliance issues.” “Our audit did not identify any activities advancing education in the charitable sense,” the CRA stated in 2015.The CRA claimed the organization was "selectively informing the public in support of its political purpose to expand choice in dying.".In a statement to the Globe and Mail, CEO at the time, Wanda Morris reacted to the news stating the DWDC could finally be "overtly political."When MAID legislation, or Bill C-14, was introduced in 2016, DWDC lobbyists met with public officials in Ottawa four times. Morris, who had left DWDC to become the COO of the Canadian Association of Retired Persons, served as an expert witness for the government on Bill C-14.Fast forward to 2020 — DWDC became registered with the feds as a lobby group and was reinstated as a charity in 2019 with the CRA..In a statement to the Western Standard, DWDC said, "In many jurisdictions across Canada, mature minors already have the right to make important decisions regarding their health care.""This includes the right to consent to or refuse life-saving medical treatment.""Neither suffering nor capacity is related to age."They then repeated the statement on their website, "It is unfair to allow a 70-year-old with terminal cancer the choice of a peaceful death but deny a 17-year-old who has been given the same prognosis and demonstrates a clear capacity to make the decision as an adult, the same choice."
