In 2023, more than 200 people in Ontario alone died from Canada's medical assistance in dying program (MAiD) within a 24- to 48-hour period.This is according to a 2024 report from the MAiD Death Review Committee (MDRC) of Ontario.The report states in 2023, 219 people in Ontario requested and received same-day to next-day MAiD procedures under Track 1, which requires the patient have a reasonably foreseeable death and is suffering from a grievous or irremediable illness.Of the 219 people, 30% of them chose a same-day procedure, according to the Daily Mail. In a case recorded in the same report, Mr. C, a man in his 70s with cancer made a MAiD request five days after he was admitted to the hospital..His condition had rapidly deteriorated and he had become delirious.The next day, although Mr. C was not fully aware, the MAiD provider continued to "vigorously rouse" him so he could mouth "yes" after withholding his sedation medication for 45 minutes and then giving the provider his consent to be euthanized.He was then killed that same day.Some members of the MDRC acknowledged that withholding sedation for 45 minutes "was insufficient time for medication clearance.".Although some members recommended medication be withheld for several hours to "promote opportunity for clearer cognition" they recognized this "may also contribute to profound suffering."This suffering could influence the decision to choose MAiD.Cases like Mr. C and the 218 others (in Ontario) were allowed to be euthanized quickly because of Bill C-7, introduced in 2021.The bill discarded the 10-day reflection period that was previously in place since MAiD's legalization in 2016..Those approved under Track 2, whose deaths were not reasonably foreseeable, are required to wait for a 90-day period and have two physicians sign off on the request.The Free Press found many of these requests under Track 2 were not completing the 90-day period. This is because there is an exception for those who lose the capacity to consent within those 90 days — which is up to the MAiD practitioners to assess.
