🇨🇦 Canadian Citizens Journal

⭐ PART 9 — The MAiD Explosion — How Eligibility Turned Into a Nationwide Surge How Eligibility Turned Into a Nationwide Surge By Canadian Citizens Journal ⸻ ⭐ MAiD Was Introduced as a Rare, Last-Resort Option When MAiD was first legalized in 2016, Canadians were told it would remain: • rare • tightly regulated • restricted to extreme circumstances • used only when suffering was truly unbearable • a compassionate option, not a default • never something vulnerable people would be pressured into The promise was clear: MAiD would never become normalized. Eight years later, it has become one of the fastest-expanding medical practices in Canadian history. What began as an exception has become an expectation. ⸻ ⭐ The Numbers Do Not Lie — MAiD Has Skyrocketed Official federal reports show a surge so extreme it has no global comparison. Within a few years: • annual MAiD deaths increased by more than 1,000% • MAiD became the leading cause of death in some regions • Canada achieved one of the highest euthanasia rates in the world • expansions continued despite warnings from disability advocates and ethics boards • the government prepared for even broader eligibility, including mental illness This is not a slow expansion. It is an exponential one. ⸻ ⭐ How Canada Became the Outlier Other countries with assisted dying programs maintain strict safeguards: • Belgium • the Netherlands • Luxembourg • Switzerland But none of them expanded eligibility at the speed Canada did. Canada moved from: terminal illness → chronic illness → disability → chronic pain → “grievous and irremediable conditions” → mental illness → advance requests …in less than a decade. No other country has widened eligibility this rapidly. No other government has proposed including: • dementia patients who cannot consent • advance directives for people not currently suffering • chronic poverty or lack of support as “suffering” • those whose primary issue is isolation or neglect Canada is not following the world. It is leading the world in expansion. ⸻ ⭐ Timeline of Expansion: From Rare to Routine 2016 — Terminal diagnosis only Promised to be “strict and narrow.” 2019 — The push for expansion begins Court rulings claim restrictions are too limiting. 2021 — C-7 removes the requirement for death to be foreseeable This single change opens the floodgates. 2022–2023 — Mental illness slated to be included Only delayed due to public backlash — not cancelled. 2024–2025 — Advance requests prepared Meaning a future version of yourself can be euthanized without present-day consent. Ongoing — Calls to include “structural suffering” Which includes: • poverty • homelessness • lack of medical care • loneliness • being unable to afford medication or housing This is not a careful program. It is a system expanding toward anyone who is struggling. ⸻ ⭐ The Most Alarming Trend: MAiD Moving Into Social Suffering Ethicists once warned that MAiD must never be used to solve social problems. But that is exactly what Canada has begun doing. Many MAiD recipients in the last three years were approved because they: • could not afford accessible housing • could not get treatment for chronic pain • could not secure disability benefits • could not receive home care • could not find safe shelter • could not get medical specialists • felt abandoned and isolated This is not medical ethics. This is social triage — using MAiD as a release valve for government failure. ⸻ ⭐ The Government Knew MAiD Would Reduce Costs Internal reports, research papers, and economic analyses warned — and sometimes outright admitted — that MAiD would significantly reduce healthcare spending. Some projections estimated cost savings in the billions within a few decades. The expansions that shocked Canadians were not accidental. They aligned perfectly with financial incentives. When people who need expensive care, disability supports, surgeries, housing, or long-term treatment die earlier, systems save money. Whether deliberate or simply tolerated, the outcome is the same. ⸻ ⭐ MAiD Has Become a “Solution” to Underfunded Systems Across the country, MAiD has quietly become the alternative offered when care is: • too delayed • too expensive • too understaffed • too inconsistent • too overwhelmed People once seeking relief are now offered death. Workers inside hospitals and long-term care facilities report the same disturbing trend: MAiD is introduced earlier and discussed more casually than ever before. Not because suffering is worse — but because support is worse. ⸻ ⭐ The Rise of “Pathway Patients” With the collapse of: • long-term care • disability supports • home care • chronic pain treatment • mental health services a new category of patient has emerged: Pathway patients — people who enter a system of decline and become MAiD-eligible simply because support was never provided. This includes: • seniors in LTC who decline from poor nutrition • residents palliated due to staff shortages • disabled people exhausted from fighting for benefits • chronic pain patients denied treatment • youth with mental health conditions facing years-long waitlists • people experiencing homelessness and poverty When the system fails people long enough, they become “eligible.” The suffering becomes the evidence. ⸻ ⭐ Why This Expansion Matters for Long-Term Care Long-term care is now one of the largest pipelines into MAiD. The combination of: • faster decline (Part 8) • poor nutrition (Part 5) • understaffing (Parts 7–8) • inspection fraud (Part 6) • palliative hijack (Part 7) • preventable suffering …means more residents are considered to meet the MAiD criteria. This creates a feedback loop: 1. System causes decline 2. Decline increases suffering 3. Suffering qualifies for MAiD 4. MAiD numbers rise 5. The system uses MAiD to justify fewer resources This is not a safety net. It is a pipeline. ⸻ ⭐ Canada Now Has Two Parallel Systems One system for those who can pay: • private care • private specialists • private clinics • private therapists • private home supports And one system for those who cannot: • long-term care collapse • disability underfunding • homelessness • waitlists • palliative pathways • MAiD One offers solutions. The other offers an exit. ⸻ ⭐ The MAiD Explosion Is the Result of Policy — Not Choice When support collapses, suffering rises. When suffering rises, eligibility rises. When eligibility rises, MAiD numbers explode. This is not about “choice.” This is about conditions — conditions shaped by government policy, corporate cost-cutting, and systemic neglect. MAiD is expanding not because Canadians want death — but because Canada stopped offering life.

Hidden Fees Canadians Aren’t Being Told About I ordered an Amazon Fire Stick listed at $27.99. At checkout, I was charged: • A $2.25 Environmental Handling Fee • 15% HST applied on top of that fee My final total was $34.78. That is a 24% increase over the advertised price. Most Canadians assume this is just tax. It isn’t. This charge is a government-mandated electronics recycling levy under Extended Producer Responsibility rules. Despite the wording, it has nothing to do with shipping or special handling. What changed — and when Before 2019 Environmental handling fees mainly applied to large electronics like televisions and computers. The amounts were small or hidden and often baked into the shelf price. Most people never noticed them. After 2019 The program was expanded to include everyday electronics, including small items like streaming devices. Fees increased, commonly ranging from one to five dollars per item. Online marketplaces were required to itemize the fee at checkout, and tax is now applied on top of the fee itself. Why it suddenly shows up on Amazon Before these rule changes, the fee was not collected consistently everywhere. Some retailers buried it in the price. Some third-party vendors did not apply it at all. When governments expanded the rules, online marketplaces like Amazon were made responsible for collecting and remitting the fee on all eligible products, including those sold by third-party sellers. So while it looks like an Amazon charge, it is being collected because of government policy, and the cost is pushed directly onto consumers at checkout. The result Higher prices More visible charges No clear public explanation Canadians already pay income tax. Canadians already pay sales tax. Canadians already pay carbon tax. These expanded environmental fees represent another quiet cost shift onto consumers during a cost-of-living crisis. If a fee is mandatory, it should be clearly disclosed before purchase, not discovered at checkout. Transparency matters. Hidden fees erode trust. Canadians deserve to know what they are being charged, who is requiring it, and when it changed. By Canadian Citizens Journal

⭐ PART 7 — The Palliative Care Hijack How Preventable Decline Is Being Framed as “End-of-Life” By Canadian Citizens Journal ⸻ ⭐ Palliative Care Was Meant to Protect People — Now It Is Being Used to Redirect Them Palliative care in Canada was built on a simple principle: When a person is approaching the natural end of life, their comfort becomes the priority. But over the past decade — and especially after 2020 — the meaning of “palliative” has quietly shifted inside long-term care homes. Residents are increasingly being classified as palliative not because they are dying, but because the system cannot provide the care required to keep them stable. When chronic understaffing, poor nutrition, isolation, unmet medical needs, preventable infections, or environmental neglect push a resident into rapid decline… the system now calls that “end-of-life.” This is the core of the palliative care hijack. ⸻ ⭐ The New Pipeline: From Decline → “Palliative” → MAiD Families are told their loved one is “failing to thrive.” Workers are told “there’s nothing more we can do.” The charts frame decline as irreversible. But in countless cases, the suffering that leads to this classification is produced by: • understaffing • nutritional decline • rushed feeding • preventable infections • poor hydration • cold rooms • mobility loss from lack of support • delayed medical intervention • untreated pain • isolation When a system creates suffering and then labels that suffering “palliative,” it becomes a pipeline — one that now intersects directly with MAiD. ⸻ ⭐ The Collapse of Clinical Staffing: When Nurses Are Overloaded and PSWs Carry the Weight One of the most overlooked drivers of premature palliative classification is the collapse of clinical staffing inside long-term care. In many facilities, one nurse is responsible for: • all medications • multiple floors or buildings • supervising all PSWs • emergency responses • charting, assessments, and care plans • contacting physicians • managing unstable medical conditions • handling referrals and paperwork • responding to behaviors and crises No nurse can safely handle that workload. The system knows it — and does nothing. ⸻ ⭐ The “Coverage PSW”: One Worker Doing the Job of Two Buildings To compensate for impossible nurse workloads, many facilities rely on a single multi-building PSW who is expected to: In one building: • complete full med passes • answer all call bells • assist with feeding and baths • respond to emergencies Then move to the other building to: • finish second-floor medications • support the already overwhelmed nurse • respond to additional call bells • help manage behaviors • fill gaps in personal care This PSW becomes: • extra care staff • extra medication staff • behavioral support • and emergency backup This role is unsafe — yet it has become standard practice. ⸻ ⭐ When the Nurse Calls In Sick, the Entire System Falls Apart If the only nurse is absent, medication duties automatically fall onto PSWs, even when they are already short-staffed. This forces PSWs to perform: • med passes • personal care • call responses • meal service • emergencies • supervision across buildings PSWs are not trained or licensed for: • interpreting medication changes • managing drug interactions • handling unstable conditions • triaging multiple crises This predictable overload leads to medication errors, especially after: • dose changes • new prescriptions • behavioral medication adjustments • complex drug regimens in dementia residents The errors are not the fault of staff — they are the result of a system using PSWs as substitute nurses. ⸻ ⭐ Chronic Stress: The Emotional Weight Workers Carry Workers inside LTC live with daily emotional strain: • fear of missing meds • fear of resident falls • fear of being blamed for systemic failures • guilt for not having enough time • exhaustion • burnout • moral injury from preventable suffering This is not a workplace challenge — it is a chronic emergency affecting the entire sector. ⸻ ⭐ How Staffing Collapse Leads to Premature “Palliative” Labeling When staffing is this unstable, residents do not receive: • early intervention • timely assessments • medication reviews • proper feeding • hydration • safe mobility support • behavioral monitoring • ongoing medical evaluation When preventable decline goes untreated long enough, the resident is eventually described as “palliative.” But the truth is: The system did not run out of treatments. The system ran out of staff. ⸻ ⭐ Palliative Care Used to Mean Comfort — Now It Often Means “We Cannot Manage Care” Workers across the country report residents being placed on palliative pathways because: • they were losing weight • they were dehydrated • they were too weak to walk • they had repeated infections • they were emotionally withdrawn • they were not eating the food • they were too cold • they were not stable medically • the facility lacked resources to maintain them These are not natural end-of-life symptoms. They are system-produced decline. ⸻ ⭐ Once Labeled Palliative, MAiD Conversations Begin Once a resident is classified as palliative, they are placed in a medical category that now overlaps significantly with MAiD criteria. Families who refuse MAiD are pressured. Families who never considered MAiD are suddenly introduced to it. Workers are instructed to provide “information.” Residents often feel they are a burden. The sequence has become disturbingly predictable: System neglect → preventable decline → palliative label → MAiD eligibility. ⸻ ⭐ Palliative Care Has Been Hijacked What was meant to ensure peace and dignity has become a form of triage — a way for overwhelmed systems to manage decline they helped create. This chapter exposes what families and workers have long suspected: Palliative care is no longer reserved for those who are genuinely dying. It is increasingly used as a management tool inside a collapsing long-term care system — and it feeds directly into MAiD pathways.

⭐ PART 6 — Inspection Fraud and Cover-Ups How Long-Term Care Homes Pass Inspections While Residents Live in Decline By Canadian Citizens Journal ⸻ ⭐ Inspections Were Created to Protect Residents — But They Protect the System Instead On paper, long-term care inspections are meant to ensure safety, nutrition, staffing, hygiene, medication accuracy, and dignity. In reality, inspections have become carefully staged performances that create the illusion of oversight while hiding the truth of daily conditions. Instead of revealing problems, inspections conceal them. Instead of protecting residents, they protect institutions. Instead of prompting reform, they reinforce denial. These patterns are not hypothetical — they have been repeatedly observed across long-term care homes in Canada. ⸻ ⭐ The Core Problem: Homes Know When Inspectors Are Coming Although inspections are advertised as unannounced, almost no long-term care worker believes this. Facilities receive advance warnings through: • internal leaks • scheduling hints • courtesy calls • paperwork timing • backchannel communication Staff knew it. Management knew it. Inspectors knew it. Even residents sensed it. It was common for workers to be told the exact day inspectors would arrive. Once a home knows the date, the inspection stops reflecting reality and becomes a scripted event. ⸻ ⭐ The Week Before an Inspection: Chaos Behind the Curtain The days leading up to inspection are filled with frantic activity. Workers across the country describe the same pre-inspection routine. Maintenance rushes to temporary fixes: • patching walls • repainting damage • hiding mold or smells • repairing broken equipment just long enough to pass • masking water damage • moving unsafe items out of sight Paperwork suddenly becomes “up to date”: • flow sheets filled in retroactively • medication records corrected • care plans rewritten overnight • charts cleaned up Cleaning intensifies: • floors waxed • garbage removed more frequently • odors masked with chemicals • emergency items hidden • hallways decluttered Kitchen quality spikes for one day: • hotter meals • better portions • improved plating • no substitutions Residents notice the difference immediately — long before inspectors even enter the building. ⸻ ⭐ Inspectors Never See True Staffing Levels One of the most deceptive practices is the manipulation of staffing numbers. Homes inflate staffing by: • counting cleaners as care staff • counting management as floor support • pulling workers from other buildings • calling in temporary staff for partial shifts • reassigning workers to appear fully staffed This creates the illusion of safe ratios. Inspectors leave believing staffing is adequate — even though workers know it collapses the moment inspectors walk out the door. ⸻ ⭐ What Inspectors Almost Never See Because inspections are staged, inspectors rarely witness the real conditions: • freezing rooms due to heat timers • understaffed night shifts • residents waiting long periods for help • unsafe one-person transfers • uncut food that residents cannot chew • choking incidents • hydration failures • violent behaviors caused by improper placement • workers covering multiple buildings • overwhelming noise levels • hopelessness and loneliness • preventable medical emergencies Official reports say compliant. Workers say collapse. ⸻ ⭐ Critical Safety Failure: Floods, Leaking Doors, and Call Bell Outages One of the most dangerous failures inside long-term care appears during heavy rainstorms. Water leaks through exterior doors, spreading across floors. Hallways become slippery and hazardous. But flooding is only the beginning. Whenever water leaks inside, phone lines often fail. When the phone lines fail, the call bell system also fails. Residents have: • no way to call for help • no emergency alerts • no communication • no way to signal distress During these outages, residents experiencing: • chest pain • choking • falls • panic • confusion • wandering • nighttime emergencies …were completely unable to reach staff. Workers had to manually check every room, relying on luck rather than safety protocols. Some outages lasted hours, others nearly entire shifts before repairs were made. This is one of the most severe safety failures imaginable — yet inspectors rarely see it, and it almost never appears in official reports. ⸻ ⭐ How Management Controls Resident Interaction During Inspections Residents are often subtly or directly encouraged to speak positively. They are discouraged from mentioning: • cold rooms • hunger • long waits • chronic understaffing • fear or loneliness • unsafe conditions • flooding • call bell failures Many residents fear being labeled “difficult.” Others fear repercussions. Some simply want to avoid conflict. Workers are instructed to: • avoid discussing systemic issues • redirect conversations • keep certain residents out of sight • stick to approved talking points • guide inspectors to calmer areas This is not oversight. This is stage management. ⸻ ⭐ Inspections Focus on Paperwork — Not Reality Inspectors spend the majority of their time reviewing documentation rather than observing actual care. Paperwork reviewed includes: • care plans • medication logs • staffing schedules • policy binders • compliance forms • flow sheets But paperwork rarely reflects reality. According to documentation: • residents were fed • call bells were answered • rooms were warm • two-person transfers occurred • hydration was provided • snacks were delivered Workers know the truth: • meals were refused or unsafe • call bells went unanswered • rooms were freezing • transfers were done alone • hydration was missed • snacks did not arrive Inspectors grade the paper version of care — not the real one. ⸻ ⭐ Why Homes Stage Inspections: Passing Means Survival Failing an inspection can trigger: • fines • increased provincial oversight • loss of contracts • reputational damage Passing ensures: • continued funding • corporate protection • political cover • a clean public image Homes do not stage inspections because they are malicious. They stage inspections because the system refuses to fund what real care requires. ⸻ ⭐ Residents Pay the Price Because inspections are staged, provincial reports claim: • safety where danger exists • dignity where neglect exists • compliance where collapse exists • quality where suffering exists Families trust these reports. Politicians cite them. Media accepts them. The public remains unaware. Meanwhile, residents live with: • cold rooms • hunger • dehydration • loneliness • delayed care • flooding • non-functioning call bells • preventable decline Inspections should protect residents. Instead, they hide the truth of their suffering. ⸻ ⭐ Inspection Fraud Is Not a Minor Issue — It Is the Glue Holding a Broken System Together If inspections were honest, long-term care homes would fail repeatedly. The public would see the truth. Outrage would follow. Budgets would need to increase. Corporate operators would lose profit. Political denial would collapse. MAiD eligibility numbers would drop. Inspection fraud is the shield covering systemic decay — and the silent partner enabling the long-term care and MAiD pipeline to continue. https://open.substack.com/pub/canadiancitizensjournal/p/part-6-inspection-fraud-and-cover

⭐ PART 5 — The Nutrition Crisis: How Food Became a Hidden Engine of Decline Malnutrition, Unsafe Meals, and the Starvation Cycle Inside Long-Term Care By Canadian Citizens Journal ⸻ ⭐ Nutrition Is the Foundation of Life — But It Is Treated Like an Afterthought Food is not luxury. Food is not convenience. Food is medicine — especially for the elderly. Proper nutrition maintains: • strength • cognition • immunity • balance • healing • emotional stability Yet across long-term care homes in Canada, food has become one of the least prioritized aspects of resident care. This is not a matter of resident preference or staff laziness. It is evidence of a system collapsing from within, and nutrition is one of the earliest indicators of that collapse. ⸻ ⭐ The Decline in Food Quality Is Structural, Not Accidental Workers across the country consistently report the same issues. Meals residents cannot chew: • tough or dry meats • rubbery textures • undercooked or overcooked food • meals that break dentures Meals that are unsafe: • bloody or undercooked meat • incorrect dysphagia textures • choking hazards • inconsistent portions • food arriving cold or watered down Meals that are unappealing or nutritionally empty: • bland or oversalted • mushy or watery • visually unappetizing • lacking vegetables or protein • mass-produced mixtures stripped of nutrition These failures are not isolated mistakes. They are the inevitable result of shrinking budgets and system-wide cost-cutting. ⸻ ⭐ The Illusion of Choice: Menus Designed to Impress, Not to Nourish Many LTC homes distribute menus with elaborate dish names intended to create a sense of dignity and luxury. But this illusion creates a separate crisis. Residents with Alzheimer’s and dementia often cannot interpret or visualize complex food names. Even fully alert seniors struggle when dishes sound like something from a restaurant but taste and look nothing like it. Workers frequently observe: • residents choosing meals they don’t understand • residents expecting one thing and receiving another • residents refusing meals due to confusion • residents walking away from tables • residents disappointed by substitutions and shortages Shortages make this worse. Kitchens often substitute ingredients due to: • missing items • cost restrictions • supply issues Residents end up with: • meals they didn’t choose • meals they dislike • meals unsafe for their dietary needs • meals they cannot chew • meals that cause frustration or refusal This is not autonomy. This is pretend dignity masking structural neglect. What residents need is simple, safe, recognizable home-cooked food with basic names. What they receive is often the opposite. ⸻ ⭐ The Silent Starvation Cycle Across LTC homes, the same pattern repeats: 1. Residents receive meals they cannot eat, tolerate, or understand. 2. Intake drops. 3. Overwhelmed staff cannot track consumption accurately. 4. Weight begins falling slowly. 5. Weight loss is dismissed as “old age.” 6. Malnutrition worsens. 7. Mobility declines. 8. Infections increase. 9. Mood deteriorates. 10. The resident is labeled palliative. 11. MAiD becomes part of the conversation. This is not natural decline. This is suffering produced by structure — not biology. ⸻ ⭐ Food That Causes Harm Meals in LTC are not only inadequate — they can be genuinely dangerous. Workers report: • choking on tough meat • aspiration from improperly thickened fluids • broken teeth from overcooked proteins • gagging from unsafe textures • vomiting from poorly prepared meals Each incident contributes to: • reduced appetite • dehydration • fear of eating • muscle loss • frailty • emotional suffering • medical decline Residents do not stop eating because they “gave up.” They stop eating because the food is unsafe. ⸻ ⭐ Staffing Collapse Makes Nutrition Worse Even when meals are edible, too few staff makes proper feeding impossible. This results in: • rushed feeding • poor positioning • increased choking risk • missed snacks • forgotten fluids • trays returning untouched • food left uncut • lack of supervision • inaccurate intake documentation Nutrition fails the moment staffing fails. And staffing has failed across the country. ⸻ ⭐ One Kitchen Serving Multiple Units: The Mass-Production Problem Many facilities rely on a single kitchen to serve: • independent living • assisted living • long-term care • dementia units This leads to: • meals cooked in bulk hours before serving • long delays between preparation and delivery • temperature loss • texture breakdown • rushed plating • drastic quality decline • shortcuts taken to meet schedules This is not efficiency. It is cost-cutting disguised as logistics. ⸻ ⭐ Religious and Cultural Food Needs Ignored Food is deeply tied to identity — cultural, spiritual, emotional. Yet residents often receive: • meals incompatible with their religion • rare meat when fully cooked is required • pork served to those who cannot consume it • no familiar cultural dishes • no alternatives when meals conflict with beliefs This erodes emotional well-being and dignity. That emotional suffering is later documented as existential distress — which now falls under MAiD eligibility. ⸻ ⭐ Malnutrition Is Rarely Documented — But Its Effects Are Everywhere Facilities often fail to: • track calories • track protein • monitor micronutrients • document weight loss accurately • report refusals correctly • detect dehydration early By the time anyone notices, the resident is already: • weak • depressed • frail • cognitively impaired • increasingly immobile • prone to falling • vulnerable to infections Families are then told the resident is “failing to thrive,” a phrase that hides the source: The system failed to feed them. ⸻ ⭐ Malnutrition Is One of the Fastest Routes Into Palliative Status Once residents become malnourished, decline accelerates dramatically. When that decline is documented as “irreversible,” the resident is reclassified as palliative. Once palliative? The doorway to MAiD opens. Not because the resident is naturally dying — but because preventable decline created eligibility. ⸻ ⭐ The Food Crisis Is Economic, Not Accidental Food is one of the most expensive components of LTC operations. When budgets shrink, facilities cut: • ingredient quality • kitchen staff • portion sizes • dietary options • variety • texture safety • culturally appropriate meals These are not “efficiencies.” They are reductions in survival. Residents experience them as deprivation and gradual starvation. ⸻ ⭐ Food Is Life — and the System Treats It as a Line Item If Canadian children were fed these meals, the country would be outraged. If inmates were fed this way, human rights advocates would intervene. But elderly Canadians — the people who built communities and paid taxes for decades — are fed whatever fits the budget. This is not merely a nutritional crisis. It is a moral failure. And it is one of the hidden engines driving residents toward: • decline • palliative classification • and ultimately, MAiD https://open.substack.com/pub/canadiancitizensjournal/p/part-5-the-nutrition-crisis-how-food

⭐ PART 4 — The Human Reality: Stories From Inside the Collapse What Workers Saw, What Families Never Knew, and What the System Refuses to Admit By Canadian Citizens Journal ⸻ ⭐ Why Stories Matter Statistics reveal trends. Policies explain systems. Budgets show priorities. But stories reveal truth. Inside long-term care, the collapse is not theoretical. It is not academic. It is not distant. It is lived, breathed, endured, and witnessed by real people — residents and workers whose experiences rarely make it into reports or government briefings. This chapter shares their stories — safely, anonymously, truthfully. These are not accusations. They are reminders of what is at stake when a care system fails. ⸻ ⭐ Story 1 — The Blind Woman Who Trusted Us One resident in our facility was completely blind, yet she moved through her environment with stunning independence. She knew the layout by touch and memory — every hallway, every turn, every grip bar. Staff admired her strength and the dignity she carried. During the lockdowns, when families were barred from entering the building, she wrote a note to the PSWs, thanking us for “keeping them safe.” It was a message of trust, gratitude, and hope — written during one of the darkest times residents had ever faced. We tried to protect them. We tried to uphold that trust. But later, when mandatory medical procedures were rolled out across long-term care, we were not able to shield residents from decisions made above us. Not long after, this same woman — who had navigated the building with confidence for years — suffered a sudden and severe fall. She passed away shortly after. Her death broke the hearts of the staff who knew her. She survived blindness, isolation, and lockdowns… But she could not survive a system that failed her when she needed it most. Her story sets the tone for everything that follows. ⸻ ⭐ Story 2 — “He Was Always Cold” One male resident complained daily about being cold. He was elderly. His skin was thin and prone to tearing. He was on blood thinners, like many LTC residents. But the heat in the building was placed on timers for “energy efficiency.” Residents woke up freezing in the early mornings, shivering under blankets they paid for but couldn’t control. Staff were instructed to say the system “would warm up soon.” But “soon” is meaningless when you are 90 years old and shaking. Cold accelerates decline in seniors: • poor circulation • increased pain • decreased mobility • higher fall risk • emotional distress His suffering was not medical — it was environmental. But environmental suffering becomes medical decline. And medical decline becomes eligibility. ⸻ ⭐ Story 3 — The Resident Who Stopped Eating She wasn’t refusing food. She physically could not eat it. Workers saw it daily: • meat too tough to chew • food undercooked or bloody • meals not cut properly • textures unsafe for dysphagia • plates of “slop” that no elder would want • nutritional standards ignored • rushed feeding because of understaffing Residents pay thousands per month, yet are given meals that harm them: • choking risks • dehydration • weight loss • fatigue • depression • accelerated decline Malnutrition is one of the silent engines of LTC suffering. It is a driver of decline. Decline becomes palliative classification. Palliative classification becomes MAiD eligibility. This resident slowly deteriorated — not from disease, but from unaddressed nutritional needs. ⸻ ⭐ Story 4 — The Woman Who Nearly Jumped Out the Window One resident with progressive dementia reached a breaking point. Staff later said she seemed terrified, confused, and overwhelmed. She attempted to jump out a window. The only reason she didn’t succeed was timing — a worker was nearby and managed to intervene. After that, windows were modified so they couldn’t open fully. But modifying windows doesn’t address the underlying cause: Residents reaching levels of despair that lead to self-harm. In a properly supported system, this would trigger: • psychiatric assessment • trauma-informed care • crisis intervention • family involvement • medication review • hourly monitoring Instead, understaffed workers were expected to “keep an eye on her” while caring for dozens of other residents. Her emotional suffering was real. Her environment amplified it. And emotional suffering — if labeled “intolerable” — is now considered part of MAiD eligibility. ⸻ ⭐ Story 5 — When Assisted Living Became Long-Term Care Overnight Assisted living is supposed to be for: • people who can walk • people who can transfer safely • people with mild cognitive decline • people who need support, not full care But the system quietly changed. Workers were suddenly expected to care for residents who: • couldn’t stand • couldn’t transfer • required two-person lifts • wandered unsafely • had severe dementia • needed constant supervision When staff questioned it? They were told: “Do it or you won’t be working here.” This wasn’t training. This wasn’t staffing. This was downloading long-term care onto buildings not designed for it. Residents suffered because their needs exceeded the environment. Workers suffered because their workloads became impossible. And the system benefited because it hid the depth of the collapse. ⸻ ⭐ Story 6 — The PSW Covering Two Buildings Alone There were nights when a single PSW was responsible for: • two floors in one building • and rounds in another • plus emergencies • plus behaviours • plus call bells • plus residents needing supervision This was not exceptional — it became normal. When staff raised concerns that this was unsafe? Management responded with pressure: • “We’re short staffed.” • “We need you.” • “You can’t call in sick.” • “If you refuse, we’ll deal with it.” Workers went home injured. Workers went home crying. Workers burned out. The system didn’t break them by accident. It required them to break in order to function. ⸻ ⭐ Story 7 — The Resident Who Said, “I Don’t Want to Be Here Anymore” One resident expressed despair almost daily: “I’m tired.” “I can’t do this.” “I feel like a burden.” “No one has time for me.” “What’s the point of living like this?” None of these statements were caused by disease. Every one was caused by environment: • understaffing • lack of stimulation • slow response times • loneliness • discomfort • unsafe care conditions This is suffering created by a system — not by nature. And suffering created by a system can still qualify someone for MAiD. That is the heart of this exposé. ⸻ ⭐ Why These Stories Matter These stories reveal a truth Canada has refused to confront: When a system produces suffering, that suffering becomes the justification for assisted death. The residents in these stories weren’t asking for MAiD. They were asking for: • warmth • food they could eat • proper care • safety • emotional connection • stability • human dignity • enough staff to keep them alive When those needs aren’t met, suffering deepens. When suffering deepens, eligibility grows. When eligibility grows, MAiD becomes an option. These are not isolated incidents. They are symptoms of a pipeline. https://open.substack.com/pub/canadiancitizensjournal/p/part-4-the-human-reality-stories

⭐ PART 3 — The Long-Term Care Collapse How a System Designed for Safety Became a System That Produces Suffering By Canadian Citizens Journal ⸻ ⭐ The Collapse Was Not Sudden — It Was Engineered Over Time Long-term care in Canada was never perfect, but it was functional. Families believed their loved ones would receive support, safety, food, cleanliness, and human dignity. Workers believed they were entering a field built on compassion. That system no longer exists. What remains today is a crisis that did not arrive overnight. It emerged from: • years of policy erosion • staff shortages • cost-cutting • regulatory neglect • declining infrastructure • and the increasing expectation that under-resourced workers should perform impossible tasks under impossible conditions The long-term care collapse is not a failure of individual workers. It is a systemic failure — one that now directly intersects with MAiD. ⸻ ⭐ The Collapse Began Long Before the Public Noticed For years, public officials framed LTC problems as “unexpected” or “pandemic-related.” The truth? Every structural weakness was there long before 2020: • chronic understaffing • inadequate training • low wages that pushed workers out • reliance on part-time staff • unsafe worker-to-resident ratios • aging, deteriorating buildings • provincial budget restrictions • increasing pressure on workers to perform unpaid tasks • arrival of residents with higher and higher needs These conditions were not new. They were ignored until they became impossible to hide. ⸻ ⭐ The Turning Point: Higher Needs, Lower Support A silent shift took place across Canada: LTC homes began receiving residents with far more complex needs than the facilities were designed to manage. Homes built for “moderate care” suddenly had residents with: • advanced dementia • severe cognitive decline • unpredictable behaviours • total dependence for mobility • palliative-level needs • complex medical conditions • inability to weight-bear safely Workers everywhere reported the same thing: Resident acuity skyrocketed — staffing did not. Families were never informed that these homes were now functioning as de facto hospitals without hospital staffing. ⸻ ⭐ When Assisted-Living Quietly Became Pseudo-LTC A second failure grew in parallel: Assisted-living was transformed into long-term care by stealth. Across Canada, workers were instructed to accept residents who clearly required full nursing-home support. Staff reported: • residents unable to stand or transfer • residents requiring two-person lifts in buildings not equipped for it • residents with severe dementia wandering or unsafe • residents with behavioural outbursts • residents needing constant supervision in units never designed for it When staff objected? They were told: “You don’t have a choice. If you refuse, you won’t be working here.” This was never part of the original job description. It was a restructuring done quietly — without public awareness. And it placed LTC-level residents into environments incapable of meeting LTC needs. ⸻ ⭐ Environmental Decline: Buildings Working Against Residents The collapse is not just medical — it is environmental. Across LTC facilities, residents experience: • rooms kept cold due to energy-saving timers • inconsistent heat • poor ventilation • broken equipment left unfixed • cracked floors and fall hazards • bathrooms unsafe for mobility • dim lighting • noise disturbances • overcrowded dining areas • shared bathrooms with hygiene risks These conditions accelerate decline — creating suffering that looks “medical,” but is actually structural. ⸻ ⭐ Food and Nutrition: The Silent Crisis Nobody Talks About One of the most overlooked components of LTC collapse is the quality of food. Workers consistently report: • meals residents cannot chew • food undercooked or unsafe • overly tough meats • insufficient portions • improperly prepared dysphagia textures • lack of nutrition • rushed feeding due to staffing shortages • dehydration risks • residents refusing meals because they are unappealing Residents pay thousands monthly for meals they often cannot eat. Malnutrition becomes normalized. It is rarely documented properly. Families never see the internal numbers. And malnutrition is a major driver of decline — including “eligibility” for palliative pathways and MAiD. ⸻ ⭐ Medical Decline Accelerated by System Failure After 2021, workers across many facilities noticed a sharp increase in: • mobility loss • cognitive decline • balance issues • infections • poor recovery from illness • emotional deterioration At the same time, LTC was stretched beyond capacity — creating a perfect storm: More decline + Less support = More suffering No national review was launched. No public explanation was provided. ⸻ ⭐ Staffing Breakdown: A System That Breaks Its Workers The collapse is clearest through the experiences of workers. Across Canada, LTC staff report: • being assigned unmanageable workloads • covering multiple floors or buildings • working injured or sick under pressure • being denied adequate time for proper care • crying in bathrooms or parking lots • being punished for speaking out • being threatened with job loss • experiencing burnout and physical injuries Some facilities run with: ⭐ One worker responsible for an entire floor — or more. This is not care. It is triage. ⸻ ⭐ How the Collapse Creates “Eligibility” for MAiD When suffering is caused by: • poor nutrition • unsafe environments • untreated pain • preventable infections • cold rooms • lack of mobility support • emotional despair • social isolation • rushed or incomplete care • under-staffing the system eventually classifies that suffering as: “Grievous and irremediable.” The suffering becomes the qualification. Even though the system itself created it. ⸻ ⭐ The Collapse Is Not Just a Crisis — It Is a Pipeline Canada’s long-term care collapse directly feeds into MAiD eligibility. The suffering produced by institutional decline now looks identical to the suffering used to justify assisted death. This is what families always suspected. This is what workers have whispered about in break rooms for years. It is not an accident. It is structural. It is the pipeline. https://open.substack.com/pub/canadiancitizensjournal/p/part-3-the-long-term-care-collapse

⭐ PART 2 — The MAiD Expansion: How Eligibility Quietly Grew The Hidden Shift Most Canadians Never Saw Coming By Canadian Citizens Journal ⸻ They Promised Safeguards. What We Got Was Expansion. When MAiD (Medical Assistance in Dying) was first introduced in 2016, Canadians were reassured it would remain: • tightly controlled • restricted to end-of-life cases • limited to people already dying • protected by strong safeguards That promise did not last. Since 2016, MAiD has expanded faster — and more quietly — than almost any assisted-death framework in the world. What began as a “rare last resort” has evolved into a system now available to: • people who are not dying • people with chronic illness • people with disabilities • people suffering due to social or environmental conditions • and nearly to those with mental illness (delayed, not cancelled) The public never voted on these expansions. They were introduced through: • legislative amendments • regulatory changes • judicial rulings • and policy shifts buried in government documents This chapter explains how that expansion happened — and why it matters. ⸻ ⭐ Phase 1 (2016): “Reasonably Foreseeable Death” Under Bill C-14, MAiD required: • a terminal condition • a “reasonably foreseeable” natural death • persistent, unbearable suffering • voluntary, informed consent Canadians were promised strict limits. Those limits lasted four years. ⸻ ⭐ Phase 2 (2021): MAiD for People Who Are NOT Dying In 2021, Bill C-7 removed the key safeguard. The requirement that someone be “near death” was eliminated. With one legislative change, MAiD eligibility now included: • long-term disabilities • chronic pain • lifelong medical conditions • conditions that will not cause death • suffering that may be influenced by care conditions, not disease This created the most profound shift: MAiD became available for people whose suffering comes from systemic failure — not terminal illness. For long-term care residents living in deteriorating environments, this change opened the door to a dangerous overlap between institutional neglect and MAiD eligibility. ⸻ ⭐ Phase 3 — Disability-Based MAiD MAiD reports show a significant rise in requests from: • disabled Canadians • people struggling financially • people unable to access adequate care or housing • individuals suffering from social, environmental, or structural causes MAiD was never meant to replace support services. Yet for many, it is presented as the only available “solution.” ⸻ ⭐ Phase 4 — MAiD for Mental Illness (Delayed, Not Cancelled) The government delayed mental illness MAiD multiple times. But the legislation remains in place, with a new start date set for 2027. If implemented, Canada would have one of the broadest mental-health MAiD frameworks in the world. Many psychiatrists warned: “People may turn to MAiD because they lack resources, not because they lack hope.” ⸻ ⭐ Phase 5 — Advance Requests: The Next Planned Expansion National studies, expert panel reports, and palliative/MAiD integration documents reveal the next step: ➤ Advance Requests for MAiD — including for dementia. This would allow: • requests made while the person still has capacity • MAiD to be carried out later • even if the person no longer understands • even if they resist • even if their wishes appear changed This is one of the most controversial expansions in the history of Canadian healthcare. ⸻ ⭐ Phase 6 — The Economic Factor Behind the Expansion Economic modeling published in policy papers estimated that MAiD expansion could reduce healthcare spending by tens of millions annually — and up to $1.2 billion by 2047 due to: • fewer long-term care costs • reduced disability payments • fewer hospitalizations • reduced need for continuing care services No one needs to speculate. These figures were calculated and published. Systems follow incentives — especially financial ones. ⸻ ⭐ Phase 7 — What Frontline Staff Observed After 2021 Across long-term care homes in Canada, workers began noticing: • faster decline in residents • worsening mobility • more infections • increased palliative classifications • more MAiD inquiries • greater emotional deterioration At the same time, Canada experienced a historic rise in excess mortality, which has not yet been fully explained by federal authorities. No causal claims are made here — only the documented pattern: Residents began deteriorating faster, while the systems meant to support them weakened even more. This matters because MAiD eligibility is built entirely on suffering — and suffering increased dramatically after 2021. ⸻ ⭐ Phase 8 — Forced Transitions Inside Care Homes During this period, many facilities began: ➤ pushing residents with high needs into Assisted Living, even when their: • cognitive decline • mobility loss • behavioural changes • inability to weight-bear • dementia progression …made Assisted Living completely inappropriate. Staff repeatedly raised concerns: “These residents are beyond our scope of care.” The response? “We don’t have a choice. You’ll do it or you won’t be working here.” This was not part of original hiring expectations. Worker safety declined. Resident safety declined. Proper LTC criteria were ignored. And significantly: Residents who previously would have been placed in nursing care were now suffering inside a level of care not designed for them. This forced mismatch led to: • preventable injuries • behavioural crises • falls • worsening depression • accelerated decline And ultimately: ➤ more residents becoming eligible for palliative classification and MAiD. This systemic trend is directly relevant to the MAiD pipeline. ⸻ ⭐ Why the Expansion Matters for Long-Term Care Residents With MAiD now available even when death is not near, residents living in deteriorating environments increasingly meet MAiD criteria because of: • unmet care needs • untreated suffering • emotional despair • poor nutrition • freezing rooms • understaffing • loneliness • lack of proper placement • institutional conditions • early cognitive decline • depression This is the core issue: MAiD is being offered in a system where suffering is often created by the institution — not the illness. ⸻ ⭐ The Expansion Was Not an Accident — It Was a Funnel Eligibility widened at the same time: • LTC conditions worsened • staffing collapsed • costs increased • palliative care merged with MAiD pathways • social suffering was reclassified as “medical suffering” This is the foundation of the exposé. Part 3 begins the next chapter: what residents actually experience inside Canada’s long-term care homes. https://open.substack.com/pub/canadiancitizensjournal/p/part-2-the-maid-expansion-how-eligibility

⭐ PART 1 — What Canadians Aren’t Being Told The Opening Chapter of the MAiD/LTC Exposé By Tisha LeBreton — Canadian Citizens Journal ⸻ The Truth No One Has Been Willing to Say Out Loud Canada now allows more pathways to medically assisted death (MAiD) than almost any nation in the world. What began as a narrow option for those facing terminal illness has quietly expanded into a sprawling system that now includes chronic illness, disability, social suffering, and — if the government follows its previously stated plans — mental health conditions. Yet the public conversation always focuses on “individual choice,” “dignity,” and “autonomy.” What we are not hearing is the truth that millions of Canadians deserve to know: Suffering inside our long-term care system is not happening because people are suddenly “too sick to live.” It’s happening because a collapsing care system is creating the very suffering that then qualifies them for MAiD. This exposé exists because Canadians have been shielded from the reality experienced daily by the elderly, disabled, chronically ill, and long-term care residents — the very people who have been quietly pushed toward MAiD under the illusion of “choice.” This is not an accusation against any single facility or worker. Frontline staff in these homes are doing everything they can under impossible conditions. This exposé is about the system — the structure, the policies, the economics, the neglect, and the slow but unmistakable shift from caring for the vulnerable to managing the cost of the vulnerable. ⸻ The Public Was Never Told About What Happened After 2021 This must be said early, and it must be said carefully: ✔ After 2021, long-term care workers across Canada reported a sudden, unexplained acceleration in the decline of residents’ physical and cognitive health. ✔ During this same period, Canada experienced a historic rise in excess mortality — deaths higher than pre-2020 levels, not explained by Covid. ✔ Seniors, the medically fragile, and long-term care residents were among the hardest hit. We will not make causal claims. We will not speculate about medical reasons. We do not need to. The fact is simple and safe: Residents began deteriorating at rates staff had never seen before — faster mobility loss, faster cognitive decline, more infections, more palliative classifications, and more conversations about MAiD. The public was never given a clear explanation for this shift. The government did not investigate the pattern in any meaningful way. The excess deaths were largely ignored. But inside long-term care, what workers saw daily was unmistakable: People were getting sicker, faster. And the system was less able than ever to care for them. This is where the real story begins. ⸻ What MAiD Was Supposed to Be — and What It Has Become When MAiD was introduced, Canadians were promised: • strict safeguards • narrow eligibility • protections for the vulnerable • assurances that MAiD would never replace proper care None of those assurances survived contact with political reality. The eligibility has expanded year after year. The “safeguards” have melted away. The vulnerable are now the majority of MAiD recipients. And the line between medical need and system-created suffering has blurred so badly that even health professionals are sounding the alarm. Not because MAiD exists — but because the conditions driving people toward MAiD are often not medical at all. They are structural. They are economic. They are environmental. They are administrative. They are political. And above all: They are preventable. ⸻ Why This Exposé Matters Most Canadians believe MAiD is offered only when someone is truly at the end — when suffering is purely medical and impossible to relieve. But that is not what frontline workers, families, volunteers, and residents themselves report. Across long-term care facilities in Canada: • residents go cold in rooms where heat is restricted • elderly people refuse meals they cannot chew • pain worsens due to rushed staff and understaffing • loneliness deepens as staff cover multiple buildings • infections spread when workers are pressured to work sick • emotional suffering becomes unbearable • buildings deteriorate faster than budgets And then, in the middle of this decline: MAiD is presented as an option. Not because the person’s medical condition suddenly became hopeless — but because their environment, their support, and their care system became hopeless. This exposé will not point fingers at individual workers. It will show what the system is doing to both staff and residents. Because staff are injured. Staff are overworked. Staff are crying in parking lots. Staff are pressured to return when unwell. Staff are forced to choose between unsafe work or losing their jobs. Staff are carrying the weight of residents’ despair. This exposé exists to show Canadians the full picture — not the sanitized one. ⸻ This Is Part 1 of a 12-Part Series Each chapter will break open another layer of the pipeline: 1. The MAiD Expansion 2. LTC Collapse 3. The Nutrition Crisis 4. Staffing Breakdown 5. Volunteer Dependence 6. Inspection Cover-Up 7. Palliative Care Hijack 8. Post-2021 Decline (safe wording) 9. Emotional Suffering 10. How Decline Becomes Eligibility 11. The Economics of MAiD 12. The Call to Action Canada has been waiting for For the first time, Canadians will see what frontline workers have been seeing all along. And the truth is simple: If suffering is created by the system, MAiD is not a choice — it is surrender. https://open.substack.com/pub/canadiancitizensjournal/p/part-1-what-canadians-arent-being

Canada is standing at a turning point — and the mainstream media is pretending not to see it. This 5-part series exposes the truth about Bill C-9, the Liberal government’s desperate rush to criminalize dissent, silence criticism, and control public speech before the next election. These aren’t opinions. These are receipts, testimony, legal documents, and patterns the government hoped you would never connect. This is the full picture — the one they’re terrified of. ⸻ PART 1 — What Bill C-9 REALLY Does (In Plain English) Bill C-9 is not an “anti-hate” bill. It’s a speech-control bill. It criminalizes online opinion, allows pre-crime policing, expands government surveillance, and lets judges impose internet bans, peace bonds, and fines without a criminal conviction. It is the biggest threat to free expression in Canadian history. ⸻ PART 2 — Why the Liberals Are Panicking & Rushing It Through This bill is being forced through because the government is collapsing: Ukraine corruption is exploding, Freeland was in Kyiv days before raids, Yermak (Canada’s main Ukraine link) is under investigation, and Trudeau’s polls are tanking. They need to silence public conversation before the truth spreads too far. ⸻ PART 3 — The 10 Most Dangerous Parts of Bill C-9 (With Receipts) Life sentences for “aggravated hate.” Anonymous reporting. Pre-crime restrictions. Digital surveillance expansion. Internet bans. Huge fines without due process. Redefinition of “hate” so broad it can include political dissent. Witnesses blocked in committee because the government knew experts would expose the bill. All documented. All real. ⸻ PART 4 — How C-9 Connects to Ukraine, Corruption, Censorship & Collapse Authoritarian governments always start the same way: First they criminalize speech, then they control the narrative, then they silence critics, and finally they restrict movement and money. C-9 sits at the centre of: • Ukraine corruption revelations • Freeland and Carney influence networks • WEF-aligned agendas • collapsing Liberal legitimacy • and a government terrified of accountability This isn’t one story — it’s all one pattern. ⸻ PART 5 — The Final Warning: What Happens If Bill C-9 Passes If C-9 becomes law, Canada enters Stage 4 of authoritarian drift: • Speech control • Digital surveillance • Pre-crime policing • Restrictions on movement • Internet bans • Criminalization of dissent during elections • Government control of public conversation Freedom doesn’t disappear in one day. It dies in stages. This bill is the point of no return. ⸻ ⭐ The 8 Stages of Authoritarianism (Where Canada Is Now) Every country that loses its freedom follows the same path. The Canada of today is already in: ✔ Stage 2 — Criminalizing speech ✔ Stage 3 — Expanding surveillance ✔ Entering Stage 4 — Policing dissent If C-9 passes, the door to Stage 5 opens: movement and financial control. This series shows the full roadmap of how democracies fall from the inside — and how Canada is dangerously close. ⸻ 📌 WHY THIS MATTERS Because free countries don’t fall overnight. They fall quietly. Law by law. Bill by bill. Emergency by emergency. Until one day the people realize the price of silence. Bill C-9 is that warning. This is the moment Canadians must choose: Speak now — or lose the right to speak at all. ⸻ 📢 If you care about Canada, share this everywhere. This series is your weapon. Your shield. Your wake-up call. And the one thing the government hoped you’d never see all together. ⸻ If you want, I can also ✔ A single unified thumbnail title ✔ A Grok image prompt for a master cover art ✔ A shorter description for Rumble ✔ A Substack intro paragraph summarizing the whole series