When Death Is Easier to Access Than Care

When Death Is Easier to Access Than Care

Real Canadians — Real Lives

Canadians are told we have a compassionate healthcare system.
What we are not told is how often compassion now arrives in the form of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) — not because people are dying, but because they cannot get help to live.

This is not theoretical.
These are documented cases.

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Jolene Van Alstine — Saskatchewan

Jolene Van Alstine lives with a rare but treatable medical condition.
She was not seeking death.

She was seeking surgery.

Canadian doctors capable of performing the procedure exist, but Jolene was unable to find a surgeon taking new patients. After exhausting referrals, contacting MLAs, and reaching out through government channels, she was left in ongoing pain without access to care.

Jolene was accepted for MAiD.

Not because her condition was terminal — but because the healthcare system failed to treat her.

It took a private American citizen, Glenn Beck, to publicly ask whether any surgeon in the United States could help her. Within less than 24 hours, surgeons came forward willing to operate.

Care existed — just not in Canada.

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Sophia — Ontario

Sophia lived with multiple chemical sensitivities, a recognized disability.
Her condition required safe and accessible housing.

She could not find it.

Sophia publicly stated she did not want to die — she wanted a place where she could live safely. Instead of housing support, she was approved for MAiD.

Her case was so concerning it drew the attention of the United Nations, which warned that Canada’s MAiD regime risks pushing people with disabilities toward assisted death due to systemic neglect.

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Alan Nichols — British Columbia

Alan Nichols was approved for MAiD in 2019.

His primary condition was hearing loss.

His family later stated that he was not properly informed about available supports and that they were never notified of his MAiD approval.

Alan was not terminal.
He was vulnerable.

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Roger Foley — Ontario

Roger Foley lives with a chronic neurological condition.
While hospitalized, he recorded staff repeatedly raising MAiD as an option while discussing the cost of his care.

Roger wanted assistance to live independently.

What he was offered — again and again — was assistance to die.

He is alive today because he refused.

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Canadian Veterans — Nationwide

Multiple Canadian veterans reported being offered MAiD instead of support by Veterans Affairs Canada.

The government later confirmed this occurred and issued a public apology.

For some veterans, death was offered faster than care.

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The Pattern We Cannot Ignore

These people were not choosing death because they wanted to die.

They were choosing it because:
• Medical care was inaccessible
• Housing was unavailable
• Waitlists were endless
• Supports were denied or delayed

When death becomes easier to access than treatment, housing, or dignity, that is not compassion.

It is abandonment.

This is not a failure of individuals.
It is a failure of policy, priorities, and political will.

Canadians deserve a healthcare system that helps people live, not one that offers death as a solution to systemic neglect.

This is the Canadian Citizens Journal.

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Sources available upon request. Cases documented through Canadian media, disability advocacy organizations, Veterans Affairs records, and international human rights reporting.