TORONTO, April 18,
2024 /CNW/ - A new national survey conducted by Ipsos
on behalf of Dying With Dignity Canada (DWDC) demonstrates that 84
per cent of people across Canada
continue to support the original Carter v. Canada decision
that introduced Canada's assisted
dying legislation. These results are significant because despite
the alarmist and misleading information perpetrated about medical
assistance in dying over the past year, people across the country
can clearly distinguish between fact and fiction and the sensible
development of end-of-life clinical options which should be
available to persons who are suffering grievously and meet the
eligibility requirements for MAID.
The poll also shows strong support for advance requests for
MAID, a legislative change recommended by the Special Joint
Committee on MAID in their Final Report in February 2023. An advance request would allow an
individual to describe, in writing, a future circumstance in which
they would like to access an assisted death. This is sensible
reform to the Criminal Code that would strengthen
end-of-life choice for people across the country.
"My husband, Dave, was very clear about his wishes after his
Alzheimer's diagnosis at the age of 55. He established criteria
under which he no longer wanted to live; essentially an advance
request for MAID. Today, he is unable to walk, talk, or feed
himself - conditions that I know he did not want to live under. We
need to legalize advance requests for MAID so people like my
husband do not have to suffer and live under such intolerable
conditions at the end of their lives." explained Susan Archibald.
Eighty-three (83) per cent of people across Canada support advance requests for MAID for a
person with a diagnosis of a capacity-eroding, grievous and
irremediable medical condition, who will eventually lose the
ability to make decisions for themselves. Ninety-five (95) per cent
of those who say they personally suffer from a degenerative
neurocognitive condition support this choice.
"Over 16,000 people signed a petition this year in support of
advance requests for MAID. This is the issue that is not only
important to our supporters but to people across Canada. We speak to people every day who want
to be able to put in writing the circumstances in which they would
like an assisted death should they not be able to speak for
themselves. These are people who understand or have supported
someone through a condition such as dementia and who do not want to
experience the same suffering and loss of quality of life. People
want to know they have control and autonomy of their life and
death, and the lack of advance requests for MAID remains a barrier
to end-of-life choice for many," said Helen
Long, CEO of Dying With Dignity Canada.
The province of Quebec has
already passed a provincial law authorizing advance requests for
MAID and 43 per cent of people across the country say this
knowledge makes them more likely to support national legislation.
Quebec should be applauded for
their leadership on this issue and the federal government now needs
to follow suit to avoid disparity in health care across the
country.
More data and a further breakdown of poll results can be found
here.
A sample of 2,000 Canadians aged 18 years and over was
interviewed on the Ipsos I-Say Panel from March 15 – 20, 2024. Weighting was employed to
ensure that the sample's composition reflects the overall
population according to the latest census information.
Dying With Dignity Canada is the national human-rights charity
committed to improving quality of dying, protecting end-of-life
rights, and helping people across Canada avoid unwanted suffering.
SOURCE Dying With Dignity Canada Inc.