Canada's euthanasia system is riddled with shocking errors which make a mockery of the so-called 'safeguards' against abuse. Over 350 reporting errors and “compliance concerns” for euthanasia and assisted suicide in British Columbia in 2024 required practitioners to receive “education” on the criminal law and professional standards regarding the administration of death, raising serious safety concerns.
The data, contained within a confidential annual report prepared by the official MAID [Medical Assistance in Dying] Oversight Unit of British Columbia’s Ministry of Health and obtained by a freedom of information request, revealed of the almost 4,200 people who ended their lives by euthanasia or assisted suicide in B.C. in 2024, over half (51.9%) required follow-up by the oversight unit, “with a total of 2,807 errors across those cases”.
353 of these errors – 12.5% – were severe enough to warrant practitioners and pharmacists receiving additional “education” over concerns about compliance with legal requirements and professional standards.
TThe Ministry of Health said that such errors only amounted to “a deviation from a mandated MAID process that, on its own, has a limited impact on the integrity of the assessment”.
Some of the most common errors consisted of practitioners not reviewing the relationship between the person who requested euthanasia or assisted suicide and the person who acted as their witness to the request.
There were also errors so serious that they had “a significant impact on the integrity of the MAID process, appropriateness of care, and/or public safety”. These cases subsequently required a formal notice to the practitioner from the director of MAID, in addition to referrals to regulatory colleges and/or referrals to law enforcement.