Canada’s Medical Assistance In Dying Program Is An Express Train To Hell
MAID eligibility is expected to expand on March 17, 2027, to allow medically assisted euthanasia for those who only suffer mental illness.
We were warned.
There’s been a great deal of media attention this week on the professional discipline meted out to a Canadian physician who dispensed Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) with what appears to have been an extraordinarily casual approach to the job. As the Toronto newspaper The Globe and Mail first reported, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario found that Dr. James MacLean medically assessed a Crohn’s Disease patient for euthanasia at a Tim Horton’s coffee shop, then later gave him a ride to the euthanasia facility. As the Globe and Mail also reported, “Dr. MacLean administered the lethal medications in a room at a holding facility in an industrial unit where cadavers are prepared for transport to funeral homes.”
A second complaint followed an at-home euthanasia procedure in which MacLean administered drugs to end a patient’s life, then pronounced the patient dead and left the home — returning to redo the procedure and pronounce death a second time after the patient started breathing again.
You can read MacLean’s disciplinary record here. To continue to provide MAID as a physician, he’ll be required to “practise under the guidance of a clinical supervisor or clinical supervisors … for at least six (6) months.” MacLean is also required to engage in “review, reflection, and discussion” with his clinical supervisor regarding the meaning of MAID guidelines, covering topics like “Maintaining Appropriate Boundaries.”
MacLean has repeatedly declined to comment on the charges or the disciplinary proceeding.
The website RateMD contains mixed reviews for MacLean, with many offering praise for his compassion and professional expertise. But another review describes him performing euthanasia procedures while wearing jeans and a “casual shirt,” with a nurse who was “wearing tight yoga pants and a tight t shirt.” (“The nurse stood there texting on her phone with a smile on her face as my son was dying. As soon as his heart stopped they couldn’t wait to get out.”)
Another review opens like this: “Dr. James MacLean may seem charming but so is Satan.” --->READ MORE HERE
Ontario man dies of MAID after being assessed outside Tim Hortons:
In a second case, the same doctor failed to administer one of three drugs used in assisted deaths and the patient resumed spontaneously breathing after being pronounced dead
A London, Ont., doctor who assessed a patient with inflammatory bowel disease and a history of mental health issues for MAID outside a Tim Hortons location and later personally drove the man to the place his life was ended has agreed to a minimum six months’ supervision.
In another case, Dr. James MacLean failed to administer one of three drugs used in assisted deaths — one that paralyzes the body’s muscles, including the muscles involved in breathing. The patient resumed spontaneously breathing again after initially being pronounced dead, and after MacLean had already left the home.
As first reported Monday by the The Globe and Mail, the doctor’s case is raising new concerns about MAID’s oversight and accountability.
“What is striking is not only the seriousness of the concerns identified in these cases, but the limited regulatory response,” said Dr. Ramona Coelho, a family physician and former member of the Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario’s MAID death review committee.
As part of an investigation by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) into two public complaints made against MacLean, an independent assessor appointed to review a number of MacLean’s charts concluded that he “did not meet the standard of practice of the profession, displayed a lack of judgment and that his conduct exposes or is likely to expose patients to harm or injury in five out of twenty charts reviewed,” according to a summary decision of the college’s inquiries, complaints and reports committee.
MacLean was called before the committee to be verbally “cautioned” with respect to the MAID complaints.
In addition to agreeing to mandatory clinical supervision for at least six months as part of an “undertaking” with the college, MacLean will undergo ongoing review of his MAID patient charts and mandatory professional education related to MAID, consent, documentation, professional boundaries and professional behaviour.
After six months, he’ll undergo an assessment of his practice, the results of which “may form the basis of further action by the College,” Laura Zilke, a CPSO spokesperson said in an email to National Post.
“The undertaking imposes extensive oversight and monitoring requirements on Dr. MacLean’s practice,” Zilke said.
“The college takes any complaints brought to our attention extremely seriously as part of our mandate to serve the public interest and ensure safe, ethical and competent medical care for all Ontarians.”
MacLean declined comment when contacted by National Post.
“Due to the rules regarding privacy and my professional responsibilities to the CPSO regarding confidentiality of complaint investigations, I am unable to respond to your questions,” he said in an email.
According to The Globe and Mail, one of the complaints concerns Thomas Dillon who suffered from Crohn’s disease and died, age 45, in January 2024.
The anonymized death of the St. Thomas man was also flagged by the Ontario coroner’s MAID death review committee. --->READ MORE HERE
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