A group of Canadians are suing for the right to die
Medically assisted death, legalized in Canada in 2016 for people whose deaths are imminent, was speedily adopted into our society. Since the law came into effect, over 60,000 Canadians have chosen to end their lives deliberately under medical supervision. I personally know several people who have chosen MAID, mostly the parents of my contemporaries, who were in the final stages of excruciating terminal illnesses and were relieved to be able to control how and when they exited the world.
MAID laws are still unpopular with some ethicists, who worry that marginalized people with expensive medical needs will be encouraged to die to relieve burdens on the health-care system. It’s also opposed by some religions that forbid shortening life under any circumstances. But generally we have, as a country, welcomed MAID as an option worth having.
There is no such consensus about MAID for people who suffer from incurable mental illness. Canada was on track to offer MAID to people with mental illness in March of 2023. But it couldn’t agree on the guidelines and guardrails, and so MAID for mental illness was put on hold for a year. Then it paused again for a few more years to allow for more debate. The expansion of MAID is now set to come into effect in 2027.
Last summer, a 48-year-old woman named Claire Brosseau along with the lobby group Dying With Dignity Canada launched a constitutional challenge, arguing that withholding MAID from the mentally ill violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Writer Luc Rinaldi explores the complex legal and ethical issues at stake in a fascinating feature story in the new issue of Maclean’s—and paints a sympathetic portrait of Brosseau, who is desperate to die on her own terms. Brousseau also spoke to us for this YouTube video. Visit macleans.ca for more coverage of everything that matters in Canada, and subscribe to the magazine here. —Sarah Fulford, editor-in-chief |
As Trump’s tariffs loom, Graham Palmateer has cut California tomatoes and Coca-Cola from the menu of his west-end Toronto spot, Gram’s Pizza. “I decided to use the little power I have, the power of my dollar, to vote against the political actions of the United States,” he writes in this essay for Maclean’s. But figuring out supply chains is tricky—and he’s been forced to accept that a complete divorce from American goods isn’t yet possible. |
This month, Dylan Lobo, a 22-year-old digital media consultant in Toronto, quickly found himself swept up into a national movement. He runs Made in CA, an online directory of hundreds of Canadian companies selling products made north of the border; and, after Trump’s inauguration, traffic exceeded 200,000 hits in less than three weeks. Here, Lobo speaks to Maclean’sabout how Made in CA is helping Canadians fight back with their wallets. |
Buy one of these 100% made-in-Canada tote bags for just $25 each and you’ll be supporting the independent Canadian journalism Maclean’s has been doing for 120 years. |
As America abandons a rules-based order, countries must work together to defend global peace, says Stuart Prest, a lecturer in political science at the University of British Columbia. “Global hegemons who develop territorial aspirations ultimately, always, trigger a balancing coalition against them,” writes Prest in this essay for Maclean’s. Prest thinks Canada is uniquely positioned to lead the effort—and that doing so is in our best interest. |
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