Late last month, the Vital Statistics Council for Canada released new data about the country’s 2022 death rate, citing cancer, heart disease, and COVID-19 as the leading causes of death. Conspicuously absent was the number of Canadians killed under their country’s “Medical Assistance in Dying” program, which was 13,241 deaths last year. 

When the public noticed the omission, Canadian officials clarified: MAiD deaths are officially attributed to whatever ailment the person cited as the reason for their suicide. Given how expansive MAiD has become, that means there will be deaths attributed to autism, anxiety, and other non-fatal conditions. 

Not only will this hide the skyrocketing numbers of people in Canada dying by state-assistance, it will distort the data public health officials need to track diseases and health trends. Worst of all, it sends the message that disabilities, mental illness, and suffering in general can be as fatal as cancer if we’re not strong enough to handle them.  

That is, like this “official report,” a lie.

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