Coming soon 'Bill C7'
Jane Shi
In a 10-word poem entitled ‘Bill C7: An Overview of Available Help’, Jane Shi responds critically to the extension of Canada’s medical assistance in dying regime to include people whose death is not reasonably foreseeable, but who nevertheless have a serious medical condition.
‘This is Assisted Dying: A Doctor’s Story of Empowering Patients at the End of Life’ by Stefanie…
Stefanie Green, MD
In this memoir, Dr. Stefanie Green chronicles her first year providing medical assistance in dying (MAID) immediately following the procedure’s legalization in 2016. Dr. Green is one of Canada’s leading MAID providers and is the founding president of the Canadian Association of MAID Assessors and Providers.
'Audrey Parker’s last message to Canadians' by Audrey Parker
Audrey Parker
In this video statement, Audrey Parker appeals to Canadians to have the MAID laws in place in 2018 changed. Parker felt that she was obliged to receive MAID earlier than necessary due to her fear that she would lose the ability to provide late-stage consent, one of the law’s original stipulations. Audrey’s Amendment was introduced in 2021 eliminating the requirement of late-stage consent.
'Better Off Dead?' by Liz Carr and James Routh
Liz Carr (writer/presenter), James Routh (director)
This BBC documentary follows actor and disability campaigner Liz Carr as she explores reasons why assisted dying, which she calls assisted suicide, should not be legalised in the UK. It is unusual both for constituting a mainstream programme that openly opposes legalisation of assisted dying, and for doing so using humour.
'Exit' by Benjamin Kempf
Benjamin Kempf (director) and Jann Preuss (writer)
Erika who suffers from cancer and her healthy husband Ruedi wish to die together by assisted suicide. When the lethal drug is ready, Ruedi is overcome with doubt, and the two argue. Ruedi ultimately drinks the deadly substance as well and lies down in bed with his wife. This short film, the first to explore double suicide in organised assisted suicide in Switzerland, is highly ambivalent.
'Is it too easy to die in Canada?' by The Fifth Estate
The Fifth Estate (CBC News), Gillian Findlay
This documentary explores medical assistance in dying (MAID) in Canada as Parliament prepares to remove the exclusion in the law that does not allow people to access MAID if their sole criteria for access is a mental illness. The documentary takes a critical stance, introducing viewers to instances where MAID was seemingly approved for non-medical reasons or in reaction to mental health crises.