Damn, I'd missed this conversation til now.
Very brief bit on the MAiD / VAC thing- several of you know my interest in mental health and that I did some minor work in that realm and with VAC a few years back. I have zero belief that this foulup in any reflected anything deliberate or even wilful on the part of the department. I think this was one worker who went rogue and needs to be very seriously sorted out. I'm not naive enough to think that they'll successfully fire a public servant for this, but this is a
major performance issue.
That said- and now you get to indulge my law nerd side; I did a course that focused on the evolution of the law of MAiD just earlier this summer - MAiD is a process that isn't a quick an easy thing to commit to. Two physicians/nurse practitioners have to sign off on a request and must be confident as to the patient's competence and voluntariness. As of yet, MAiD is not available for purely psychiatric disorders; e.g., someone with treatment resistance depression whose suffering is unbearable and whose condition is irremediable. We may see that change next year, but at present there needs to be a grievous and irremediable physical health condition. Anyone potentially looking at MAiD will be considering opting in to a system that has quite a number of checks and balances. It is not a flawless system, but it's also not one where some VAC worker or social worker or whatnot will in any way be able to effect the administration of medically assisted death. IMHO, anyone in such a social services role needs to, as part of their standard of practice, NOT bring it up. That should be a conversation only with those medical practitioners (MDs, NPs)who are qualified to sign off on the process.
Elder care: Tough one; we see different values in different families and cultures. Some people will be brought up with an absolute filial duty to parents. We see a lot of that in Asian cultures as a cultural norm. Among European cultures it seems more hit or miss. I've been overall pretty lucky- some fractured family relationships earlier on, but I'm on good terms with my dad - 35 year CAF pension, so he's good - and excellent terms with my mom. She went through very hard times early in life and into adulthood; crashed hard with mental health issues when I was a young adult, doing much better now, but economically she and my stepdad are completely dependent on his provincial disability (she's mostly a caregiver), and he's got at best a year left with cancer. She rarely worked and won't have any meaningful CPP even when she hits 65. I'm trying to wrap my ahead around OAS/GIS survivor benefits once he passes, but her financial outlook, independently, is grim. If, hypothetically, she was truly 'on her own', she'd be in a really bad spot. As it is she has a good roof over her head in a safe neighbourhood and groceries to her door whenever she needs them because of her relationship with me and the economic success I've had. I've determined that I'll look after her, and my wife is very much on side (and largely responsible for us being able to provide that roof).
But that's where our system is at. People are living longer, and many don't have strong pensions, assets, or savings that allow them security into old age. Those who don't are basically hoping that A) they have kids with the means to help them and B) their kids are willing to help them. Poor relationships mean many will not be able to depend on that.
I think something that many have overlooked here is the medical care. No everyone is equipped to look after an elderly parent who requires special care. My mother was paralyzed on one side after a series of mini-strokes. None of us could have looked after her properly.
Yup, and then on top of it all, there's this. An elderly parent who is oriented, capable, and self-propelled is one thing. Anyone who's dependent on continuous care is going to be another matter entirely. Which, interestingly, brings us back to MAiD. Some of the research out of jurisdictions that have had it longer have found that this feeling of not contributing, and of being a burden on family is definitely correlated with higher MAiD access, particularly among women. There's hypothesis that this may correlate with expectations traditionally placed on women that they be the caregivers, not the care-consumers. More generally, MAiD may be accessible to those whose medical conditions are bad enough to qualify, but whose primary motivation may actually still be simply feeling useless, burdensome, or hopeless.
Some interesting data and breakdowns on MAiD in Canada from 2021 here. There were over 10,000 assisted deaths last year.
More Canadians are ending their lives with a medically-assisted death, says the third federal annual report on medical assistance in dying (MAID). Data shows that 10,064 people died in 2021 with medical aid, an increase of 32 per cent over 2020.
www.ctvnews.ca
