Les Landry, a Medicine Hat, Alberta resident who uses a wheelchair for mobility, told Bridge City News his life changed for the worse when he turned 65 because his disability benefits ended and retirement benefits, that pay far less, kicked in.
“The revenue I get is actually less than what I used to get,” he told the news program. "My expenses went up 300%.”
So the 65-year-old is now inquiring about Medical Aid in Dying, or MAID, because his future “looks bleak” under the new financial difficulties.
The news segment also featured Alex Schadenberg, an opponent of euthanasia who is often quoted for AFN stories. According to his own story about Landry’s situation, Schadenberg advised Bridge City News that Landry will likely qualify for doctor-assisted suicide. That is because a Canadian bill known as C-7 allows a person who is not facing a natural death to apply to be killed with a physician’s help.
And it appears Landry is ready to make that request. “Are you ready to die with the help of doctors?” a reporter directly asks Landry during the interview.
“Yes,” he replies. “As it sit here right now, yes.”
According to a related story from Schadenberg, Canada’s doctors and nurse practitioners reported 10,064 assisted deaths in 2021. That number jumped 32% from 2020 and represented 3% of all deaths in Canada in 2021.
Among men in Canada, suicide was listed as the eighth cause of death in 2021, behind deaths from flu and pneumonia and ahead of chronic liver disease.
Editor's Note: Photo at top from Bridge City News
