Juno News - Canadian astronaut PRAISES Trump + more Conservative floor-crossers？!

00:00:00.000 Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen thanks President Trump on behalf of all Canadians.

00:00:10.560 He did so from as far away from the Earth as any human has ever been

00:00:14.280 as a member of the crew aboard the Artemis II lunar mission. Let's listen.

00:00:18.640 And while I have the microphone, sir, I just want to thank you on behalf of Canada.

00:00:23.660 The space leadership you spoke of from America truly is extraordinary. I've said this many

00:00:29.400 times before a nation that leads like that and then creates and sets big goals

00:00:34.920 for humanity that brings other countries along with it is is truly incredible and

00:00:39.520 I know that's a very intentional not a necessary decision intentional decision

00:00:43.840 to lead by example and to allow other countries like Canada to share our gifts

00:00:49.860 and help you achieve these mutually beneficial goals like establishing a

00:00:54.240 presence on the moon and eventually going to Mars and Canadians are so proud

00:00:58.380 to be a part of this program. Well, I have to say I spoke to a very special person, Wayne Gretzky,

00:01:06.000 who I think you know, the great one. And I spoke to your prime minister and many other friends I

00:01:11.480 have in Canada. They are so proud of you. And you have a lot of courage. I'm not sure if they'd want

00:01:17.700 to do that. I'm not even sure if the great one would want to do that, to be honest with you. But

00:01:21.660 you have a lot of courage doing what you're doing, a lot of bravery and a lot of genius.

00:01:26.320 but they're very, very proud of you.

00:01:29.400 As you heard there, Artemis II is NASA's first crude mission in the program to return humans to the moon,

00:01:35.480 establish a long-term presence there, and prepare for future Mars exploration.

00:01:42.940 Trump, meantime, is threatening to end civilization in Iran,

00:01:46.780 unless that country opens up the Strait of Hormuz to oil tanker traffic.

00:01:51.300 Here's Prime Minister Carney offering his thoughts.

00:01:53.680 This morning, President Trump posted on Iran saying, a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.

00:02:00.980 What's your message to Trump, and do you believe this rhetoric?

00:02:05.420 The first is that Canada expects all parties in this conflict, in any conflict, to respect international laws, the rules of engagement.

00:02:17.020 And that means not targeting, certainly civilians, or civilian infrastructure.

00:02:23.680 And we urge all parties in this war to follow those responsibilities as a point we've made publicly and privately.

00:02:34.640 If Iran fails to comply, Trump says he'll destroy infrastructure in that country, including bridges and power plants.

00:02:42.860 According to one political pundit in Canada, as many as 10 more Conservative MPs could cross the floor to join the Liberals.

00:02:50.200 The bureau chief for La Presse in Ottawa says, according to his sources,

00:02:54.920 discussions are ongoing that could see a huge number of conservatives join the governing side.

00:03:01.000 Mr. Carney does not want an election, but also he's got some key people talking to opposition

00:03:05.880 parties. I'm told up to 10 MPs are still in discussion with liberal delegates from Mr. Carney's

00:03:14.680 office. So there's still discussion going on. So they're still hoping to get more of opposition

00:03:19.960 MPs from the Conservative Party or even the NDP, not the Bloc Québécois, I don't think.

00:03:24.920 But it's still a possibility that more may cross the floor to join the Liberal cast.

00:03:29.240 Now, three Conservatives have already crossed the floor to the government side,

00:03:33.880 and some upcoming by-elections could give the majority in Parliament to the Liberals.

00:03:39.400 Well, by the end of an average day, 45 Canadians will have died in the country's assisted suicide program.

00:03:46.400 With the 10th anniversary of the MAID program rapidly approaching,

00:03:51.400 a grim statistic, 100,000 Canadians will have ended their lives through that program.

00:03:57.400 And there's a growing sense of unease, especially among older Canadians being offered death rather than medical treatment.

00:04:04.400 medical treatment. There is the story of 84-year-old Miriam Lancaster rushed to a BC hospital

00:04:10.840 suffering from a fractured bone in her spine. Let's listen.

00:04:15.060 I got out of bed one morning and put my foot on the floor and had such an excruciating

00:04:21.920 and unusual pain that I called out. The admitting staff in the ER had whistled me into a bed

00:04:28.720 and she was the first medical person questioning me and that's where it all started with asking

00:04:36.540 about MAID and I thought, MAID, good heavens, surely not MAID and I wouldn't take MAID under

00:04:42.880 any circumstances. My mom did not have a fatal condition. My mom is in wonderful health.

00:04:51.920 Miriam Lancaster is not alone. There are a growing number of accounts by Canadians

00:04:56.600 seeking medical care, only to be offered medical assistance in dying.

00:05:01.880 Alberta is the first province to try and put some guardrails around this program.

00:05:06.680 Since MAID has been legalized, I have witnessed patients being approved for MAID very quickly

00:05:11.720 without a deep dive of their suffering or without offering evidence-based medicine

00:05:17.480 that could offer them solutions to live well.

00:05:19.920 I've also been told by my patients that they've been offered MAID several times,

00:05:25.100 repeatedly by different people, and some have felt pressured to book MAID assessments.

00:05:30.700 These cases highlight patient safety concerns. Medical assistance in dying is a serious and

00:05:37.100 sensitive subject. Alberta believes that patient safety is and must always be our first concern,

00:05:43.420 and our government has been highly skeptical of federal moves to widen eligibility to

00:05:48.220 those whose only medical condition is mental illness. MAID is now one of the leading causes

00:05:53.820 of death in Canada.

00:05:55.760 Our guest today is Amanda Ackman, joining us from Ottawa.

00:05:58.820 She is founder of the Dying to Meet You Project.

00:06:02.260 Welcome to the show, Amanda.

00:06:03.260 Thanks for having me.

00:06:05.220 What is the Dying to Meet You Project?

00:06:07.380 Basically, this is a project of cultural renewal to humanize our conversations in

00:06:12.620 Canada on topics of suffering, death, meaning, and hope.

00:06:17.140 And it was really occasioned by working in politics, trying to prevent the expansion

00:06:22.860 euthanasia on the basis of disability and mental illness when i realized that we don't just have

00:06:28.460 a culture of death in canada we actually have death without culture we've lost the cultural

00:06:33.420 tenor around death and dying all the rituals and traditions and mores that help us know how to do

00:06:39.580 this well and so i started blogging every single day for an entire year about death and dying in

00:06:46.220 a cultural light and that was actually a really enlivening new year's resolution for me and since

00:06:52.620 then it's morphed into this broader cultural initiative where i travel across canada engaging

00:06:58.220 people in conversations workshops hearing their stories producing short films about them and

00:07:03.980 helping to revive our sense of meaning amidst this existential crisis of euthanasia we heard

00:07:11.580 the story about merriam lancaster and there are many other stories similar to that and you realize

00:07:16.700 how vulnerable older canadians are seeking medical attention and then being told that you know maybe

00:07:23.100 dying is a good option and you know how that must hurt people who've been paying taxes their whole

00:07:29.500 lives and now just want to live out the remainder of their lives in peace and and you know enjoying

00:07:35.900 time with family and doing things like taking trips and all this sort of then then all of a sudden

00:07:40.380 and they're told that, you know,

00:07:42.300 maybe you'd be better off dead.

00:07:43.500 I mean, that's basically what they're being offered here.

00:07:47.160 And it must be just crushing for their spirits.

00:07:49.660 What do you think?

00:07:51.760 Yeah, it's devastating to be offered euthanasia.

00:07:54.340 I think the fact of having euthanasia suggested

00:07:56.960 already kills the person

00:07:58.720 because it deflates and defeats a person's sense

00:08:01.100 of worth and value.

00:08:02.880 It's such an affront to the self-esteem,

00:08:06.940 particularly of seniors and to many others now in Canada who are met with this suggestion.

00:08:13.100 And when the suggestion comes from a medical professional, one to whom you entrust yourself

00:08:18.280 at a vulnerable moment, who can trust their doctor in this climate?

00:08:23.600 How many times have I heard from seniors who are expressing fears about even going to the doctor

00:08:30.580 or going to the hospital now they'd rather not because they're afraid they will be met

00:08:35.260 with a suggestion of death rather than care and treatment and so while I was on Vancouver Island

00:08:41.000 I traveled all over the island and that really is the epicenter for euthanasia in our country

00:08:47.240 along with Quebec and throughout the island I heard from seniors who have been offered euthanasia

00:08:54.480 and one of those women you mentioned is Miriam Lancaster she was one of the last ones I met

00:09:01.360 during my time there and she shared with me after my talk about having been offered euthanasia

00:09:07.460 practically upon arrival to the hospital in Vancouver and she's now based in Victoria but

00:09:14.440 she went to this Vancouver hospital and she was in excruciating pain before she had even found out

00:09:20.140 what was wrong with her a doctor had said we would like to offer you made because they could see that

00:09:25.780 she was suffering she said that was the last thing on her mind she just wanted to find out what was

00:09:31.340 going on. And while it took a month for her to recover, she more than recovered and went on to

00:09:39.200 travel very soon after to Mexico, Cuba, and Guatemala. And she's traveling right now again,

00:09:46.420 in fact. And so this was a crushing suggestion, but it also didn't put a damper on her spirits

00:09:54.220 to go out and live that rest of her life that she has left to live. So she shared that story with

00:10:01.180 me just conversationally and I said would you be willing to say it on camera and she said well I

00:10:07.100 don't see why not she shared it little did she and I know that it would be viewed hundreds of

00:10:13.960 thousands of times and that media around the world would pick it up her story is across tons of

00:10:20.540 outlets now and even translated into several different languages that's because the rest of

00:10:26.520 the world is, thankfully, shocked that euthanasia could be presented as a suggestion. In Canada,

00:10:34.260 there's no prohibition against raising MAID. There was an attempt at the committee stage

00:10:40.980 to put in that measure, that supposed safeguard. Unfortunately, I have to make the point that

00:10:47.700 suicide can never be made safe, but there was that attempt to require at least that euthanasia

00:10:54.040 only ever be patient initiated and that was defeated. And so now we have the Canadian 0.54

00:10:59.540 Association of MAID providers and assessors pointing out in a document, in a PDF you can

00:11:05.740 easily search online with the title bringing up MAID that the summary text says there is no

00:11:12.300 prohibition against professionals raising MAID with patients and they go even further and say

00:11:18.400 there may be people who are not aware of this new option and so it's incumbent they say upon

00:11:24.480 medical professionals to bring it up with patients this is the climate in which we now live and

00:11:32.120 again I have heard for multiple seniors and not only has Miriam's story made mainstream and viral

00:11:40.100 news but her story led to another family coming forward in BC City News Vancouver tracked the

00:11:47.680 story of an additional family and they said despite the similar incident having happened

00:11:52.820 a while ago they had never thought to go to the media but because of Miriam speaking out

00:11:58.660 they mustered the the confidence and thought it was worthwhile. I'm convinced that as more and

00:12:04.720 more seniors begin to advocate this will change our culture and last thing I'll say on this it

00:12:11.040 requires some intergenerational cooperation. Miriam didn't know what Twitter was before she

00:12:16.900 We went super viral on it and started to receive media requests from around the world.

00:12:22.840 We cooperated as an intergenerational team to bring her story to the fore.

00:12:28.740 And I think more creativity in this regard will renew our culture.

00:12:33.140 Yeah, I'm not surprised that there's a level of international disgust by people outside

00:12:39.840 Canada who are just appalled by this, as well as people like yourself.

00:12:45.260 And I'm getting the sense that people in the medical establishment are rather cavalier

00:12:49.700 about the way that they bring this up with people.

00:12:51.800 I certainly got that impression when I heard Miriam's story.

00:12:56.240 And then when you talk about this report that suggests, well, you should bring it up.

00:13:00.800 It's almost as though it's a sales pitch, you know, oh, are you sure you wouldn't rather

00:13:04.680 just die?

00:13:05.680 It'd be so much easier for everybody.

00:13:08.740 And unfortunately, I think it's easier for them.

00:13:11.580 They would rather kill you than treat you.

00:13:14.780 I mean, I don't want to speak out of turn here, but that's what it feels like to me.

00:13:20.060 Like they would rather, rather than going to the trouble of treating you, which might take weeks,

00:13:24.920 they would rather just end your life and then wash your hands of you if you're at a certain age.

00:13:31.560 And if that's the way it is now, you know, as they get more and more used to the idea of simply

00:13:36.780 terminating lives rather than healing people, you know, it's only going to get worse.

00:13:42.280 and now we're looking at, what, 100,000 Canadians that have died in this way?

00:13:48.360 And it really, it should trouble everybody, including the establishment that is, you know,

00:13:56.300 overseeing this program. They should be troubled by the way that this has been presented to people,

00:14:02.600 how disturbed they are when it is brought to them, and the fact that it's, as you mentioned earlier,

00:14:07.840 are getting worldwide attention, you know, and not the kind of attention that our healthcare

00:14:13.220 system wants.

00:14:14.880 Any thoughts about that?

00:14:16.800 Canada is a serious outlier and our cautionary tale has led to other countries voting down

00:14:24.340 euthanasia, scrapping assisted suicide.

00:14:26.960 Slovenia just had a referendum and scrapped their assisted suicide law that had just been

00:14:34.440 brought in. 0.69

00:14:35.440 Scotland just surprisingly voted down assisted suicide largely because of the Canadian cases that have been coming to the fore as a warning and so we really are a warning to the world in this regard and that gives me a lot of hope because the more that we remain an outlier I think the more that the consciences of Canadians will be roused. 0.80

00:14:57.020 Now, very few doctors on the whole are actually doing euthanasia, and a relatively small number are doing the majority of the killing. 0.84

00:15:10.160 Most doctors do not spend years and years in medical school in order to do something that really does not require all of the skill and professionalism that being a doctor entails.

00:15:23.080 And so another thing that gives me hope in all of this is working with life affirming doctors, medical students committed to practicing medicine in the Hippocratic tradition of do no harm.

00:15:36.040 And through Canadian Physicians for Life, we run bioethics conferences, symposia, national events, regional events, even a crisis line for medical students and doctors trying to navigate thorny issues where they might not want to ever recommend death for their patient, but they're feeling pressured to make this available to people when what we're speaking about is death.

00:16:03.280 the direct lethal injection by a doctor or nurse. And so yes, unfortunately in Canada,

00:16:11.960 euthanasia has become quite predatory. Now it might sound kind of anomalous to hear that

00:16:19.060 euthanasia is being raised, but the people I'm hearing from don't just have it brought up once

00:16:24.220 or twice. Many have several instances and they can count and remember each one. Another woman I met

00:16:31.520 on the island her name is Muriel and I met her up island she told me that she and her husband

00:16:39.340 were both offered maid while he was still alive by their family doctor that they could consider

00:16:44.680 this and then he died and two days after his funeral she was diagnosed with terminal cancer

00:16:53.320 and given six months or less to live the day that I met her it was 10 months later so she

00:16:59.840 really has outlived this prognosis and we know that doctors get these terminal prognoses wrong

00:17:07.160 about half of the time while doctors are capable of predicting death within hours or days they're

00:17:13.440 not able to predict months or years out and so she was offered it again sadly by a cancer specialist

00:17:23.140 and how crushing to have your specialist mention that this is an option for you and then she had

00:17:31.640 had a an appointment at the funeral home that had helped with her husband's burial and they brought

00:17:38.420 up maid to her at the funeral home and we know that funeral homes are creating these packages

00:17:44.580 where if you use their space for the euthanasia death then they'll roll it in with your uh with

00:17:51.420 your end-of-life services. And so it is so dehumanizing. We have got to push back. I see

00:18:01.280 so much dejection and disappointment among the seniors to whom I speak. And I think part of the

00:18:06.760 thing that is so joyful in my work that might seem surprising is that I get so much life and energy

00:18:14.140 from going and speaking to seniors and saying, I came for you today. You deserve better.

00:18:20.580 you are worth it you are worth my time you are worth my energy you are worth the gift of my

00:18:27.480 youth and my health because I'm here to fight for you in a country where you're getting the opposite

00:18:33.360 message and you see people get very startled by this and I'm just so moved by the the capacity

00:18:43.080 to startle people to an awareness of their own dignity just by saying it's good for you to be

00:18:48.960 here, you still have a mission and purpose, and I'm counting on you. We need you. My generation

00:18:54.360 will be worse off. The rising generations are going to be sick, psychologically, spiritually,

00:19:01.720 and socially sick by losing so many, so many elders prematurely through this state-sponsored

00:19:09.420 suicide program. Yeah. Maybe people should be wearing t-shirts to the hospital saying,

00:19:16.060 i do not want made written right across the chest i do not want euthanasia i actually one of the

00:19:24.780 first women i i ever interviewed on camera it's a it's a beautiful short film by uh featuring a

00:19:30.460 woman named christine and i was uh i just returned to canada from my studies abroad and everyone

00:19:37.740 said you have to go meet christine in calgary and i said okay how can i find her she doesn't have

00:19:42.620 uh an email or uh i didn't know how to connect with her and so finally we got connected um we

00:19:49.980 met first of all at a tim hordins and we had several meetings after that and step by step

00:19:55.180 i got to know this woman who decided to get a tattoo in her 80s that says don't euthanize me

00:20:01.420 she got it right on her she always discouraged her children from getting tattoos but when the

00:20:06.140 government legalized euthanasia she got a tattoo on her arm that says don't euthanize me and she

00:20:12.300 said when doctors and nurses came over to see it they'd give her a thumbs up and say good for you

00:20:16.860 and when i asked her how do you know for sure that you never want euthanasia she very movingly tells

00:20:22.940 the story of how she had attempted suicide earlier in her life and how having been at the brink she's

00:20:29.820 someone who can speak with credibility and with a great amount of vulnerability about the turnaround

00:20:36.140 in seeing that life always has a sense to it it's worth staying engaged in life so she's a dear

00:20:42.220 friend i just had a call with her yesterday actually and it was delightful to catch up

00:20:46.780 and speaking of messages um i also have a t-shirt that says it's good you exist and i wear that a

00:20:52.060 lot because fundamentally opposing euthanasia is all about this this act of love that and love says

00:20:59.180 it's good you exist you belong in the world and you have a place here with us euthanasia says as

00:21:04.620 you pointed out maybe you're better off dead maybe it's not so good for you to be here and i've had

00:21:09.500 people come up to me and see that shirt saying it's good you exist total strangers in a mall or

00:21:14.460 on public transit and sometimes someone will approach me and say you have no idea how much

00:21:19.900 i needed to see that and it's it's simple it's basic but we need to do this kind of casual

00:21:26.540 suicide prevention a kind of casual rousing people to the meaning and sense of life amidst

00:21:32.220 the nihilism and despair that has so covered us in this country how do people find out more and

00:21:40.700 support the work you're doing at dying to meet you yep you can visit dying to meet you.com you

00:21:46.300 can see the short films find the video of christine with the don't euthanize me tattoo

00:21:50.540 you can also learn more about life affirming health care in canada and receive a weekly digest

00:21:56.780 of news related to these issues by going to physiciansforlife.ca signing up for email

00:22:03.260 updates there and so these are some some resources there are thankfully increasingly more more

00:22:09.020 advocates more speakers on this but i would encourage you listening to also have conversations

00:22:15.900 in your own casual everyday way on topics of suffering death meaning and hope because people

00:22:22.380 actually are dying to meet you and have conversations

00:22:26.280 about these topics that might seem sensitive or awkward.

00:22:29.700 But I promise you, when you create an opening,

00:22:32.360 when you share a bit vulnerably from your own heart,

00:22:34.900 it's going to be met with receptivity and appreciation

00:22:38.340 and you cannot lose.

00:22:40.540 Amanda Ackman, thank you so much for coming on the show.

00:22:42.620 We really appreciate it.

00:22:44.160 Thank you.

00:22:46.620 If you enjoyed this show,

00:22:47.620 consider supporting great independent journalism

00:22:49.880 by becoming a premier member of Juno News,

00:22:53.440 go to junonews.com backslash straight up.

00:22:57.520 You can find the link below.

00:22:59.180 It helps us do what we do.

00:23:01.180 Thank you so much.

00:23:02.020 We'll see you next time.

Juno News - April 07, 2026

Canadian astronaut PRAISES Trump + more Conservative floor-crossers？!

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