Juno News - “I’d probably be dead right now”— MP sounds alarm on Canada’s suicide agenda

00:00:00.000 I'm Candice Malcolm and this is The Candice Malcolm Show. Thank you so much for joining us

00:00:07.980 today. We are going to cover a very sensitive, very dark topic today. And I want to just start

00:00:15.300 by talking about the rise of euthanasia in Canada. This is from a Cardis report. Cardis is a wonderful

00:00:21.880 organization, does research into this kind of thing. So here is what they write. From exceptional

00:00:26.940 to routine, MADE in Canada is the world's fastest growing assisted dying program. Here are some of

00:00:33.740 the key points. The number of Canadians dying prematurely by what we call medical assistance

00:00:38.860 in dying. We're using euphemism MADE to make it just seem like a normal procedure or another

00:00:44.600 bureaucratic acronym from the government. No, we're talking about dying. We're talking about people

00:00:49.960 being killed by medical practitioners and using the government to help them commit suicide.

00:00:57.620 Well, this assisted dying has risen 13-fold since its legalization in 2016. The number of people dying

00:01:04.580 in this way was 1,018. In 2022, the last year that we have data available, it is 13,241. This makes MADE

00:01:14.920 in Canada the world's fastest growing assisted dying program. This is a serious concern, people,

00:01:22.120 because this is not normal, right? Look at the assisted deaths as a percentage of total deaths

00:01:28.880 in other countries around the world. You can see Canada is that red line. We just introduced this

00:01:33.800 program in 2016, and it goes straight up. So other countries, European countries, have been doing this

00:01:40.380 sort of thing for a generation now, and their levels are still growing in a concerning, alarming way,

00:01:47.020 but nothing like the growth in Canada. And the things that the government, the Liberal government,

00:01:52.680 is now applying this program to are concerning to all. We saw a proposal that it gets applied to

00:01:59.380 minors, and now we have one that it would be applied to people with mental illness. Well, that is why 0.94

00:02:05.580 I'm pleased to announce and to report that the Conservative Party is pushing back. A Conservative

00:02:12.540 MP has introduced a private member's bill to ban medical assistance in dying. I prefer to just

00:02:18.300 call it by what it is, assisted suicide, for mental illness. So back in May, Tamara Jensen,

00:02:24.300 who is a Conservative member of Parliament for Cloverdale-Langley, tabled Bill C-218, a private member's bill

00:02:29.820 that seeks to amend the criminal code to explicitly exclude mental disorders from being considered

00:02:35.100 a grievous and immutable medical condition for the purposes of MAID eligibility. If the bill passes,

00:02:42.380 individuals would qualify for assisted death on the basis of mental illness alone. So that private

00:02:49.180 member's bill was introduced. And I'm happy to announce that Conservative MP Andrew Lawton has also

00:02:57.340 joined this campaign. Of course, Andrew is a former journalist here at True North. He was a host of the

00:03:04.060 Andrew Lawton Show before becoming a member of Parliament. He is now representing the writing of

00:03:08.940 Elgin St. Thomas, London South. And I'm pleased to welcome Andrew to the show. Andrew, thank you so

00:03:14.460 much for joining Candace. Welcome, it's so great to see you.

00:03:15.900 Hey, always good to be with you, Candace. Thanks for having me.

00:03:18.620 Well, tell us a little bit about this bill and why you've chosen to get alongside and working on this one.

00:03:25.340 Absolutely. So Bill C-218, or as we've named the Right to Recover Act, is there to ensure that people who have a

00:03:34.460 are able to be treated and supported and given hope instead of given death by the healthcare system?

00:03:42.300 Just a bit of background here, if I may, Candace. The expansion of MAID to people with mental illness

00:03:49.260 was never supposed to happen. It was never demanded by a court. What actually happened was a court decision

00:03:55.580 in Quebec said that Canada's MAID rules were too restrictive. And the Liberal government responded

00:04:00.860 with a significant expansion. And then the unelected Senate unilaterally decided to put in

00:04:07.420 this additional change that if you had only a mental illness, no physical ailment whatsoever,

00:04:13.260 you'd be eligible for MAID. They passed it, they kicked it back to the House of Commons,

00:04:17.900 and the Liberal government under Trudeau, with David Lamedi at the time being the Attorney General,

00:04:22.940 decided to move this forward in spite of massive pushback from the mental health field, the healthcare

00:04:29.820 field, disability rights activists, a lot of people in this space from a number of different sectors,

00:04:35.980 conservative, liberal didn't matter. And what they did is they put in place a date that this would go

00:04:41.900 into effect and said, well, we'll figure out the details later. We'll figure out how we prevent abuse

00:04:47.500 later. They couldn't do that in time. They still haven't done that. They've had to extend this date

00:04:52.540 a couple of times. But right now, if nothing happens, as of March 17, 2027, people with a serious

00:05:00.300 mental illness will be able to go through the MAID process. Now, this was something that is very near

00:05:05.740 and dear to my heart. I've shared publicly, I've shared it with my former listeners and viewers

00:05:10.380 here. I am a suicide survivor myself. I almost lost my life about 15 years ago to a suicide attempt

00:05:17.180 after a prolonged battle with mental illness that very nearly took my life. I'm convinced that I would 0.70

00:05:24.540 have gone through the MAID system 15 years ago. And given how we've seen this system unfold, I might

00:05:30.300 have been successful in getting that sign off and having my life ended, which means I wouldn't be here

00:05:35.340 today. I wouldn't have a loving wife. I wouldn't have the career I have. I wouldn't have all of the

00:05:40.140 wonderful people I've met and worked with over the last decade and a half. So that was why I launched

00:05:45.820 the I Got Better campaign to highlight stories of healing and show why the stakes are so high

00:05:51.740 if we go down the road of granting MAID for people with mental illness.

00:05:56.700 Well, it's unbelievable. And Andrew, I thank you for sharing your story. I saw that you posted a video on

00:06:01.580 social media telling your very personal story. And I know it's not easy to do that. You sort of go

00:06:07.740 through what personally happened to you. I do say I want to say, you know, it takes it takes a strong

00:06:13.260 man to come out and admit that you you suffered through that you had a problem. I'm just reading

00:06:18.860 some of the comments here. Mario Zaleja, he writes what a legend takes a strong confident man to talk

00:06:23.900 about this. Congrats on overcoming this and the massive impact you're having on society. And I think

00:06:29.580 especially to young men, I think I think I think that what you're going what you went through,

00:06:34.620 a lot of other people are going through, we saw a huge increase in the sort of diseases of despair,

00:06:40.300 especially during COVID, and particularly how it hits young men. And so I'm just wondering,

00:06:45.980 like, what what is your message to other other young men out there that that might be suffering

00:06:50.300 through something like this? One of the things that's really important about mental illness is 1.00

00:06:54.940 it affects different groups differently. And you know, there is a huge push now,

00:06:59.020 I shouldn't say huge, but there's a larger push now around men's mental health, because people have

00:07:04.220 realized how men have a unique hurdle on seeking help for this. And it's not to say that it's worse

00:07:11.260 or better, it's just different. You know, there are pressures that men put on themselves, there are

00:07:15.660 pressures that society puts on men, the pressure to provide the pressure to perform to be a certain way.

00:07:21.980 And there's also this expectation of being stoic and strong and tough. And I think this is where it's

00:07:29.180 really, really important to have these conversations to ensure that there are supports available there,

00:07:34.460 and that we're not normalizing the desire to end your life. And that's the other key here is that

00:07:40.860 there are going to be people that because of their mental illness go through the MAID process,

00:07:45.420 because they're going to be permitted to do that. But by giving that eligibility, we also create this

00:07:51.820 other problem, which is that we basically give a green light to the idea that ending your life

00:07:57.340 because of mental illness is the right thing to do. And I'm actually, and again, this is speculative on 0.97

00:08:02.460 my part, but I am worried that there's going to be an increase in non-MAID suicides. Because now,

00:08:08.140 all of a sudden, we've said, you know what, this actually makes sense. This is a logical,

00:08:11.500 reasonable, reasonable thing to want. And that to me is very concerning. And I can't stress enough,

00:08:16.780 this is a life or death issue. And Bill C-218 will save lives if it's passed.

00:08:21.980 Well, I do want to shift it back to medical assistance and dying, the euphemism that we use,

00:08:27.580 really, it's euthanasia, it's assisted suicide, it's going to a doctor and saying that, you know,

00:08:34.220 my life is over now, or whatever the circumstances. Andrew, you've seen this during your time at True

00:08:40.140 North, there have been reports of doctors or even government officials offering this

00:08:45.420 as a solution to people who are suffering. So, I mean, now that you're on the other side,

00:08:50.780 and you're a member of parliament, is this something that concerns you that not only is this just sort of

00:08:55.180 available in the background, but it's something that's often actively promoted and given as an

00:09:01.900 option to Canadians who would not have otherwise considered it?

00:09:04.940 We have all heard the horror stories of the veteran that wants a wheelchair lift 0.98

00:09:10.540 and is instead offered MAID, or people who have sought it and been granted it because of poverty,

00:09:16.300 because they don't like their living conditions. And these situations are tragic. And I think the

00:09:20.940 one most important thing here is that we have to support people in what they need to want to live

00:09:27.740 their life. And that's oftentimes what's missing in this. And if you look at some of the numbers,

00:09:33.020 even from the Canadian MAID reports, you see people that, you know, they're dealing with a medical

00:09:37.420 issue, but they also put as a reason for wanting MAID loneliness. They put poverty, they put isolation,

00:09:45.580 they put these other things in there, which are not medical things, are not medical qualities. It could

00:09:51.500 actually be combated in a very real way. There was a case recently where Scott Adams, a cartoonist in the

00:09:59.900 United States, I was just reading about this, was very close to using MAID and his life because of

00:10:04.620 cancer. But he finally found one treatment that was able to ease his suffering long enough to want to

00:10:11.420 be alive, even though he knows his days are numbered. We see time and time again, people who go through the

00:10:17.740 system and there are other externalities beyond their immediate suffering that are causing them to

00:10:24.540 seek this. And, you know, what we're dealing with in this legislation is the mental health component,

00:10:28.780 because that same issue is there. We know that there is treatment and support available. And we

00:10:33.580 also know there's a capacity issue as well. When someone wants to end their life because of a mental

00:10:38.780 illness, that we typically view that as a symptom. And we treat it and intervene. And actually, the state

00:10:44.700 has the right to commit someone to stop them from ending their life because we realize that protecting the

00:10:51.420 vulnerable is one of the areas where you have a role for government. So if I go in to a doctor's

00:10:59.660 office and I say, doctor, I'm dealing with depression, it's really difficult, I want to end my life. Well,

00:11:05.820 how do we know when that legal and ethical responsibility to stop me kicks in versus the

00:11:11.100 provision of services of, okay, here's a MAID pamphlet? Well, I mean, that's the shocking part of it all.

00:11:17.340 I don't know if you've read Tristan Hopper's book, but he talks about how Canada has become like a

00:11:21.900 cautionary tale. And when they were debating having some kind of a euthanasia program in the UK, both

00:11:27.340 parties were worried not to allow their system to become like Canada, where it is just too often

00:11:33.260 used. I mean, the fact that it's such a leading cause of death in Canada now, that we've seen this

00:11:39.420 13 fold growth just in less than a decade since it's been brought in. It seems like a big issue,

00:11:47.100 Andrew. And yet we don't really hear a lot about it aside from, you know, the bravery it took for

00:11:51.740 you to put out this video in this private members bill. You know, is this something that you think

00:11:56.300 that you will get support across the aisle from? Are there other MPs, even from other parties and

00:12:01.420 within your own party that agree that this program has probably gone too far?

00:12:05.420 We're hoping. I mean, this is and should be a nonpartisan issue. There was a bill in the

00:12:10.780 previous parliament seeking to do exactly what this one is. And it fell short by only a handful

00:12:15.980 of votes. It had support from all of the Conservatives, all of the New Democrats, both of the Greens at

00:12:21.500 the time, and eight Liberals as well. And this current bill, which we're putting forward, I'm hopeful

00:12:28.220 will receive support from across the aisle. If the Conservatives and the New Democrats and the

00:12:34.460 Green MP Elizabeth May all support it, it will pass if 20 Liberal MPs get behind it.

00:12:40.460 20 Liberal MPs. That's the math on that. So there are some Liberals on there that have been

00:12:44.860 very outspoken in support of what we're trying to do. I hope to see more of that. This is again,

00:12:50.620 a Liberal government that claims it's a new government. Perhaps Marnie will do the right 0.84

00:12:54.780 thing here as Prime Minister and have his Attorney General get behind this. I do not want to score

00:12:59.500 political points off this. I want to save lives and I want to prevent people going through what

00:13:04.140 I went through 15 years ago from doing something irreversible. And I hope we can get support from

00:13:09.020 that. And that's my call to action to all of your listeners and viewers, Candace. No matter where you

00:13:13.900 are in the country, no matter who your MP is, whether you like them or not, reach out to them and ask them

00:13:18.540 to support this bill. Ask them to support C218. If you have experience with mental illness yourself,

00:13:24.140 share that with your Member of Parliament. Make sure they know there's a human face on this.

00:13:27.900 And that's the spirit behind the I Got Better campaign, which at the risk of shamelessly

00:13:32.380 plugging is at igotbetter.ca. Well, what a great initiative, Andrew. I really

00:13:36.540 applaud you. Congratulate you for that. While you're here, I want to ask you though, because

00:13:40.140 we've talked about this on the show yesterday. This has become a huge firestorm in the middle of

00:13:43.740 the summer. Usually summers are quiet for news stories, but I think a lot of people are concerned

00:13:47.900 by the story of Sean Foyt. So basically the CBC painted this guy as if he was some kind of an extremist,

00:13:53.660 to some kind of a mega rock star because he supports Republicans and Donald Trump in the States.

00:13:59.740 That doesn't really have anything to do with his concerts though. He's a worship leader,

00:14:03.900 a Christian singer. He had a tour planned across Canada. Apparently it's his third year

00:14:07.660 in a row touring across Canada, but suddenly he became very controversial and has had his permit

00:14:13.100 revoked in cities across Eastern Canada from Halifax to Montreal. In Montreal, we saw that showdown with the

00:14:19.100 police with Antifa where they firebombed a church using a smoke bomb in the middle of a performance,

00:14:24.860 which is as I walked through on the show yesterday, there is a criminal code offence

00:14:29.660 against interrupting a church service or a service of worship. And that's exactly what these Antifa

00:14:35.420 thugs did right in front of the police. I saw that you wrote a lengthy post about this on X,

00:14:42.140 Andrew. And I'm wondering if you can comment on, on what's happening and what you make of it all.

00:14:49.500 Look, the idea that you need a permit to engage in work, regardless of your religion,

00:14:55.500 is absolutely absurd. I have been clear going into politics and throughout my media career that that

00:15:01.180 freedom of expression is my hill to die on. And when I see the interruption of a religious concert,

00:15:08.140 which is, again, it's worship, I'm very concerned by it. Again, I stand up for freedom of expression

00:15:13.820 and freedom of religion on principle. I don't need to agree with or share someone's religious practices

00:15:19.020 or what they say. And I say that not as a denunciation of Sean Foyke, but I literally had

00:15:25.020 never heard of him before, before, you know, two or three days ago, whenever it was that this came up.

00:15:30.220 And, you know, I don't actually care what his beliefs are. I care what he says. I would stand

00:15:35.260 up for his right to engage in the work that he's doing and not be harassed by bureaucrats.

00:15:41.500 Now, again, I mean, the nature of freedom of expression is that you have to protect people

00:15:45.420 who are saying things that you disagree with if you want to have any consistency and moral clarity on

00:15:50.940 this. And, you know, in this case, it's a Christian singer. And I get people have raised all sorts of

00:15:55.980 issues with him about, you know, how he's run his business and all of that. And none of that

00:16:00.540 matters. All of that's a distraction. At the end of the day, you know, his right to speak, his right

00:16:05.420 to sing, a church's right to host him, those are decisions to be made by them. And people can decide

00:16:10.620 whether they want to go. There is no place for the government in that equation at all.

00:16:14.620 Well, you raised a really interesting point. I'm just going to read a little bit about comparing it to

00:16:18.220 something that happened under the Harper government. So you wrote, 17 years ago, the Canadian arts

00:16:21.420 community and political left raised holy hell about a bill from the Harper government that would

00:16:25.740 have blocked tax credits for film projects that went against public policy. That proposal,

00:16:31.580 which the Conservatives ultimately scrapped, was lambasted as censorship. Of course, it was no

00:16:36.060 such thing. The government has no obligation to fund any particular piece of art. Punishing people

00:16:41.420 for what they create is another story. And then you write about how that reminds you

00:16:45.180 of what's happening here. I mean, I don't really expect there to be consistency from these people,

00:16:51.900 just because I'm talking about people in the world left, like, like, yeah, they'll criticize

00:16:56.540 the Conservatives for doing something, then they'll turn around and do the exact same thing without

00:16:59.580 any sense of shame or irony. But it is interesting how, you know, back then, even just saying that

00:17:07.020 we're not going to fund, and I think the specific example was like, anti Alberta energy activists or

00:17:13.740 something like that, saying that the government doesn't have to fund them. And that was considered

00:17:17.340 censorship. And here we have them actually blocking a church service, and endangering them.

00:17:22.620 Yeah. But even I mean, the fact that someone threw that smoke bomb, and you can see with such grace,

00:17:29.340 right, Sean Fout just picks it up, hands it to another church leader, who just calmly walks it out

00:17:34.140 the door, right? They weren't panicking, they weren't trying to fight, they weren't trying to agitate,

00:17:38.380 they were really just trying to pray. And the fact that the police just stood by while that happened,

00:17:43.500 and I don't think anyone was arrested, I don't think anybody was charged, seems just like a blatant

00:17:47.980 and ugly double standard. And to me, it shows anti Christian bigotry, and an anti American hatred

00:17:55.180 in our country by the same people who are sitting here saying, you have to be inclusive, we believe

00:18:00.620 in diversity, no hate, hate has no home here. And yet they're showing all of those things. I mean,

00:18:05.020 there's just so much irony here. Andrew, what do you make of it all?

00:18:07.740 I think you need to be able to apply whatever the rules are evenly. And I know people have pointed

00:18:14.220 out some very radical, hateful protests and demonstrations that have taken place in Montreal

00:18:18.940 that have not attracted the ire of Montreal by law enforcement that have not received condemnation

00:18:25.340 for operating without a so called permit. So I think at the end of the day here, what's going to

00:18:30.940 happen is we're going to have to have a conversation in this country about the assaults that are taking

00:18:35.580 place about freedoms. And if anyone's interested, I talked about this in my maiden speech in the

00:18:39.660 House of Commons, in which I said that I wanted to make Canada a freer place. And that was motivating

00:18:44.460 my entry to politics. You know, we need to have the freedom to worship the freedom to pray the freedom

00:18:49.740 to sing the freedom to engage in art the freedom to express our political opinions. And we cannot allow

00:18:55.980 governments of any level to get in the way of that. And I'm very glad that so many of my colleagues

00:19:00.940 have spoken up about this as well. And Jamil Javani has specifically talked about attacks on the

00:19:06.540 right to worship in a motion he's put forward before the Heritage Committee, which I think is

00:19:11.340 very much one that should be getting some more attention as well. Well, Andrew, I know you're just

00:19:16.300 getting started in Ottawa and as a member of Parliament, you're doing great work already. We

00:19:19.820 appreciate your time and you joining the program. Andrew Lawton, thank you so much for joining us.

00:19:24.300 Thank you, Candice. All right, folks, that's all the time we have for today. Thanks so much for tuning

00:19:27.820 in. I'm Candice Malcolm. This is the Candice Malcolm Show. We'll be back again tomorrow with all the news.

00:19:30.780 Thank you and God bless.

Juno News - July 30, 2025

“I’d probably be dead right now”— MP sounds alarm on Canada’s suicide agenda

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