10 years of MAID in Canada: love, pain, and sharp divisions
A decade after Canada legalized medical assistance in dying, opinions have grown far more divided, with some celebrating peaceful endings and others waiting in pain.
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Wednesday marks the 10th anniversary of Canada legalizing medical assistance in dying, a milestone that stirs vastly different emotions across the country—from the memory of loved ones' peaceful final moments to the anguish of those ineligible for the procedure.
A decade ago, MAID seemed to command broad public support. Today, the landscape is fractured. The legal framework has expanded to allow more people to choose this path while simultaneously delaying further expansions the government had previously promised.
Hugh Wallace became one of MAID's earliest recipients. In April 2016—two months before the law officially came into force on June 17—he received court approval for early eligibility after his multiple sclerosis progressed alongside a new diagnosis of non-curable small cell lung cancer. At 75, he wrote to the court describing his progressive losses: "Like dominos falling one by one I have progressively lost nearly all mobility, most of my hearing, my vision, ability to urinate and most recently my voice; soon it will be my appetite, consciousness and breathing."
His wife, Evie Wallace, recalls the collective anxiety in the room when the procedure took place in their home west of Calgary—no one involved had done this before. "We could actually see the pain leaving Hugh's face," she says. "We keep thinking that it's all about death, but it isn't. It's about life."
But for others, the anniversary brings only frustration. Claire Brosseau, who has lived with bipolar disorder, eating disorder, substance use disorder, and PTSD for 35 years, says nothing reaches "the invisible pain that lives inside her." She planned to apply for MAID years ago when it was set to become available to people suffering solely from mental illness—a category expansion that has since been indefinitely delayed.
"I was never supposed to be alive this long," Brosseau says. Her public visibility around her pursuit of death has drawn international attention, yet the pathway she hoped would open remains closed.