The rate of medical assistance in dying — also known as euthanasia — has increased for the fifth year in a row in Canada, albeit at a slower pace.
The country released its fifth annual report since legalizing assisted dying in 2016, which for the first time included data on the race of people seeking euthanasia.
About 15,300 people were assisted last year, which is 4.7 percent of the country’s deaths. Canadian lawmakers are currently seeking to expand access to euthanasia to cover people with mental illnesses by 2027.
Canada is among the few countries that have introduced assisted dying laws in the past decade. Others include Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Austria.
Figures released by Health Canada on Wednesday show that the rate of assisted dying in Canada is expected to increase by about 16 per cent in 2023. This number is much lower than the average increase of 31 percent in previous years.
The report cautions that it is too early to determine what caused the rate drop.
Almost all of those who requested assisted dying – about 96% – expected a natural death. The remaining 4% were euthanized due to a long-term chronic illness and where natural death was not imminent.
The average age of those seeking assisted dying was around 77 years, with cancer being the most frequent underlying medical condition.
For the first time, the report included racial and ethnic data on people who died by euthanasia.
About 96 percent of recipients identified as white individuals, who make up about 70 percent of the Canadian population. It is not clear what causes this disparity.
The second most commonly reported ethnic group was East Asian (1.8%), which is about 5.7% of Canadians.
Quebec had the highest rate of use of assisted dying, accounting for nearly 37 percent of all euthanasia deaths, despite having only 22 percent of Canada’s population.
The Quebec government launched a study earlier this year to examine why its death rate is so high.
Although the number of assisted deaths in Canada is increasing, the country still lags behind the Netherlands, where euthanasia accounted for about 5% of all deaths last year.
UK MPs voted late last month to approve a similar bill that would give terminally ill adults in England and Wales the right to assisted dying, although it will be months before it becomes law. Will face scrutiny.
As British MPs debated the legislation, Canada was cited by some as a cautionary tale for its lack of safeguards.
Like the UK, Canada initially legalized assisted dying only for those whose death was “reasonably foreseeable”.
However, Canada expanded access in 2021 to people who may not have a terminal diagnosis, but want to end their life because of a chronic, debilitating condition.
Earlier this year it was again designed to widen access to people with mental illnesses.
But it was delayed a second time after concerns were raised by Canada’s provinces, which oversee health care delivery, about whether the system could withstand such an expansion.
On Wednesday, Health Canada defended the procedure, saying the Criminal Code sets a “strict eligibility” standard.
But Cards, a Christian think tank, said the latest figures are “alarming” and show Canada has one of the fastest-growing euthanasia programs in the world.
A report released in October by Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, has since shed some light on controversial cases where people were assisted to die when they were not close to their natural death.
One example involved a woman in her 50s with a history of depression and suicidal thoughts who had severe sensitivity to chemicals.
Her request for voluntary death was granted after she was unable to obtain housing that could meet her medical needs.
Another case that made headlines in recent months involved a Nova Scotia cancer patient who said she was asked if she knew about assisted dying after undergoing double mastectomy surgery.
He told the National Post that the question “came in completely inappropriate places”.
Canadian news organizations have also reported cases where people with disabilities have considered assisted dying due to lack of housing or disability benefits.