Ottawa orders ‘full and thorough’ probe into veteran assisted dying discussion
Global News
"If that veteran was close to the edge, that might have been the hair that broke the camel's back," one veteran told Global News. "It's so cavalier with somebody's life."
The federal government is launching a “full and thorough” investigation into the case of a Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) employee discussing medical assistance in dying (MAiD) with a veteran.
In a statement provided to Global News on Friday afternoon, a spokesperson for Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay said that the minister “has directed his Deputy Minister to undertake a full and thorough investigation into this matter.”
MacAulay is also ordering that, “all front line staff at Veterans Affairs Canada are given formal training, direction, and advice on how to approach issues around MAiD,” the statement added.
The investigation and training come after Global News first reported on Aug. 16 that a Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) employee had discussed medically-assisted dying with a veteran, a case that veterans’ advocates said made clear the stark stakes of the ongoing struggle for veterans to access supports.
Sources told Global News a VAC service agent brought up MAiD unprompted in a conversation with the combat veteran, who was seeking treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and a traumatic brain injury.
Global News is not identifying the veteran who was seeking treatment due to privacy concerns but has spoken directly with the individual, who says the service agent brought up MAiD repeatedly and even after the veteran asked the service agent to stop.
The veteran said he felt pressured as a result.
He also said that the service agent told him in the call about having helped another veteran access resources for medical assistance in dying through Veterans Affairs Canada, including support for that person’s children who were struggling with the impending death.
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