Meghan Schrader

By Meghan Schrader

Meghan is an instructor at E4 – University of Texas (Austin) and an EPC-USA board member.I feel moved to comment on the Atlantic article, “Canada is Killing Itself.”

The piece outlines many grotesque consequences of Canada’s “MAiD” program. But, as a disabled person who has spent a lot of time chatting with indigent disabled Canadians on social media, the passage that I find particularly representative of the callousness and privilege underlying the broader “MAiD” movement is the description of a “MAiD provider” conference.

Canada gave 3.3 million dollars to CAMAP to develop a “MAiD curriculum” and funds CAMAP’s academic journal. Hence, the Canadian government presumably contributed funding to that conference, either directly or indirectly. The passage about the conference reads:

“The euthanasia conference was held at a Sheraton. Some 300 Canadian professionals, most of them clinicians, had arrived for the annual event. There were lunch buffets and complimentary tote bags; attendees could look forward to a Friday-night social outing, with a DJ, at an event space above Par-Tee Putt in downtown Vancouver.”

Yeah, ok, screw your posh conference, “MAiD providers.” How dare you nosh on a government-subsidized fruit plate while disabled Canadians beg for a few dollars on X so that they can buy an apple.

This dichotomy is an excellent example of how much more the Canadian government values “choice” for the privileged than disabled people’s autonomy, well-being and lives. Canada is helping to fund fancy “MAiD provider” conferences while it refuses to appoint a disability policy director and institutes a difficult-to-access “disability benefit” that gives disabled Canadians six dollars a day.

Funding “MAiD provider conferences” while letting disabled people starve and die by assisted suicide is the shameful opposite of the autonomy, equity and compassion that the “MAiD” movement invokes in advertising its cause.

Our ableist, narcissistic world needs to get its priorities straight. It’s evil that Canada funds outings, catered lunches and DJs for “MAiD provider” conferences while it refuses to fund disabled people’s medical care, housing and food.