For all the people going “sources?!” or who are trying to claim that this is fearmongering:
This article(1) here, among others listed below, will help us set the stage upon which this atrocity, re: MAiD is taking place:
between 2018 and Sept 2022, the provincial disability pension in Ontario, the most-populated province in Canada, was a) frozen, and b) $1169/mo. for a single adult
never fucking mind that inflation went fucking bananas during the pandemic, and that the offered pandemic income supports discriminated against disabled people(2), as the only ones eligible to receive pandemic funding were those who worked and made over a certain amount of money, so help was largely unavailable
The actual help the federal govt offered was a paltry and insulting one-time payment of up to $600, but only if you had valid paperwork in before Sept of 2020, and weren’t receiving other benefits(3) (4)
in Sept 2022, Ford’s Conservative govt raised that amount by a whole 5%, which is absolutely less than what the cost of living went up by, to $1228/mo
In southern Ontario–where the majority of access to medical care, especially specialized care is–even outside of the GTA, the standard amount required to pay rent for a one-bedroom apartment is over that $1228/mo (a) (b) ©
if you live with someone else, as a co-renter, you will be screened to determine if your relationship with that person is what they deem to be “spousal”; if it is found to be such, their finances will be investigated. If they make too much money, you will not receive benefits, bc you’re officially that person’s problem, not the govt’s
if you rent a room in a house, you will receive less than the $1228/mo., bc you are considered a “lodger”, not a “renter”, and they will dock your shelter allowance accordingly
Currently, any disabled person on ODSP who works is allowed to earn $200/mo before clawbacks begin, which happen at a rate of fifty cents per dollar for every dollar over that $200 cap
ex: if someone earned $250, then their income for the month would be cut by $25; meaning that, functionally, their additional income for the month is $225
Ford plans to “help” this terrible situation, by raising the earnings cap, while also increasing the clawback rate: now, you can make up to $1000/mo, but the clawback is now seventy-five cents on every dollar made over that.
there are currently about 378, 145 people on ODSP, the provincial disability support, in the province
of those, an estimated 25, 000 are working
those who are not working will not receive a further increase in benefits
this means, functionally, that 6.6% of those on ODSP in Ontario will see some sort of positive change to their situation
over 200 advocacy groups are shrieking at Ford to pretend to have some humanity and double the ODSP rates; Ford says “no”
meanwhile, he maintains that “the best way out of poverty is something called a job”
Add to this that Ford cancelled the Basic Income Pilot Project when he was first elected, pre-pandemic, despite the fact that the data being collected indicated it was doing EXACTLY what it was supposed to (5). And that, when first elected in 2018, his plan was to tighten restrictions on ODSP, making it harder to qualify for, while simultaneously increasing the clawback rate on those who work while on welfare, and slashing the planned increase to welfare rates(6)–a govt assistance program that has some really horrifying requirements, by the way(7).
So now that the absolute horror of trying to survive as a disabled person despite our provincial leader believing that people on social assistance programs “have their hands in the public trough”(8) has been established as one of the stages upon which this MAiD controversy is playing out, here, have even MORE sources about the eugenics of all this specifically:
There is a man who is choosing MAiD specifically because of poverty. (9) There was a woman who chose MAiD after two years of relentless self-advocacy, and advocacy on her behalf by friends, family, and medical staff, that amounted to nothing–she was unable to find housing she could live in that did not worsen her disabilities (10). Another woman who simply cannot live, because the special diet and treatments she needs are expensive, and not covered by her disability benefits–and aren’t ones she can afford to pay for, on her disability pension, so she’s choosing MAiD out of “brutal practicality” (11).
This article (12) discusses the issues in depth with why making MAiD available to people with mental illness–whose only qualifying illness is mental illness–is deeply problematic, which includes the fact that wait lists for mental health help–if it is available at all, and if it is covered for you through insurance/benefits of some kind–can take anywhere from four months to nearly a year and a half, and as soon as you’re referred to another service, you’re put on another wait list. It also acknowledges that Canada’s guidelines are the least stringent of countries that offer medical assistance in dying, and that laxity is most pronounced when it comes to applicants that are applying for mental health reasons. This article (13) points out that, while the current applications are reasonably low, they are rising quickly, and 81% of written applications for MAiD are being approved. Of those who were not approved, 2% withdrew their application, 13% died before being approved, and 4% were rejected. Four percent actual rejection rate. I don’t know about you, but that terrifies me.
Especially when this article (14) backs up all of the above, and offers further examples of people offered–or even given–MAiD–in inappropriate circumstances, such as against family member’s wishes when the family member was checked into a mental health ward (15), or when a veteran was advised to consider MAiD when he was seeking treatment. What’s worse is that there’s no way for a family to review the decision-making process, or a method by which to hold the doctors and institutions responsible for suspected wrongful euthanasia deaths. This happened despite the supposed safeguards in place, as well as a palliative care physician stating outright that poverty, not pain or suffering, is driving disabled people to seek help ending their lives, and getting that help, because Canada has the most permissive guidelines in the world and provincial governments that are happy to mandate that disabled people who can’t work live in legislated poverty. It also mentions that seniors have reported being given a choice between nursing homes and MAiD, which is ageist in addition to ableist, and a whole new level of horrifying in an already-appalling state of affairs.
And, in case anyone wants to argue that still isn’t eugenics, somehow, this Vancouver palliative physician, Dr. Margaret Cottle sums it up pretty nicely(16): “In British Columbia it takes less paperwork and less assessment to get MAiD than it does to receive government-supported home oxygen.” That article also states that the Canada Health Act enshrines assistance in dying as a right–but palliative care, the kind of medical care you get at the end of your life, is not equally enshrined. When your choices are “suffer because the govt and society has decided against supporting you in accessing the basics of what you need to live comfortably” or “quick, easy, assured death”, the latter is not a freely-made choice. The bodily autonomy to be able to die with dignity is important, yes, but this? This system, as it exists right now? Is so fucking broken that the only reason there isn’t rioting in the streets about it is because disabled people are the minority group it’s still socially acceptable to discriminate against. And because disabled folk, due to, y’know, being disabled, have a hard time mobilizing to riot on our own behalf.
Oh, and let’s not forget: the COVID-19 pandemic is a mass-disabling event(17). Post-viral illnesses and long COVID are real, and because of the issues in getting diagnosed, the rates could be anywhere from 10%-30% of people who’ve contracted COVID. Which seems relevant, here.
1) https://globalnews.ca/news/9276379/province-quintuple-exempt-earnings-ontario-disability-support-recipients/
2) https://www.thestar.com/business/2021/11/26/cerb-and-crb-discriminated-against-canadians-with-disabilities-new-charter-challenge-claims.html
3) https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2020/05/30/people-with-disabilities-forgotten-amid-covid-19-pandemic-advocates-say-in-plea-for-federal-support.html
4) https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2020/06/05/prime-minister-announces-supports-canadians-disabilities-address
5) https://nowtoronto.com/news/doug-ford-basic-income-poverty-welfare/
6) https://nowtoronto.com/news/doug-ford-basic-income-poverty-welfare/
7) https://www.ontario.ca/page/rights-and-responsibilities-ontario-works-clients-and-beneficiaries
8) https://pressprogress.ca/10-cruel-and-unusual-ways-doug-ford-has-made-life-worse-for-the-people-of-ontario-since-last-years-election/
9) https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/assisted-suicide-for-poverty/
10) https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/woman-with-chemical-sensitivities-chose-medically-assisted-death-after-failed-bid-to-get-better-housing-1.5860579
11) https://www.chatelaine.com/health/maid-assisted-death-poverty/
12) https://www.ctvnews.ca/w5/the-death-debate-why-some-welcome-canada-s-move-to-assisted-dying-for-mental-illness-and-others-fear-it-1.6109646
13) https://beta.ctvnews.ca/national/health/2022/8/13/1_6025922.amp.html
14) https://globalnews.ca/news/9176485/poverty-canadians-disabilities-medically-assisted-death/ (if you only choose to follow up on one of these links, to only read one? Read this one.)
15) https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-toronto-7c631558a457188d2bd2b5cfd360a867
16) https://www.catholicregister.org/item/34948-surprise-support-for-anti-maid-campaign
17) https://finance.yahoo.com/news/long-covid-patients-doctors-america-172004184.html
tagging @allthecanadianpolitics in hopes of a signal boost
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