End-of-Life Care

We suggest:

  • Palliative care should be accessible, funded, holistic, integrated, and available to all Canadians.
  • Hospices and other similar organizations that wish to provide only palliative care should not be prohibited from doing so.

Supporting Research

Death is Natural: Reframing the End-of-Life Conversation in Canada
Start Here
Ray Pennings
April 28, 2015
This inaugural Cardus Health report builds on the 2011 parliamentary report "Not to be Forgotten: Care of Vulnerable Canadians." Many recommendations have been published by many organizations since 2011, and this report evaluates these proposals while looking through three lenses. 
Our Inner Guide: Protecting Freedom of Conscience
September 27, 2021
Conscience, though inherently individual, is vital to the common good. Using current case studies from Canada that engage freedom of conscience, this paper offers concrete recommendations as to how this human right can be robustly protected at home and abroad.
Broad Support for MAiD in Canada Has Caveats and Concerns
Ray Pennings, Angus Reid
November 10, 2020
The story of Canadian attitudes toward medical assistance in dying (MAiD), or doctor-assisted suicide, is a complex one. It is clear that general support for MAiD has increased since it has become legal, but for most Canadians, many caveats accompany their support. This public opinion survey by the Angus Reid Group, commissioned by Cardus, outlines the many caveats and concerns Canadians express about the breadth and speed of the expansion of MAiD.

Explorations

Shadows and Light on Palliative Care
Convivium
Peter Stockland
April 26, 2021
Rapid expansion of Medical Aid in Dying and forced closure of a Vancouver-area hospice have raised alarm among palliative care providers. But Peter Stockland finds vital positive signs, too.
Exit COVID: Toward What Matters Most (Two Night Virtual Event)
June 22, 2021
Join us as we Exit COVID: Toward what matters most.
Medicine and the Ministry of Presence
Comment
Jennifer Leah Goetz, James W. Lynch Jr., Richard Gunderman
June 3, 2021
Recovering one of medicine's most underrated yet precious resources: time.

Media Coverage

Doctors, Disability Advocates Condemn Parliamentary Committee’s Recommendation to Expand MAID Law
The Globe & Mail
March 6, 2023
Dr. Leonie Herx, the chair of palliative medicine at Queen’s University and a Cardus senior fellow, tells the Globe and Mail she's not impressed with the Parliamentary committee that recommended a massive expansion of medically assisted suicide to children and to those with mental illness. “The whole process was dismissive of the evidence," she says.
Health Expert Issues Warning Over Assisted Dying
The Herald
February 4, 2023
As Scottish leaders consider an Assisted Dying Bill, Dr. Leonie Herx, a palliative care specialist and Cardus senior fellow, has a warning for them: Don't follow Canada's example. Herx says it's become "very difficult in palliative care to do our work when medically assisted dying becomes a default solution for some patients" in Canada.
Paused Expansion of Medically Assisted Suicide a Chance to Catch Up on Other Health Priorities
City News Ottawa
February 3, 2023
"We need to improve medical education for doctors about palliative care," Rebecca Vachon, program director for Cardus Health, tells the Sam Laprade Show. Rebecca argues the federal government's pause on expanding medically assisted suicide is a chance to refocus priorities on issues that have been left behind. Photo by Usman Yousaf on Unsplash  

What else are we working toward?

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