A public inquiry will be held into the death of a quadriplegic man who received medical assistance in dying (MAID) after he developed severe bedsores during a visit to a hospital emergency room.
Coroner Dave Kimpton has been appointed to preside over the investigation, assisted by public inquiry prosecutor Émilie Fay-Carlos.
A spokesperson with the Quebec Ministry of Health told The Epoch Times it has begun an investigation of its own.
“We take the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. Meunier very seriously and we will of course cooperate with the coroner’s investigation,” the ministry said in an email, adding its independent administrative investigation began on June 7.
“This investigation continues, independently of the Coroner’s public inquiry,” the email said.
The advocacy organization Regroupement des activistes pour l'inclusion au Québec (RAPLIQ), which works with disability groups, told The Epoch Times Mr. Meunier’s death could have been avoided if a proper mattress had been supplied for him. The group also called for an investigation into the incident.
Canada has one of the most liberal assisted death laws in the world and is working on a framework that would see it expanded to those whose only condition is mental illness.
Veterans Affairs Canada said the issue was limited to one employee and that it had taken disciplinary action.
There have been other recent cases of Canadians opting for MAID as they suffered from inadequate care.
In 2022, instances of MAID-related deaths climbed by 31.2 percent, representing over 4 percent of all deaths in the country, according to Statistics Canada. The 13,241 individuals who chose MAID in 2022 was up from 10,029 deaths in 2021 and 7,446 in 2020.
