A Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) veteran is suing the federal government and Veterans Affairs Canada after allegedly having been offered medically assisted suicide unprompted.
Corben McGown, who was a supply technician with CAF’s logistics branch, is seeking at least $18 million in damages. This includes $3 million for emotional distress and $5 million for consequential losses to cover medical expenses, therapy costs, and any “other out-of-pocket expenses incurred because of the Defendant’s actions,” according to the statement of claim filed in Federal Court on March 5.
“The Plaintiff was subjected to egregious conduct by the Defendant which included telling the Plaintiff that the Medical Assistance in Dying (”MAID“) service was the preferred option for the Plaintiff’s mental health issues on or about February 3, 2022,” the court document reads.
It said the defendant knew Mr. McGown had been through allegations of criminal conduct while serving in the CAF and was acquitted at court martial following a lengthy investigation. Mr. McGown “did not ask for assistance with suicide as a solution to his acute mental stress” when he called VAC, the statement of claim said.
“The Defendant deliberately ignored all the obvious risks of self-harm by a vulnerable veteran and promoted him to seek assistance that could lead to his death at 23 years of age despite no physical health issues,” the statement added.
It said Mr. McGown experienced severe emotional distress, mental anguish, and “moral injury” due to the incident, resulting in a loss of opportunities and financial losses. By offering MAID unprompted, the plaintiff breached VAC’s mandate to aid veterans with their mental health needs, according to the claim.
The Epoch Times contacted the Justice Department and Veterans Affairs Canada for comment but did not hear back.
MAID Expansion
MAID became legal in Canada in June 2016. The law originally said that to be eligible for the procedure, one must have a “grievous and irremediable medical condition” and natural death must be “reasonably foreseeable.”
Ottawa expanded eligibility in 2021 when
Bill C-7 was passed, which
removed the requirement for natural death to be reasonably foreseeable. The bill excluded scenarios where mental illness was the only underlying medical condition. The exclusion was set to expire March 17, 2023.
Canada’s assisted dying regime has on multiple occasions faced
controversy over CAF veterans being offered MAID unprompted.
Back in March 2023, a
VAC report said an investigation found four incidents in which MAID was “inappropriately raised.” Noting that all four involved “a single employee who is no longer employed with the Department,” the report concluded that “this is not a widespread, systemic issue.”
The investigation was
triggered by a veteran who said he was offered MAID during a call with a VAC service agent in 2022. The veteran had called to seek help for a traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress,
Global News reported in August 2022.
In October 2022, the House veterans affairs committee heard from a
witness that a VAC agent told a veteran on the phone: “I know I can do it [MAID] for you. We did it before, and we are now supporting the surviving wife and two children.”
One of the most high-profile cases of a veteran being offered MAID was retired CAF corporal and former Paralympian
Christine Gauthier. Ms. Gauthier, a paraplegic, said she was offered the procedure when she called VAC to get a new wheelchair platform lift installed at her home. In her
testimony before the veterans affairs committee in December 2022, she said “right now, I have to crawl up and down the stairs to get in and out of my home.” She said the case worker told her “if I was that desperate, they could give me medical assistance in dying now.”
A month before the March 17, 2023, eligibility date for requesting MAID where mental illness was the sole medical condition, the federal government introduced
Bill C-39 to extend the date to March 17, 2024. Then in January 2024, Ottawa announced it would
again extend the deadline, citing the need for more preparation time for medical providers and provinces. No new timeline was given.
