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BC Supreme Court Stops MAID Death of Woman from Alberta

Published

3 weeks ago

2024-11-01

Ana Wong

The 53-year-old woman traveled from Alberta to BC to access Maid after doctors in her home province refused to grant approval.

A Supreme Court Judge in British Columbia has given a rare, last-minute injunction prohibiting a woman from receiving medical assistance in dying (Maid) after physicians in her home province refused to approve the request.

The lady’s common-law partner received the injunction, which prohibits Vancouver physician Ellen Wiebe or any other medical professional from “causing the death” of an Alberta woman within the next 30 days.

The court judgment came as the country remains embroiled in a contentious debate over extending medical assistance to dying or Maid.

Earlier this week, Quebec became the first province to enable people to make the decision years in advance, in breach of federal legislation.

While official records show that the vast majority of people who use Maid have terminal diseases, critics are concerned that a tiny but growing proportion of cases reflect poverty and social inequity, which drives people to end their lives.

According to the Canadian Press, the injunction in the British Columbia case comes after the woman’s partner filed a notice of civil claim alleging Wiebe negligently approved the procedure for a patient who does not legally qualify and that administering Maid would constitute wrongful death and possibly a criminal offense.

According to court documents, the 53-year-old lady flew from Alberta to BC to obtain Maid after doctors in her native province refused to approve it. The woman had requested Maid, alleging akathisia, a movement disorder associated with altering doses of psychotropic or antipsychotic medication.

The woman had “distressing side effects” after reducing her dose of a bipolar illness medication.

Symptoms include “an inner sense of terror all day long, the inability to sleep at night, nightmares, the inability to lie down during the day due to a feeling of falling, the inability to sit or remain still suicidal thoughts”.

According to court records, the woman and her partner were assured that the disease was curable and that the symptoms would resolve within a few months. As a result, doctors denied her request for assisted death.

The woman found Wiebe and connected with her via Zoom. “At the end of the first meeting, Dr Wiebe approved [the woman] for Maid,” the allegations state. Wiebe, a clinical professor at the University of British Columbia, has emerged as a staunch supporter of Maid, claiming that current laws recognize “basic human rights.”

According to the British Columbia lawsuit, Wiebe failed to consult with the woman’s doctors or obtain the patient’s complete medical information. Instead, Wiebe is accused of email reviewing only a fraction of the woman’s medical records.

In Canada, the euthanasia framework comprises two “tracks” – one for terminal diseases and another when “natural death is not reasonably foreseeable”. Applicants with a medical condition involving mental illness will be ineligible until at least March 2027.

Federal law requires a second, independent doctor to accept a request for treatment when the petitioner has a chronic, irreversible physical condition. The complaint claims that it did not occur in the case of the Alberta woman.

British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Simon Coval stated in his decision that the woman looked to have a mental health illness rather than a medical one. He said he allowed the plea since the case was “clearly a situation of extreme irreparable harm” if she carried out her plan to die on October 27th.

Justice Coval recognized that the order “is a severe intrusion” on the woman’s personal and medical autonomy.

“I can only imagine the pain she has been experiencing and I recognize that this injunction will likely make that worse,” stated the lawyer.

However, he questioned if the Maid standards were correctly applied, given that her condition “may not only be remediable, but remediable relatively quickly”.

Source: The Canadian Press

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Trudeau Rocks to Taylor Swift While Montreal Burns

Published

8 hours ago

2024-11-24

Geoff Brown

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has come under fire yet again after a video surfaced on X, showing him dancing at a Taylor Swift performance while anti-Nato protestors ransacked downtown Montreal.

Trudeau attended Taylor Swift’s concert in Toronto on Friday night. Before Taylor Swift approached the stage, X shared a viral video of him dancing and singing along to the song “You Don’t Own Me.”

The image of Trudeau dancing amid violent protests in Montreal generated widespread indignation online. Some social media users even compared Trudeau to the ancient Roman dictator Nero, known for “fiddling while Rome burned.”

Don Stewart, a Member of Parliament (MP) representing part of Toronto, called out the prime minister in a post on X.

Lawless protestors run roughshod over Montreal in violent protest.

The Prime Minister dances.

This is the Canada built by the Liberal government.

Bring back law and order, safe streets and communities in the Canada we once knew and loved. pic.twitter.com/PVJvR6gtmf

— Don Stewart (@donstewartmp) November 23, 2024

“Lawless protesters run roughshod over Montreal in violent protest. The Prime Minister dances,” Stewart wrote. “This is the Canada built by the Liberal government.”

“Bring back law and order, safe streets and communities in the Canada we once knew and loved,” the MP added.

On Saturday, the day after Taylor Swift’s concert, Trudeau condemned the anti-NATO protests, calling them “appalling.”

Anti-NATO activists set off smoke bombs and marched through Montreal’s streets waving Palestinian flags. According to the Montreal Gazette, rioters set fire to automobiles and battled with police.

Pro-Palestinian protests

Protesters also tossed tiny explosives and metal objects at officers. At one point, the mob torched an effigy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Police used tear gas and batons to disperse the gathering, and three persons were arrested for attacking officers and impeding police operations.

Masked protesters were seen burning flares and bashing storefront windows in videos and photographs shared on social media. Pro-Palestinian protests have been taking place across Canada since the Israel-Gaza conflict began late last year.

Critics have lambasted Trudeau for doing nothing to stop the violent pro-Palestinian marches, with some claiming he has fueled anti-Israel sentiment in Canada.

On Friday, Trudeau stated that Canada would respect the orders of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which issued an arrest warrant for Mr Netanyahu, even if it meant arresting the Israeli prime leader on Canadian soil.

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Calgary Zoo Admits Human Error in Death of Baby Gorilla

Published

9 hours ago

2024-11-24

Geoff Brown

The zookeeper's negligence caused the death of a 2-year-old baby gorilla

The Calgary Zoo has admitted in a public statement that a zookeeper’s negligence caused the death of a 2-year-old baby gorilla. Eyare, a newborn gorilla, died last week after being slammed in the head by a hydraulic door.

The accident occurred when a zoo worker attempted to separate Eyare from the rest of the gorilla tribe for a solitary training session.

The gorilla died from significant head injuries, according to the zoo’s statement.

“This tragedy has struck us all in the deepest way imaginable,” Colleen Baird, director of animal care at the Calgary Zoo, said during a news conference. “Eyare’s brief but meaningful existence gave so much joy to our community, and all will sorely miss her. We will do everything possible to prevent repeat accidents.”

According to Baird, the staff member involved was immediately removed from the workplace and will be reassigned to another area of the zoo. The Calgary Zoo stated that it would take preventive steps, such as specialist personnel training and animal behavioral training, to avoid a similar incident.

Calgary Zoo Questioned

It is not the first time an animal at the zoo has died from negligence at the Calgary Zoo. A capybara was accidentally crushed by a hydraulic door similar to the one that killed Eyare in 2019.

An otter died in 2016 after being entangled in an “unauthorized” pair of jeans that a zookeeper had dropped in its enclosure. In 2013, a penguin died in “a freak accident” after swallowing a stick.

Animal Justice, a Canadian group that promotes animal welfare, has called for an independent investigation of animal safety and oversight at the Alberta facility.

“The Calgary Zoo appears to have a higher rate of animal deaths compared to other zoos, and in light of Eyare’s death there should be a systematic review of the zoo’s operations and practices, conducted transparently by the government or another outside party,” according to Camille Labchuk, the executive director of Animal Justice.

The Calgary Zoo refuted that it has more animal deaths than other zoos, emphasizing that it adheres to operating requirements and has maintained accreditation by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ independent Accreditation Commission since 1978.

“We love and care for more than 4,000 animals representing over 100 species that call our zoo home,” stated a Calgary Zoo representative.

“Human error-related deaths in animals are quite infrequent. We have lost two animals in the last ten years: a North American river otter in 2016 and ‘Eyare’ this week.

While rare, even one human-caused death is too many. These unfortunate instances have served as vital learning experiences, prompting us to examine and tighten protocols to provide the greatest level of care.”

Baird said at the news conference that using hydraulic doors is “common practice with accredited zoos,” adding that the facility will consider switching to alternate doors to improve safety.

The Calgary Zoo, which established the Wilder Institute in 2021, caters to nearly 4,000 creatures, including six more western lowland gorillas.

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Canada’s Lotto Max jackpot Climbs to $80M

Published

9 hours ago

2024-11-24

Geoff Brown

Lotto Max in Canada has reached $80 million for only the second time in Canadian lottery history. Friday’s draw sought a winner for a $75 million pool, but the top reward remained unclaimed as of Saturday, increasing the jackpot.

Only once did the jackpot reach $80 million in September, when it broke the previous record. Before that, the prize was $75 million, a record.

The Lotto Max prize maximum was boosted earlier this year, enabling for jackpots of more than $70 million. The cap is now at $80 million.
While a greater fee may encourage more people to play, the odds of winning the lottery remain extremely low.

According to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, the odds for a $5 ticket are around one in 33,294,800.

While there was no jackpot winner in Friday’s draw, someone did match six of the seven winning numbers, plus a bonus, earning them a payout of more than $320,000.

Lotto Max History

Lotto Max is one of three national lottery games in Canada, overseen by the Interprovincial Lottery Corporation. The game was introduced on September 19, 2009, and its inaugural draw occurred on September 25, 2009. It replaced Lotto Super 7.

The odds of winning the Lotto Max are 1 in 33,294,800. This is correct to a point but misleading.

Let’s have a look at the rules:

Players choose 7 numbers out of 50
Numbers cannot be repeated
Numbers are automatically sorted into ascending order
Each play buys 3 lines
Each play costs $5

Seeing that players choose 7 out of 50 non-repeating numbers, the equation for the total number of possible combinations (this is different from permutations where the order in which the numbers appear is significant) when playing the Lotto Max is 50! / (7! x 43!)