Worker from Veterans Affairs Canada ‘inappropriately’ discussed medically assisted death with Veteran

by **Terminator** Tue 16 Aug 2022, 4:49 pm

Veterans Affairs says worker ‘inappropriately’ discussed medically assisted death with veteran

By Mercedes Stephenson & Sean Boynton . Global News
Posted August 16, 2022

A Canadian Forces veteran seeking treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and a traumatic brain injury was shocked when he was unexpectedly and casually offered medical assistance in dying by a Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) employee, sources tell Global News.

Sources say a VAC service agent brought up medical assistance in dying, or MAID, unprompted in the conversation with the veteran. Global News is not identifying the veteran who was seeking treatment.

But multiple sources tell Global News the combat veteran never raised the issue, nor was he looking for MAID and was deeply disturbed by the suggestion. Multiple sources and VAC have told Global News that the discussion took place.

Sources close to the veteran say he and his family were disgusted by the conversation, and feel betrayed by the agency mandated to assist veterans. The sources said the veteran was seeking services to recover from injuries suffered in the line of duty, and had been experiencing positive improvements in his mental and physical health. They say the unprompted offer of MAID disrupted his progress and has been harmful to the veteran’s progress and his family’s wellbeing.

Global News has also learned of follow-up calls in which the agency apologized to the veteran but only after he lodged multiple complaints with VAC.

In a statement, Veterans Affairs confirmed the department is aware of what they called an incident between a veteran and VAC employee “where medical assistance in dying was discussed inappropriately.”

“VAC deeply regrets what transpired,” the statement reads, adding the agency is investigating the incident and that “appropriate administrative action will be taken.” VAC would not discuss the nature of the ongoing investigation or specifics of what consequences the employee might face, citing privacy concerns.

The department also did not answer Global News’ questions about how many times assisted dying has been offered to veterans through this particular VAC employee or others at Veterans Affairs, or what guidance employees have been given about providing such advice.

Sources who spoke to Global News are concerned this is not an isolated incident and that more veterans could be inappropriately offered assisted dying, putting their lives and mental health at risk. They added they are worried other veterans have already received similar offers, which have not been verified by Global News.

Medical assistance in dying became legal in Canada in 2016, with further amendments passed in 2021 that broadened who could request the procedure. Another change allowing people with mental disorders to access assisted dying is set to go into effect in March 2023.

The law clearly states that requesting assisted dying is subject to discussions between patients and primary care providers, which the Veterans Affairs statement also highlighted.

“Providing advice pertaining to medical assistance in dying is not a VAC service,” the statement reads, adding agency employees “have no mandate or role to recommend medical assistance in dying to veteran clients.”

The department did note, however, that it may offer assistance to veteran clients and their families after the veteran has already made the decision to pursue an assisted death with their primary care provider.

Veterans Affairs did not answer Global News’ questions about how many veterans have accessed agency resources to proceed with assisted dying.

Veterans who spoke to Global News said their concern about VAC offering assisted dying stems from the mental health impact it could have on veterans.

A 2017 Veterans Affairs report showed that Canadian Forces veterans have a higher risk of suicide compared with the average population.

The federal government introduced a suicide-prevention strategy for military personnel and veterans that same year after a rash of suicides during the last few years of the war in Afghanistan cast a spotlight on the issue.

The strategy promised to improve the services and support available to military members and veterans in the hope of increasing awareness and reducing the number of suicides in both populations.

That included adding more medical staff, training personnel on how to respond if someone shows warning signs of suicide and introducing new measures to ease the transition to civilian life for those leaving the Forces.

The latest report from the Department of National Defence found that 12 Canadian Forces members died by suicide in 2021, while 69 others died between 2015 and 2019.

Veterans advocates told Global News they are concerned the numbers may be higher than what is formally being tracked by the federal government.

— with files from the Canadian Press

Global News

by **Wolfman** Thu 18 Aug 2022, 7:50 pm

‘Deny, delay, die’: Assisted dying discussion renews warnings about gaps in veteran care

By Amanda Connolly & Mercedes Stephenson . Global News

Posted August 18, 2022

For some Canadian veterans, the struggle to access vital support services can feel like it follows a predictable path.

“Deny, delay, die,” said Debbie Lowther, executive director of VETS Canada, a charity that helps veterans in crisis. “We hear it quite regularly.”

The stark stakes of the struggle to access care and support are once again in the spotlight amid outrage and calls for an inquiry into the case of a Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) employee discussing medical assistance in dying with a veteran, as first reported by Global News on Aug. 16.

Sources told Global News a VAC service agent brought up medical assistance in dying, or MAID, unprompted in a conversation with the combat veteran, who was seeking treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and a traumatic brain injury.

Global News is not identifying the veteran who was seeking treatment.

Multiple sources tell Global News the combat veteran never raised the issue, nor was he looking for MAID, and that he was deeply disturbed by the suggestion. Those sources and VAC have told Global News the discussion took place, and VAC confirmed it is investigating the incident.

Sources close to the veteran say he and his family were disgusted by the conversation, and feel betrayed by the department mandated to assist veterans. The sources said the veteran was seeking services to recover from injuries suffered in the line of duty, and had been experiencing positive improvements in his mental and physical health. They say the unprompted mention of MAID disrupted his progress and has been harmful to the veteran’s progress and his family’s well-being.

Lowther said she was “appalled” to hear of the incident, adding it raises serious concerns.

“If we have a veteran who’s already struggling with their mental health and maybe they are contemplating suicide … this is an opportunity that’s been presented to them.”

For some, the thought of taking their own life and having a loved one find their body may have been a deterrent to going through with suicidal thoughts, she explained.

But presenting the option to have a medically assisted death instead, Lowther said, “could have very, very damaging consequences.”

Under Canadian law, medically-assisted death can only be discussed between a primary care provider like a physician or psychiatrist and their patient.

The incident is raising questions about the training being given to VAC employees, with Conservatives now calling for an inquiry.

They want to know, among other concerns, whether similar suggestions have been made to other veterans — and whether any veterans may have acted on the suggestion and chosen to die.

“We don’t know whether this was a policy: whether written or unwritten or being communicated to people. So I’m calling on the government to commit to a full investigation,” said Frank Caputo, Conservative veterans’ affairs critic.

“We need to know how this happened. We also need to know, were there other veterans that were provided this option? Did any veterans take the government up on this? These are unanswered questions.”

Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay said in a statement on Monday that he has asked his deputy minister to “ensure this never happens again.”

An official, speaking on background, told Global News that case managers receive sensitivity and crisis training in case a veteran were to raise the subject of assisted death themselves, but that they are not qualified to offer or suggest the service.

Rachel Blaney, veterans critic for the NDP, called the incident a symptom of a “deeper wound” after successive slashes to funding for veterans services over the decades.

She pointed to a report by Auditor General Karen Hogan earlier this year which urged the government to commit to a “long-term resourcing plan” for Veterans Affairs Canada, which is not meeting its targets for delivering disability benefits to veterans in a timely manner.

The service standards for the department aim to address 80 per cent of cases seeking benefits within 16 weeks. Instead, the audit found the median wait time is 37 weeks for Canadian Forces veterans and 51 weeks for RCMP veterans.

That audit found Veterans Affairs Canada is only meeting its target 39 per cent of the time.

“It is a symptom of a much larger and longstanding problem, which is veterans not getting the support that they need when they need it,” Blaney said.

“We’re hearing from the veterans employees, the V.A., that they need more resources. They have been saying very clearly that a lot of vet caseworkers are leaving because they are overworked, they are burnt out, which means veterans are paying the price … we need to see that.”

– with a file from Global News’ Sean Boynton

Global News

by **Apollo** Sat 20 Aug 2022, 7:08 am

Ottawa orders ‘full and thorough’ probe into veteran assisted dying discussion

By Mercedes Stephenson & Amanda Connolly . Global News
Posted August 19, 2022

The federal government is launching a “full and thorough” investigation into the case of a Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) employee discussing medical assistance in dying (MAiD) with a veteran.

In a statement provided to Global News on Friday afternoon, a spokesperson for Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay said that the minister “has directed his Deputy Minister to undertake a full and thorough investigation into this matter.”

MacAulay is also ordering that, “all front line staff at Veterans Affairs Canada are given formal training, direction, and advice on how to approach issues around MAiD,” the statement added.

The investigation and training come after Global News first reported on Aug. 16 that a Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) employee had discussed medically-assisted dying with a veteran, a case that veterans’ advocates said made clear the stark stakes of the ongoing struggle for veterans to access supports.

Sources told Global News a VAC service agent brought up MAiD unprompted in a conversation with the combat veteran, who was seeking treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and a traumatic brain injury.

Global News is not identifying the veteran who was seeking treatment due to privacy concerns but has spoken directly with the individual, who says the service agent brought up MAiD repeatedly and even after the veteran asked the service agent to stop.

The veteran said he felt pressured as a result.

He also said that the service agent told him in the call about having helped another veteran access resources for medical assistance in dying through Veterans Affairs Canada, including support for that person’s children who were struggling with the impending death.

The veteran told Global News that service agent told him that the other veteran went through with a medically-assisted death, and that it had been someone who was determined to end his life.

“Better than blowing his brains out all over the wall or driving his car into something,” the veteran says the service agent told him when describing that separate case.

Veterans Affairs Canada said earlier this week it was looking into the matter.

The department and its staff do not have the ability to provide the resources for an assisted death, but veterans advocates have raised serious concerns about the impact of even raising the subject.

“It’s kind of like planting a seed,” said Debbie Lowther, executive director of VETS Canada, a charity that helps veterans in crisis.

“If we have a veteran who’s already struggling with their mental health and maybe they are contemplating suicide … this is an opportunity that’s been presented to them.”

For some, the thought of taking their own life and having a loved one find their body may have been a deterrent to going through with suicidal thoughts, she explained.

But presenting the option to have a medically-assisted death instead, Lowther said, “could have very, very damaging consequences.”

Bruce Moncur, founder of the Afghanistan Veterans Association of Canada, raised similar concerns.

“If that veteran was close to the edge, that might have been the hair that broke the camel’s back,” he said in an interview. “It’s so cavalier with somebody’s life.”

Moncur fought in Afghanistan as a reservist and sustained a traumatic brain injury after being shot in the head while deployed. He said learning of the service agent bringing up medical assistance in dying to a veteran left him feeling “shock, outrage, anger.”

“My understanding [is] this staff is still on the payroll and still working at their job, which is unacceptable to me. I just cannot understand how this person can still be trusted,” he said.
“I’m wondering, is this my case manager? Is this somebody that I have trying to look after me?“

Moncur, whose partner is NDP MP Niki Ashton, also criticized MacAulay’s performance in the job.

He said he sits on the Service Excellence Advisory Group, which advises the minister, and tried to call an emergency meeting about the matter.

“They denied my request,” Moncur said. “They said that we were going to have a meeting in September anyway, so might as well just wait until then.“

Global News sent a list of detailed questions about the specifics of the allegations made by the veteran to officials at Veterans Affairs Canada. In response, the department stated they do not record phone conversations between veterans and staff in order to protect privacy.

The department said it could not corroborate the allegations made by the veteran that the service agent had described helping a separate veteran access medical assistance in dying, or about the veteran’s claim that the agent told the separate veteran that MAiD was “better than blowing his brains out.”

The veteran who spoke with Global News has said he filed multiple complaints about the service agent since July 21, 2022.

“When the Veteran client called VAC to share what happened on the call, we immediately took action to address the situation and apologized to the client,” a spokesperson for Veterans Affairs Canada said.

“As directed by the Minister of Veterans Affairs, the Deputy Minister will oversee a thorough internal investigation into this matter and take any appropriate administrative actions necessary to ensure this situation doesn’t happen again.”

“In addition, all VAC frontline staff will be provided training as a reminder of the expectations and the available programs and services offered by the Department to support the health and well-being of Veterans.”

Under Canadian law, medically-assisted death can only be discussed between a primary care provider like a physician or psychiatrist and their patient.

Global News

by Covert Wed 24 Aug 2022, 8:51 am

'Horrifying' that Veterans Affairs staff raised assisted suicide with troubled veteran, group says

Jessica Doria-Brown · CBC News · Posted: Aug 24, 2022

Worker from Veterans Affairs Canada ‘inappropriately’ discussed medically assisted death with Veteran Scott-maxwell

CBC News

by Vexmax Fri 21 Oct 2022, 5:59 am

Veterans Affairs assisted dying discussion was isolated, but probe ongoing: ministers

By Sean Boynton . Global News
Posted October 20, 2022

Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) officials insist the case of an employee who discussed medical assistance in dying with a veteran was an isolated incident, despite most calls between service agents and clients not being recorded.

Paul Ledwell, the deputy veterans affairs minister, assured the House of Commons standing committee on veterans affairs on Thursday that the investigation into the incident — which is still ongoing two months after it was launched following reporting by Global News — has determined “no other instance” of VAC agents having similar discussions with other veterans.

Ledwell appeared at the committee alongside Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay, who despite taking questions on the issue for the first time repeatedly deferred to his deputy who is overseeing the probe into the department.

“The thoroughness of this investigation is directly related to the seriousness of the incident that occurred,” Ledwell said.

Ledwell added training is ongoing with all frontline staff to ensure no service agent ever again brings up assisted dying with veterans. He said to date, three-quarters of all service agents have received the training, which will be mandatory for all new hires.

No other details were given about the employee at the centre of the controversial discussion, who was described as a “well-established” agent who remains at the department but is no longer interacting with veterans.

Global News first reported on Aug. 16 that a VAC employee had discussed medically-assisted dying with a veteran, a case that has brought renewed scrutiny on the department and the ongoing struggle for veterans seeking support.

Sources told Global News a VAC service agent brought up medical assistance in dying, or MAID, unprompted in a conversation with the combat veteran, who was discussing treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and a traumatic brain injury.

Global News is not identifying the veteran due to privacy concerns but has spoken directly with the individual, who says the service agent brought up MAiD repeatedly and even after the veteran asked the service agent to stop.

The veteran said he felt pressured as a result.

He also said that the service agent told him in the call about having helped another veteran access resources for medical assistance in dying through VAC, including support for that person’s children who were struggling with the impending death.

The veteran told Global News that the service agent told him the other veteran went through with a medically-assisted death, and that it had been someone who was determined to end his life.

Ledwell said the investigation had determined the second veteran had brought up MAiD to the agent, who then referenced that case with the veteran who spoke to Global News.

Both Ledwell and assistant deputy minister Steven Harris said because of privacy concerns, most calls between agents and veterans seeking care are not recorded, meaning an official transcript of either discussion could not be provided to the committee.

Yet they said a review of all available records kept by agents of their calls had determined MAiD had not been brought up by any other employee with their clients.

Ledwell said VAC staff have met with and offered support to the veteran who described the discussion about MAiD, but MacAulay said he has not done so himself.

Committee members suggested the minister should apologize personally to the veteran.

“I apologize right now,” MacAulay told the committee.

Ledwell later said a call between MacAulay and the veteran could be arranged, provided the veteran agrees to it. Both officials said privacy laws prevented them from knowing the veteran’s identity.

Those privacy rules were also cited when answering questions from the committee about the employee in question, who has not been terminated. Ledwell and Harris suggested union collective agreements stood in the way of firing the employee, and neither of them could say if the agent was suspended pending the outcome of the investigation.

Under Canadian law, medically-assisted death can only be discussed between a primary care provider like a physician or psychiatrist and their patient. Violators of the law can face up to 14 years in prison.

When asked directly if the issue had been referred to law enforcement, Ledwell said “all aspects” were being considered during the ongoing investigation.

He added the probe was primarily focused on the operations within the department and ensuring such discussions never happen again.

“I think that the (employee) … realized while (the discussion) was transpiring, or through the transpiring of this, that this had gone to a point that was unacceptable,” he said.

“That doesn’t excuse the action, but I think that the individual, the employee, certainly recognized that. We still have to deal with the effects and the impact of that, and that’s what we’re doing very seriously.”

VAC has repeatedly confirmed to Global News that staff have no mandate to discuss MAiD with veterans and do not have the ability to provide the necessary resources for assisted dying.

Staff have been made clear under the new training that they can only discuss MAiD in the context of impacts on benefits for veterans’ families, Ledwell said. Any instance of a veteran raising MAiD with a service agent or case worker must be brought to that employee’s supervisor.

Ledwell did not say when the department aims to provide the updated training to the remaining 25 per cent of staff.

Veterans’ advocates have repeatedly voiced outrage about the discussion taking place, pointing to it as an example of the ongoing struggles veterans face in receiving proper care — particularly for mental health concerns.

As Remembrance Day approaches, those advocates say they are concerned about the ongoing epidemic of veterans dying by suicide, making the discussion of MAiD with someone who wasn’t seeking it all the more painful.

Studies by Veterans Affairs have concluded veterans have a “significantly higher” risk of death by suicide compared to to the general Canadian population, particularly for younger male veterans.

The committee is set to further discuss the issue on Monday with some of those advocates, including representatives of the Royal Canadian Legion and the Veterans Transition Network.

—With files from Mercedes Stephenson and Amanda Connolly

Global News

by Ravenson Tue 25 Oct 2022, 5:43 am

Veterans Affairs caseworker allegedly admits to helping veterans end their lives, committee hears

Testimony alleges caseworker suggested medically-assisted death was a better option than 'blowing your brains out against the wall'

Bryan Passifiume
Publishing date: Oct 24, 2022

OTTAWA — Explosive testimony Monday before the Commons standing committee on veterans affairs by a retired member of the Canadian Armed Forces suggests a combat veteran was offered MAiD twice — despite repeatedly dismissing medically assisted suicide — and was told that Veterans Affairs had carried out the service for others.

The committee also heard that the Veterans Affairs caseworker suggested medical assistance in dying was a better option than “blowing your brains out.”

“He was told in his original phone call where he was offered MAiD, ‘we can do it for you, because we’ve done it before, and one veteran that we’ve done this for, after we completed MAiD, after we killed him, we now have supports in place for his wife and two children,'” Mark Meincke told the committee.

“That is what he told me transpired.”

Meincke is a retired Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry member who served as a UN Peacekeeper in Croatia during Operation HARMONY — and suffered from undiagnosed PTSD for over two decades years after witnessing the horrors of genocide.

He’s also the host of Operation Tango Romeo, a podcast helping other veterans recover from service-induced trauma and PTSD.

The veteran, who has not gone public with his allegations or his identity, told Meincke he was in a good place mentally before making the phone call.

“He expressed to me that things were sunshine and roses prior to this phone call, he was feeling good about life,” Meincke testified.

“Post phone call, he left the country, because he was devastated by that call.”

First reported by Global News in August, the incident created shock waves across Canada’s veteran and mental health community, and fed concerns over the dangerously slippery-slope of Canada’s legal MAiD framework.

Member of Parliament and committee member Luc Desilets described Meincke’s account as “shocking,” and asked if the veteran told him what prompted Veterans Affairs Canada to suggest suicide as an option.

“He asked that same question to the VAC manager, and she also said ‘I don’t know,'” Meincke said.

“He was asking for a completely separate service and supports for neurological injuries, and she said ‘oh by the way, if you have suicidal thoughts,’ and this is what he told me she said; ‘it’s better than blowing your brains out against the wall.'”

Committee member Blake Richards said the committee was assured by Veterans Affairs Canada officials last week that recordings of the call didn’t exist, who also implied to the committee that only one veteran had been offered MAiD.

“We were told the conversation was only surrounding benefits that were available to the veteran, and that medical assistance in dying wasn’t pushed or proposed,” Richards said.

“You’ve indicated to us that it was pushed, and pushed numerous times despite insistence from the veteran that they weren’t interested.”

Deputy Veterans Affairs Minister Paul Ledwell told the committee last week that an internal investigation revealed no other veterans had been offered MAiD, and that they weren’t aware of any recordings of the particular phone call.

Meincke said he doesn’t believe recordings of the call don’t exist, and said notes about the case could easily be found through the veteran’s MyVAC account.

Meincke said the veteran described the VAC caseworker to him as a ‘bad used-car salesman,’ adding the veteran kept questioning how it was legal for assisted suicide to even be offered to offer Canadian combat vets — much less repeatedly to somebody who insisted he wasn’t interested in taking his own life.

“That was not reflective of the testimony that I heard on Wednesday,” Meincke said.

“And that makes me angry.”

John Conrad, a retired CAF colonel who also testified Monday, recommended VAC caseworkers be given the same “cultural sensitivity” training given to troops before deploying overseas.

“Veterans are a very unique lot — we’re all every different, come from different walks of life and different backgrounds,” he said.

“One common thread through all these brothers and sisters who make up the Canadian Armed Forces and stand as veterans, is the commitment to service and that element of self-sacrifice, and the ability, desire and ethos to carry on — no matter how arduous our conditions or the mission set in front of you.”

Resources are available for those in crisis through the Canada Suicide Prevention Service at 1-833-456-4566 or by texting 45645.

• Email: bpassifiume@postmedia.com | Twitter:

National Post

by Stanleyz Thu 24 Nov 2022, 11:39 am

Another Canadian Forces member alleges Veterans Affairs offered assisted death as 'support'

I was kinda hoping they would help me with my transition out of the military,' 'Bruce' said on a trauma-recovery podcast for CF members

Bryan Passifiume

Publishing date: Nov 24, 2022

A second Canadian Forces member has come forward with allegations that a Veterans Affairs Canada caseworker offered him medical assistance in dying after he asked for support for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Still in active service, the Canadian Forces member referred to himself only by the pseudonym “Bruce,” out of fear of retaliation, in Wednesday’s episode of Operation Tango Romeo, a trauma-recovery podcast for Canadian Forces members hosted by former Canadian soldier and veterans advocate Mark Meincke.

“I had been suffering from PTSD and recently had a lot of suicidal thoughts,” Bruce told Meincke during the gripping and emotional podcast, explaining he’d reached out to Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) for help and awaited a return call from a caseworker.

“I was kinda hoping they would help me with my transition out of the military, help me find new doctors once I get out, and assist me with any other kind of claims I might have.”

“I wasn’t expecting them to let me know ‘Hey, we had recently won litigation to assist members with MAID (medical assistance in dying), and you know that’s always an option,'” Bruce recalled, his voice steady but quavering.

“I was a little disturbed that if they had mentioned that to somebody else that was even worse off than I was, that could’ve been that little push over the edge.”

Global News first reported over the summer that an unidentified Canadian Forces combat veteran had claimed he was offered medically assisted death twice during a call with a VAC caseworker in August 2022. That would have occurred nine months after Bruce claims he was offered MAID.

Testifying before the Commons veterans affairs committee last month, Meincke recalled conversations he had with the first unnamed veteran — including claims by the caseworker that VAC had helped other Canadian Forces members arrange their deaths.

“He was told in his original phone call where he was offered MAID, ‘we can do it for you, because we’ve done it before, and one veteran that we’ve done this for, after we completed MAID, after we killed him, we now have supports in place for his wife and two children,’” Meincke told the committee. He added that the caseworker allegedly told the veteran that MAID was a better alternative to “blowing your brains out.”

The House veterans affairs committee is due to discuss MAID being offered to veterans on Thursday afternoon.

Bruce said on the podcast that it was Meincke’s testimony last month that prompted him to come forward, lamenting that he didn’t come forward earlier.

“I wish I had said something earlier, because maybe that would’ve put a stop to it right then and there,” he said.

Bruce remembered telling the caseworker he certainly wasn’t seeking help ending his life, but said he got the impression the option was being pushed.

“I said I’m in a good place right now, I don’t need to worry about those things,” he recalled telling her.

“And she’s like ‘well I know, but it’s out there, if things get worse just let us know.”

Bruce also alleged the caseworker mentioned that VAC had assisted a veteran win a recent court case to take his own life.

“That’s what I recall from the conversation, that she had said that they’d won a case in court to help with a veteran’s assistance in passing on.

Meincke told National Post that Bruce first reached out to him on social media, wanting to tell his story.

“That turned into a phone call,” Meincke said.

“He’s current-serving, he was asking for help with the PTSD, and the exact same conversation.” He said Bruce is nervous about going public.

Meinecke said the entire situation is appalling.

“It’s got to end,” Meinecke said.

Podcast

National Post

by **Wolfman** Thu 24 Nov 2022, 6:23 pm

Veterans Affairs assisted dying probe finds 2 more cases, RCMP contacted: minister

By Sean Boynton . Global News
Posted November 24, 2022

Two more instances of a Veterans Affairs Canada employee discussing medical assistance in dying with a veteran have been discovered during an ongoing investigation into the department, the minister responsible told lawmakers Thursday.

Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay told the House of Commons standing committee on veterans affairs this brings the total number of cases involving a single VAC service agent to four, and that the RCMP has been contacted.

“I have instructed the deputy (minister) to examine all options in this investigation, including referring the matter to the police for investigation if necessary. I can confirm the RCMP have been contacted, and the department has taken steps to formally refer the case,” MacAulay said.

“If any of the veterans are watching right now, I am sorry,” he added, calling any discussion of assisted dying with a veteran seeking care “totally unacceptable.”

The four calls confirmed by the department date back to 2019, MacAulay said.

Global News first reported on Aug. 16 that a VAC employee had discussed medically-assisted dying with a veteran, a case that has brought renewed scrutiny on the department and the ongoing struggle for veterans seeking support.

Sources told Global News a VAC service agent brought up medical assistance in dying, or MAiD, unprompted in a conversation earlier this year with the combat veteran, who was discussing treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and a traumatic brain injury.

Global News is not identifying the veteran due to privacy concerns but has spoken directly with the individual, who says the service agent brought up MAiD repeatedly and even after the veteran asked the service agent to stop.

The veteran said he felt pressured as a result.

He also said that the service agent told him in the call about having helped another veteran access resources for medical assistance in dying through Veterans Affairs Canada, including support for that person’s children who were struggling with the impending death.

The veteran told Global News that the service agent told him that the other veteran went through with a medically-assisted death, and that it had been someone who was determined to end his life.

Both of those cases had previously been confirmed by MacAulay and his deputy minister Paul Ledwell during an appearance at the veterans affairs committee in October.

MacAulay had previously and repeatedly called the situation an “isolated incident.”

MacAulay told the committee on Thursday that the investigation launched in August was still ongoing, as was ongoing training with all VAC employees to ensure MAiD is never raised with a veteran again.

Yet he added, in light of the discovery of the new cases, the investigation has been expanded to look into management and employee training to determine why the employee was able to repeatedly raise the procedure with clients.

He said the one of the new cases occurred in 2019, while the other took place in May of this year.

Ledwell confirmed the service agent behind the cases has been suspended, but did not say when that suspension began. He had previously said the employee was no longer working directly with veterans and had been reassigned within the department.

Under Canadian law, medically-assisted death can only be discussed between a primary care provider like a physician or psychiatrist and their patient. Violators of the law can face up to 14 years in prison.

VAC has repeatedly confirmed to Global News that staff have no mandate to discuss MAiD with veterans and do not have the ability to provide the necessary resources for assisted dying.

New training being provided to staff since August has made clear that service agents and case managers can only discuss MAiD in the context of impacts on benefits for veterans’ families. Any instance of a veteran raising MAiD with a service agent or case worker must be brought to that employee’s supervisor.

Efforts are ongoing to ensure all staff across the department are given the updated training, MacAulay said Thursday.

Global News

by Saulman Fri 02 Dec 2022, 6:09 am

Former paralympian tells MPs veterans department offered her assisted death

Murray Brewster · CBC News · Posted: Dec 01, 2022

Worker from Veterans Affairs Canada ‘inappropriately’ discussed medically assisted death with Veteran Invictus-training-1

CBC News

by JAFO Fri 02 Dec 2022, 11:16 am

So everyone still upset that Harper closed District Offices?

by RunningLight Sat 03 Dec 2022, 6:47 am

Trudeau says assisted dying offers to veterans ‘unacceptable’ as cases mount

By Sean Boynton . Global News
Posted December 2, 2022

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government is working to ensure Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) never again offers medical assistance in dying (MAiD) to veterans, as another veteran says a similar experience happened to her as well.

Trudeau made the comments a day after a veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces shocked lawmakers by revealing medically-assisted death had been raised to her by a VAC employee.

“I have said repeatedly that this is absolutely unacceptable, and as soon as we heard about this we took action,” Trudeau told reporters in Vancouver on Friday.

“We are following up with investigations and we are changing protocols to ensure what should seem obvious to all of us: that it is not the place of Veterans Affairs Canada, who are there to support those people who stepped up to serve their country, to offer them medical assistance in dying.”

On Thursday, retired corporal Christine Gauthier, who is paraplegic, told the House of Commons standing committee on veterans affairs that the topic of assisted dying was raised during a years-long fight for a home wheelchair lift.

“On the comment of medical assistance in dying … I was approached with that as well,” Gauthier testified. She described the comments of the VAC agent she spoke with as saying, “‘Madam, if you are really so desperate, we can give you medical assistance in dying now.'”

In an interview with Global News on Friday, Gauthier said the discussion took place in 2019 and involved a VAC case manager.

“I was like, ‘I can’t believe that you will … give me an injection to help me die, but you will not give me the tools I need to help me live,'” she said. “It was really shocking to hear that kind of comment.”

She said she’s been waiting since 2017 to get those supports, including the wheelchair lift.

“It has isolated me greatly, because I have to crawl down my butt with the wheelchair in front of me to be able to access my house,” she said.

A letter addressed from Gauthier to the prime minister and Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay obtained by Global News was dated July 9, 2021, and outlined her experiences trying to get supports from Veterans Affairs Canada. She called the process “cruel” and a “daily eternal ordeal.”

MPs at the committee on Thursday, who had been studying a new contract for rehabilitation services, appeared taken aback by Gauthier’s revelation of having had medically assisted death raised with her.

“I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed by what I just heard,” NDP MP Rachel Blaney said immediately after Gauthier spoke.

“I just want to extend my deepest apologies. I am in shock.”

Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay revealed to the committee in testimony last week that a total of four cases of medical assistance in dying being offered to a veteran had been confirmed through an investigation into the department, and that the RCMP have been contacted.

The investigation was sparked after Global News first reported in August that a VAC employee had discussed medically-assisted death with a veteran, a case that has brought renewed scrutiny on the department and the ongoing struggle for veterans seeking support.

Sources told Global News a VAC service agent brought up MAiD unprompted in a conversation earlier this year with the combat veteran, who was discussing treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and a traumatic brain injury.

The veteran, who Global News has not identified but has spoken with directly, said that the service agent told him in the call about having helped another veteran access resources for medical assistance in dying, and that the other veteran went through with a medically-assisted death.

Those two cases were confirmed in October by the department, which has since uncovered two more cases involving the same service agent — one of which occurred in 2019. That employee is now suspended after previously being reassigned within the department.

Gauthier suggested to the committee on Thursday that other veterans’ experiences with being offered MAiD will soon become public.

“Supposedly it was an isolated case, according to Minister MacAulay, and there would only be four people to whom this happened. Well, I’m a fifth,” Gauthier testified.

“So if you ask me, if it goes public, there will probably be more.”

A statement from Veterans Affairs to Global News Friday night confirmed Gauthier’s case was not one of the four confirmed cases, but added the department is investigating her claims.

The statement also confirmed the investigation into the employee behind the four confirmed cases has been referred to the RCMP “for their consideration.”

“However, the department continues to review all available information to ensure the report is accurate and complete,” the department added.

Veterans’ advocates have told Global News for months they suspected the issue was not an isolated incident — despite MacAulay’s previous insistence that it was — and that it highlighted the struggles veterans face in accessing care and with their own mental health.

“After the story first broke on this particular topic, we heard from veterans immediately saying they were fearful to reach out to the department … to (access) the services and benefits that they’re entitled to and they deserve,” Scott Maxwell, executive director of Wounded Warriors Canada, said in an interview on Friday.

“That’s a very troubling scenario.”

That sentiment was echoed during Thursday’s committee meeting.

“There’s a lot of frustration and futility that comes with trying to navigate through Veterans Affairs, and eventually it causes soldiers to lose hope and think about taking their own lives,” Bruce Moncur, the founder of the Afghanistan Veterans Association, testified.

“It’s the ‘triple-D’ policy — delay, deny, die — and dead veterans cost no money.”

Veterans Affairs officials say mandatory training is ongoing to ensure employees avoid discussions of medical assistance in dying with veterans.

The ongoing investigation has also been expanded to include management and existing employee training to determine how the service agent was able to repeatedly discuss the issue with clients.

—With files from Global’s Marney Blunt and Mercedes Stephenson

Global News

by JAFO Sun 04 Dec 2022, 11:11 am

Just a heads up on who the individual in VAC who was offering MAiD is not a Case Manager or Client Service Agent.

The individual worked at one of the NCCN's. The NCCN has not been identified at this time.

Just a suggestion when you call the NCCN make sure you get the person's name. Also the date and time and the reason for your call.

by Leopard Mon 05 Dec 2022, 3:49 pm

Veterans Affairs says it has no proof former paralympian was offered assisted death

Murray Brewster · CBC News · Posted: Dec 05, 2022

Worker from Veterans Affairs Canada ‘inappropriately’ discussed medically assisted death with Veteran Invictus-traning-4

CBC News

by Leopard Mon 05 Dec 2022, 3:55 pm

Leopard wrote:
Veterans Affairs says it has no proof former paralympian was offered assisted death

Murray Brewster · CBC News · Posted: Dec 05, 2022

CBC News

'Doesn't line up': MPs challenge minister over instances of MAID offered to veterans

Published Dec. 5, 2022

CTV News

by Spectrum Tue 06 Dec 2022, 5:36 am

Lawrence MacAulay urges veterans offered MAID to come forward, but is told 'no one' trusts him

If veterans are not coming forward, it’s because the trust has been broken with the minister and his department, a Conservative MP said

Catherine Lévesque

Dec 05, 2022

OTTAWA — Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay is urging any former members of the military who were offered medical assistance in dying inappropriately by a caseworker to come forward to the department or the veterans ombudsman.

“We want to make sure that we get to the bottom of this issue, and I would ask anybody at the committee, any veteran, anybody that’s listening to please bring any information they have forward. We need to know the facts,” MacAulay told a parliamentary committee on Monday.

“We want to make sure that we get this situation rectified as quickly as possible.”

Veterans Affairs launched an investigation after an internal review of more than 400,000 files revealed that one department caseworker had suggested four veterans consider assisted suicide. The information has since been referred to the RCMP.

But Conservative MP Blake Richards argued there might be many more. He said he was aware of at least eight veterans who were offered MAID by at least three other caseworkers.

One of them is Christine Gauthier, a veteran and former paralympic athlete, who told the committee last week that the Department of Veterans Affairs offered her help to end her life and that she reported the conversation to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and MacAulay in 2021.

MacAulay said he was never made aware of any correspondence in reference to MAID with respect to Gauthier, information that was also confirmed by his deputy minister, Paul Ledwell.

“There’s no indication in the files, in any correspondence, in any notation based on engagement with a veteran of reference to MAID. If the veteran has material, an indication of that, we (…) would welcome seeing that, reviewing that and making that part of our investigation,” he said.

Speaking in a podcast, Gauthier, who has been struggling to obtain a wheelchair ramp at home for five years now, said that she was offered medical assistance in dying at least twice when she shared with Veterans Affairs how exhausted she was about her quality of life.

Her reaction was immediate when offered MAID. “I said, ‘Are you serious? You’re not giving me the tools to live, but you would give me an injection to die?’”

She suggested the offer had been made by two different caseworkers — one male and one female — although she said she would have to look up her notes to be sure. But the revelation was enough to add fuel to make the Conservatives point fingers at the minister.

“I think it’s fairly clear to see why veterans failed to have trust in and confidence in you and your department,” said Richards.

Speaking last week, Trudeau said that veterans being offered MAID was “absolutely unacceptable” and that his government had taken action as soon as it heard about these cases.

“We are changing protocols to ensure what should seem obvious to all of us: that it is not the place of Veterans Affairs Canada, who are there to support those people who stepped up to serve their country, to offer them medical assistance in dying as a matter of course,” he said.

MacAulay argued that his department, the ombudsman or the RCMP can only deal with facts that they are aware of — and made it abundantly clear that veterans will have to take it upon themselves to share proof of when and how they were offered to end their life.

NDP MP Rachel Blaney asked if there was any consideration given by Veterans Affairs to record conversations, since it might be hard to give proof when there are no written records.

“It seems to me that we’re getting into a position where it becomes very much, ‘he said, she said’, and veterans deserve better. They served our country,” she said. “I don’t think any veteran in this country wants to feel like they haven’t told the truth.”

MacAulay said that there were some privacy considerations with this practice, but Blaney insisted that other departments keep some records of conversations.

Conservative MP Fraser Tolmie said that if veterans are not coming forward, it’s because the trust has been broken with the minister and his department.

“We should not be doing the investigation for you. And that’s where the breakdown of trust has come: Mr. Minister, no one trusts you. They’re not coming forward to you because they don’t trust this department. And this lies squarely on you, sir.”

National Post

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