Canada has performed nine medically-assisted deaths among prisoners in the last seven years, more than any other country which tracks and records such data.

The number of federal prisoners requesting medically-assisted death (MAID) in Canada has also increased, with 27 asking for permission to die between June 2016, when the legislation came into effect, and March 31 this year, according to information provided by Correctional Services of Canada (CSC) following an Access to Information Act request.

Only three other countries — Switzerland, Belgium, and Spain — have publicly acknowledged one euthanasia death each for a prisoner. Two of them were performed in February this year, the other in 2022.

Jessica Shaw, an associate professor of social work at the University of Calgary who has been studying assisted death in prisons and submitted the access to information request, said she is worried about the lack of transparency in reporting cases and how decisions are made.

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CTV News
May 3, 2023