Death and Donuts - Why Canada’s Latest MAiD Scandal Shook Me
When assisted death becomes drive-thru convenient in my own community.
Dear readers.
When I read that a London, Ontario doctor nicknamed “Dr. Death and Donuts” had assessed a patient for medical assistance in dying (MAiD) in a Tim Hortons parking lot, my stomach dropped.
Because that doctor practices at the same clinic as my family physician. He has treated my own child.
While I’ve been making a shift on this newsletter and my Instagram to focus on humour and #dadlife fun, I’m still that guy who is compelled to speak up for the vulnerable. I’m going continue to fight like a father.
In Canada we truly are all one coffee and car ride away from MAiD obsessed practitioners. With MAiD expanding in 2027 to include mental health, we must all be fight to stop it’s appetite for the vulnerable.
I just wanted to give a little context if you’re feeling some content whiplash when you read the article. It’s a serious topic, and important to discuss.
On guard for thee.
~AK
An excerpt from my Op-Ed in The Federalist on Canada’s latest MAiD Scandal
The National Post also reported that the same man, James MacLean–“Dr. Death and Donuts”–breached protocols when he failed to give one of the three drugs used in the cocktail that end patients’ lives. MacLean didn’t bring the neuromuscular-blocking drug with him that paralyzes the body including the muscles used to breathe. “The patient resumed spontaneously breathing again after initially being pronounced dead, and after MacLean had already left the home.”
This story strikes close to home, quite literally. Not because I’ve lost family members to medical assistance in dying (MAiD). Nor because members of my own community have been offered MAiD by their doctors without requesting it and now fear the health centers meant to give them care, which is also true.
The reason the revelation of these reported horrors strikes so close to home is because the doctor at the center of these revelations, James MacLean, practices at the same clinic as my family physician. My own child has been treated by him at a walk-in clinic. Friends and family, including myself, receive primary care in the very location where he continues to work.
This isn’t a distant scandal. It’s happening where my loved ones seek health and healing, people who could be one coffee or car ride away from an encounter with death.
The message, if there is one, from the Canadian health system to patients seems to be: deal with it. MacLean has been given less than a slap on the wrist. What are other doctors who assess and administer MAiD up to?
If this story disturbs you as much as it disturbs me, I’d be honoured if you read the full op-ed in The Federalist here.
And if you want to follow my ongoing writing on MAiD in Canada, consider becoming a subscriber.
Other articles on MAiD in Canada
Alberta attempts to stop out-of-control MAiD death spiral
It is a big day in Canadian healthcare and a win for people who have been raising the alarm about MAiD expansion in Canada.
Why I started to talk about MAiD (and why you should too)
Earlier this week, The Free Press linked to my interview with Amanda Achtman. The post got lots of attention (because The FP is one of the biggest new media platforms in the world, and because the interview includes the shocking revelation that “Doctors and nurses are raising euthanasia with patients unsolicited, often repeatedly”
Grieving after MAiD. Thoughts for families and friends who've lost loved ones to euthanasia.
My aunt died the first week of November. She scheduled the day and time of her death at her assisted-living home. The cause of death was doctor-assisted suicide, otherwise known as medical assistance in dying or MAiD.
I am horrified by the acceptance and wide-spread use and abuse of MAiD in Canada. Where I live, on Vancouver Island, the use of MAiD is prolific. Thanks for fighting!
Tragic. Canada is broken. Thanks for the meaningful story and awareness and for fighting for the most vulnerable. Keep going!