Case reference: MAID-XX-2022-2QVU · Province not stated in sources · MAID raised by others; not requested · Recorded by the register as a MAID victim
Who she is
Christine Gauthier served in the Canadian Armed Forces and retired as a corporal. A training accident in 1989 injured her back, and she became paraplegic. She kept competing: she represented Canada at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and at the Invictus Games that same year. CBC has pictured her in the gym, spotting a fellow veteran on the bench press as they trained for the Invictus Games.
She is alive, and she decided to speak out.
What happened
On 1 December 2022, Gauthier testified before the House of Commons veterans affairs committee. Speaking in French, she said she had been fighting Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) for a home wheelchair ramp for five years. She told MPs the department had offered her MAID in writing, and had even offered to supply the equipment. She said she had written to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about it and agreed to give the committee a copy of the letter.
Photo: David Donnelly/CBC (source)
Her testimony came days after Veterans Minister Lawrence MacAulay told the same committee that four, perhaps five, cases of veterans being offered MAID by a now-suspended VAC service agent had been referred to the RCMP.
Why they were pushed toward MAID
In her account, MAID was put in front of her by the department that was supposed to support her, while it was failing to give her the disability equipment she needed. She quoted the letter to MPs: “I have a letter saying that if you’re so desperate, madam, we can offer you MAID, medical assistance in dying.”
VAC disputes her account. Shortly after her testimony, the department said it had found no evidence in her file to support her testimony. Separately, it confirmed four cases in which a single employee inappropriately discussed MAID with veterans, and it referred them to the RCMP. It has not been established whether Gauthier’s case is one of those. Her account remains disputed.
In their own words
“I have a letter in my file, because I had to face that as well,” Gauthier told the committee. She said she had been fighting for the ramp for five years.
Prime Minister Trudeau called what she described “absolutely unacceptable.” “It is not the place of Veterans Affairs Canada, who are supposed to be there to support those people who stepped up to serve their country, to offer them medical assistance in dying,” he said. NDP MP Rachel Blaney told her: “I just, I am in shock. And I thank you for bringing this reality [to the committee].”
What this case shows
Christine Gauthier served her country and represented it on the world stage. She says that when she asked for a ramp, she was offered death. VAC has since confirmed that other veterans were inappropriately offered MAID by its staff. Her testimony shows how disabled veterans stuck in years of bureaucracy can end up hearing about assisted death from the people meant to help them live.
Sources
- CBC News: Former paralympian tells MPs veterans department offered her assisted death
- CBC News: Veterans Affairs says it has no proof former paralympian was offered assisted death
- Global News: Trudeau says assisted dying offers to veterans ‘unacceptable’ as cases mount
- Veterans Affairs Canada: Report on allegations of inappropriate conversations with Veterans about MAID: The investigation
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