A doctor has been formally cautioned in Canda for assessing a patient for euthanasia outside a coffee and doughnut shop and meeting him at the same location six months later to drive him to where he ended his life.

‘Assisted dying’ was legalised in Canada in 2016 under strict criteria, but the rules governing it were greatly loosened in 2021 to also include those not terminally ill. More than 76,000 deaths have been recorded up to the end of 2024.

The case of Thomas Dillon, 45, who suffered from Crohn’s disease and depression, came to light after an official review by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario concluded that the administering doctor violated professional boundaries, with some of his actions potentially bordering on coercion.