The Canadian euthanasia regime has had a significantly worse impact on persons with disabilities than predicted in the 2015 Supreme Court ruling that decriminalised euthanasia, according to a new research report from the Cardus think tank.

The report concluded that “Canada’s legalisation of assisted suicide has led to an intensified risk of premature death for vulnerable groups, and that the expected safeguards have failed to materialise.”

Contrary to the Court’s expectations it found “at least 42 per cent of all MAiD deaths were of persons who required disability services, including over 1,017 persons who required but did not receive these services.”

The 2019-2023 period also saw 19,720 Canadians who required disability services and received them being killed via euthanasia. The annual figure grew 233 per cent from 2,223 in 2019 to 5,181 in 2023.

A spokesperson for the report said “it really is quite sad” to read that a growing number of Canadians who request disability services are proceeding with assisted suicide because they are not receiving that help. She said there are also concerns that thousands of Canadians with disabilities receiving help are still ultimately being euthanized.