The Canadian government has just released the fourth interim report on euthanasia deaths since the practice was legalised in 1916 and it reveals a steady rise in numbers of people undergoing it.

For Canada as a whole (excluding Quebec, Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut) the monthly number of cases of euthanasia increased by 60% from 163 per month in 2017, to an average of 261 per month in the period Jan-Oct 2018.

Euthanasia deaths as a percentage of all deaths varies by province with British Columbia (2.37% of all deaths) nearly three times more than Saskatchewan (0.84% of all deaths).

The canadian law MAID – so-called ‘medical assistance in dying’ – includes both euthanasia and assisted suicide. As of October 2018 there have only been six cases of assisted suicide under the Canadian law compared to 6743 cases of euthanasia.