Contents
Access 
Publication of the Chief Accessibility Officer of Canada’s First Annual Report 
Canadian Human Rights Commission 
Children and youth in Canada deserve safe and inclusive spaces 
Climate 
It’s Official. Climate Change Has Brought Deadly Health Risks to BC | The Tyee 
Medical Aid in Dying 
Inclusion Canada | Sign Our Letter! 
Canada’s assisted dying regime should not be expanded to include children 
Ramona Coelho: MAiD for those with mental illness should never be on the table 
Newsletters 
Canadian Council of the Blind | White Cane Magazine 
Cooperation Canada 
Euthanasia Prevention Coalition Newsletter 
Financial Post | New CRA Rules Around Working from Home Make It Harder to Claim Expenses 
Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy | News and Views 
Webinars 
Join CCB virtually or in person to learn more about age-related macular degeneration and the results of the Survey on Disability 2022 
Systemic Discrimination | Virtual launch event and screening — Feb. 21 
Opportunities 
Applications Being Accepted to the Steven H. Sandell Grant Program 

Access

Publication of the Chief Accessibility Officer of Canada’s First Annual Report

Click on the following link to access the information online: Office of the Chief Accessibility Officer - Canada.ca; Everyone’s business: Accessibility in Canada - Report from the Chief Accessibility Officer, 2023 - Canada.ca

Canadian Human Rights Commission

Children and youth in Canada deserve safe and inclusive spaces

Click on the following link to access the information online: mailcoach.chrc-ccdp.ca/webview/campaign/6a7cd438-a57a-43cb-bb87-2fb103a352ee

Climate

It’s Official. Climate Change Has Brought Deadly Health Risks to BC | The Tyee

Click on the following link to access the information online: https://thetyee.ca/News/2024/02/14/Climate-Change-Deadly-Health-Risks-BC/?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=140224

Medical Aid in Dying

Inclusion Canada | Sign Our Letter!

Please review the open letter below which asks the government NOT to move forward with MAiD for mental illness and to address existing harms.

How to submit your organization’s signature for the open letter to remove the sunset clause from our MAiD legislation:

1. Email comms@inclusioncanada.ca with the subject line “Open letter signature.” 
2. Specify the name of your organization (no individual person or signature is required).
3. Attach a PNG or JPG version of your logo in the highest resolution you have to the email.
4. Upon review by our staff, you will receive an email confirming receipt of your organization name and logo.

Please provide your signature no later than Thursday, February 22 at 12:00pm EST.
The open letter will be made available on our website in a word document. You will receive an email with a link to the open letter once finalized.

Dear Ministers Holland and Virani,
Cc party leaders

We, undersigned organizations, support the government’s decision to not legalize assisted suicide for mental illness as a sole medical condition on March 17th, 2024.

However, while we commend the government for tabling Bill C-62, the proposed legislation falls short of addressing our core concerns. As organizations promoting disability rights and justice, we call the government to further action.

MAiD for mental illness is not required by law, and there are legitimate reasons to not go forward. Mental illness is the fastest growing disability in Canada. Half of all Canadians have unmet mental health care needs. Wait times for accessing psychiatric healthcare have spiked. By the Senate’s own admission, Canada’s suicide prevention framework has failed. Income insecurity continues to grow; we’re in a housing crisis, and food is ever more costly.  For many people, therapy is an unattainable luxury. There are serious gaps in the availability of social and disability supports. And, people with disabilities are already dying by MAiD in unfathomable circumstances.
If Bill C-62 is not passed before March 17th, MAiD for mental illness will automatically become legal. For this reason, we’re calling for the swift passage of Bill C-62 with one key amendment: a full repeal of the “sunset clause.”

Even if MAiD for mental illness as a sole medical condition were not inherently problematic from a disability rights perspective, the sunset clause wouldn’t be worth the risk.

The sunset clause costs Canadians the safety and diligence of our established, tried-and-true federal law-making process. It eliminates the need for committee study, consultation, and debate. It robs elected officials of the opportunity to be responsible and accountable by casting a vote, in the future, informed by relevant context and timely information. The sunset clause does not require greater “readiness”, additional safeguarding, or reforms to mental healthcare systems.

In short, a simple cost/benefit analysis shows that the sunset clause is itself too big a gamble, all for the purpose of adding in a procedural shortcut. We certainly cannot gamble on Canadians’ lives; the sunset clause must go.
Immediately after Bill C-62 receives royal assent, we want to see the government make the amendments necessary to bring Canada’s MAiD regime back into alignment with disability rights and international standards.

Quell the ever-increasing tide of MAiD deaths by once again limiting MAiD to end of life circumstances. This time, truly defend the end-of-life criterion in court.

People with disabilities face added barriers to accessing the systems of support that are considered to be unequipped to assess and protect people with a mental illness alone. 4 out of 5 people with a mental illness have a co-occurring disability. People with disabilities, including those with a mental illness, are already eligible for and dying by assisted suicide. This needs to change.

Do not decide today to further legalize assisted suicide tomorrow. Amend Bill C-62 to repeal the sunset clause.

Next, table a bill to once again limit access to MAiD to end of life circumstances, and work with a ferocity to address suffering. Knowing what you know now, anything less would be reckless.

Sincerely,
[the undersigned]

Canada’s assisted dying regime should not be expanded to include children

Click on the following link to access the article online: https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2024/2/16/canadas-assisted-dying-regime-should-not-be-expanded-to-include-children

Ramona Coelho: MAiD for those with mental illness should never be on the table

Click on the following link to access the article online: https://theprovince.com/opinion/op-ed/ramona-coelho-maid-for-those-whose-only-medical-condition-is-mental-illness-is-a-social-injustice

Newsletters

Canadian Council of the Blind | White Cane Magazine

Click on the following link to access the magazine online: White Cane Magazine Winter/Spring 2024. (mailchi.mp)

Cooperation Canada

Click on the following link to access the information online: Cooperation Canada's Newsletter | Infolettre de Coopération Canada (mailchi.mp)

Euthanasia Prevention Coalition Newsletter

Click on the following link to access the information online: Ecuador's constitutional court approves euthanasia. (mailchi.mp)

Click on the following link to access the information online: Canadians are encouraged to consider suicide. (mailchi.mp)

Click on the following link to access the information online: Assisted suicide, disability, and racial disparity (mailchi.mp)

Financial Post | New CRA Rules Around Working from Home Make It Harder to Claim Expenses

Click on the following link to access the information online: https://apple.news/AE3VqohZoS7OriyJeGvUwHA

Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy | News and Views

Click on the following link to access the newsletter online: News and Views: Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy (mailchi.mp)

Webinars

Join CCB virtually or in person to learn more about age-related macular degeneration and the results of the Survey on Disability 2022

Tuesday, February 27, 2024, 10 am – 2 pm (EST)

Click on the following link to access the information online: Webinar Registration - Zoom
Systemic Discrimination | Virtual launch event and screening — Feb. 21

Systemic Discrimination

Click on the following link to access the information online: Systemic discrimination - BC's Office of the Human Rights Commissioner (bchumanrights.ca)

Opportunities

Applications Being Accepted to the Steven H. Sandell Grant Program

The CRR is now accepting applications to the Steven H. Sandell Grant Program (supporting a junior or non-tenured scholar) and the Dissertation Fellowship Program (supporting a Ph.D. candidate).

The application deadline for both programs is April 30, 2024.

Any help in spreading the word about these opportunities would be greatly appreciated.  I am attaching a flyer too in case that's handy.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Amy Grzybowski (She/Her)
Assistant Director of Communications
Center for Retirement Research at Boston College
140 Commonwealth Avenue | Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
(617) 552-1677

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