Hello, Mr. Jason Nixon and Mrs. Adriana LaGrange, Premier Danielle Smith et. al.;
I can tell you that if the person described below were your grandparent, parent, sister or brother, child, or another close relative you would likely already know that the answer is no. Their wishes would not be honoured. They would not be treated compassionately, and despite MAiD (Medical Assistance in Dying) being “available to Canadians,” it would be denied to them. They and their families would be abandoned to suffer it out, potentially for years. Decades.
As politicians representing the public, I believe you should be required to have the objectivity and ability to feel some amount of empathy towards the citizens you represent. Especially considering that Alzheimer’s diagnosis rates along with similar terminal illnesses are increasing, and these circumstances – terrible mental and physical afflictions – affect thousands and thousands of Canadians and Albertans.
I would hope that the urgent need to escalate this and put pressure on the federal government to end the neglect would be an obvious course of action from you. I expect the politicians that I would place a vote for, to have compassion enough to see that this is a matter of human rights of Canadians and isn't to be avoided, delayed, or ignored.
The MAiD law was enacted to give people the right to have a choice to avoid inevitable, terminal suffering, and should be available to all with terminal conditions that take away your quality of life.
Please advise of your next steps to initiate immediate change. Thank you.
Tessa Smith,
Sundre
