'Doesn't line up': MPs challenge minister over instances of MAID offered to veterans
Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay was challenged by MPs on Monday about how the federal government is handling the growing number of veterans who’ve reported being offered medical assistance in dying.
While MPs are questioning whether the situation is more widespread than the department has acknowledged, MacAulay says officials are working with the facts they have.
During a House of Commons Veterans Affairs Committee meeting on Monday, Conservative MP Blake Richards said that since MacAulay confirmed two weeks ago that Veterans Affairs Canada was aware of four instances of medical assistance in dying (MAID) being offered to veterans by one employee, he's become aware of additional alleged incidents.
"I'm certainly now aware of at least eight veterans who have had this occur," Richards told the committee, citing the recent case of veteran and former Paralympian, Retired Cpl. Christine Gauthier, as one example. "And there has been at least three additional case managers or service agents involved in this," he stated, noting not all veterans he has spoken to about this have come forward.
Responding to Richardson, Deputy Minister Paul Ledwell told MPs that while they are aware of more reports, after reviewing more than 400,000 unique veterans' files for any reference to MAID being raised inappropriately, the department remains at four "isolated cases involving one individual" that have been referred to the RCMP.
Last Thursday, Gauthier told the committee that she too, had a caseworker from the Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) offer her medical assistance in dying (MAID) after trying for five years to get a wheelchair ramp installed at her home. She testified that a caseworker had offered MAID and the equipment needed after she described her deteriorating condition due to permanent knee and spine injuries suffered during military training.
Gauthier's case was not one of the four previously-known cases, and Ledwell said that while this instance is being investigated, after going back to review her files which were included in the initial review, "there's no indication in the files, in any correspondence, in any notation based on engagement with a veteran, of reference to MAID."
"If the veteran has material, an indication of that we again—as we've invited for other veterans—would welcome seeing that, reviewing that, and making that part of our investigation," Ledwell said. "It's critically important as the minister has underlined and as we have stated repeatedly, that we get to the bottom of this, the full breadth of this, and we address the issue."
Echoing this, MacAulay implored Richards and anyone else who is aware of more cases, to "please bring any information they have, forward," either to the department or the Veterans' Ombudsperson.
"What we want to do is make sure that we get the facts, and if you have facts that will assist the investigation, please bring them forward. But we need facts and if we have facts, we will deal with them," said the minister.
Questioning MacAulay specifically on how Gauthier's case was handled— she's been asking for some mobility assistance since 2018 —Bloc Quebecois MP Luc Desilets asked why the department hasn’t acted faster.
MacAulay said that he has asked that her file now receive some "specific attention," but made no commitments on the response.
"I will certainly make it a priority to do everything we can, but that does not mean that we can provide everything that an individual asked for. We will do everything we can under the regulations in order to make sure that this veteran receives what you truly needs," MacAulay said.
NDP MP and veterans' critic Rachel Blaney questioned whether the department is considering implementing a system that would allow calls with case managers to be recorded -- if veterans are comfortable with that.
"Because it seems to me that we're getting into a position where it becomes very much 'he said-she said' and veterans deserve better," said Blaney. "I just want to make sure that we don't let this fall down… And part of that is having something that we can go back to, to make sure that this never happens again."
As the questioning continued, Conservative MP Fraser Tolmie suggested that what the committee has heard, and what the department is saying "doesn't line up," suggesting there is a breakdown of trust between the department and Canada's veterans.
"You wonder why veterans don't feel comfortable coming forward, when… you sit here and continue to tell us: 'oh there's only four, and there's only one agent,' when veterans have clearly indicated that that's not in fact accurate," Richards said. "So, I really hope minister, that you're going to go away from this meeting and think really long and hard about how you've failed our veterans in this regard, and how you're going to have to do better because you've put potentially veterans' lives at risk."
During the hearing—meant to be focused on ongoing contention over contracting changes to the Department of Veteran Affairs rehabilitation services—MacAulay sought to emphasize that there are "thousands of employees" at the department who "truly care" and are also "hurt by this."
"We want to make sure that we get the situation rectified, and rectified as quickly as possible. That is what we're trying to do. And that is what we will do," MacAulay said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has previously described the instances of veterans being offered MAID as "absolutely unacceptable," and vowed the protocols at Veterans Affairs Canada would change.
With files from CTV News' Tom Yun
IN DEPTH
Trudeau, key election players to testify at foreign interference hearings. What you need to know
The public hearings portion of the federal inquiry into foreign interference in Canadian elections and democratic institutions are picking back up this week. Here's what you need to know.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Who is supporting, opposing new online harms bill?
Now that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's sweeping online harms legislation is before Parliament, allowing key stakeholders, major platforms, and Canadians with direct personal experience with abuse to dig in and see what's being proposed, reaction is streaming in. CTVNews.ca has rounded up reaction, and here's how Bill C-63 is going over.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
TREND LINE What Nanos' tracking tells us about Canadians' mood, party preference heading into 2024
Heading into a new year, Canadians aren't feeling overly optimistic about the direction the country is heading, with the number of voters indicating negative views about the federal government's performance at the highest in a decade, national tracking from Nanos Research shows.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
opinion Don Martin: Pierre Poilievre's road to apparent victory will soon start to get rougher
Pierre Poilievre and his Conservatives appear to be on cruise control to a rendezvous with the leader's prime ministerial ambition, but in his latest column for CTVNews.ca, Don Martin questions whether the Conservative leader may be peaking too soon.
opinion Don Martin: The Trudeau lessons from Brian Mulroney's legacy start with walking away
Justin Trudeau should pay very close attention to the legacy treatment afforded former prime minister Brian Mulroney, who died on Thursday at age 84, writes columnist Don Martin.
opinion Don Martin: ArriveCan debacle may be even worse than we know from auditor's report
It's been 22 years since a former auditor general blasted the Chretien government after it 'broke just about every rule in the book' in handing out private sector contracts in the sponsorship scandal. In his column for CTVNews.ca, Don Martin says the book has been broken anew with everything that went on behind the scenes of the 'dreaded' ArriveCan app.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.
Local Spotlight
A tiny critter who could: Elusive Newfoundland Marten makes improbable comeback
Newfoundland’s unique version of the Pine Marten has grown out of its threatened designation.
Ontario man loses $12K to deepfake scam involving Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
A Toronto man is out $12,000 after falling victim to a deepfake cryptocurrency scam that appeared to involve Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Record-setting pop tab collection for Ontario boy
It started small with a little pop tab collection to simply raise some money for charity and help someone — but it didn’t take long for word to get out that 10-year-old Jace Weber from Mildmay, Ont. was quickly building up a large supply of aluminum pop tabs.
'I was just like, holy cow!': Saskatoon dumpster divers reclaim wasted valuables
There’s a group of people in Saskatoon that proudly call themselves dumpster divers, and they’re turning the city’s trash into treasure.
Ontario to balance budget ahead of 2026 election, citing delay due to 'economic uncertainty'
Ontario is facing a larger than anticipated deficit but the Doug Ford government still plans to balance its books before the next provincial election.
Business owner disappointed in police efforts to locate $500K worth of stolen e-bikes
The owner of an e-bike business says he has doubts police will find the roughly $500,000 worth of product that was stolen from a shipping container last week, while police say he “complicated” their investigation by posting video of the theft.
Costco begins using verification scanners at some Ottawa stores
At least one Costco store in Ottawa has implemented a digital card scanner for member entry, a departure from the traditional in-person card check, in an effort to crack-down on shoppers who have not paid a membership fee.
How to safely view the solar eclipse using household materials
With the solar eclipse just a week away, it’s time to think about how to safely view the celestial show.
Calgary's Tegan and Sara call out Alberta government at Junos
Calgary singer-songwriters Tegan and Sara were honoured at this year's Juno Awards for their efforts to support 2SLGBTQ+ youth.