Suicide is no longer a Taboo

Suicide Is No Longer a Taboo

As a former Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) Instructor for nearly a decade, I can tell you that getting participants to verbalize the word suicide was once very difficult. In my workshops, the word was so taboo that participants could hardly whisper it. But today, that’s no longer the case—because in Canada, we’ve normalized the word.

In my last blog, I rang the alarm bells that Canada was preparing to legalize MAiD (Medical Assistance in Dying) for children over the age of 12 without parental consent within the next two years. You’d think this would be front-page news across the country, but it didn’t even make a blip in most media outlets.

I’ve been blogging since 2017, after the Liberal government legalized euthanasia in 2016 with the help of our Supreme Court, branding it as MAiD. During my research at the time, I discovered that Belgium had already authorized MAiD for children. If that shocks you—it shocked me too.

In Canada, our list of qualifying groups for MAiD has steadily expanded. It now includes:

• Seniors and seniors with dementia

• People in hospice care

• Adults with terminal illnesses

• Individuals with mental health challenges

• Homeless individuals

• Military veterans

• People with various physical or intellectual disabilities

• And now—children.

Is the word suicide really just “normal” now?

While Canadians are busy doing their “Elbows Up” dance and uniting against a fictional enemy to the south, our current government seems to be quietly reducing Canada’s population—with the aid of MAiD. Which by the way is irreversible after you sign your life rights away.

What is it going to take for Canadians to wake up and start caring for one another again, as we always have? This is not the time to be asleep. It’s time to push our politicians to bring this serious issue to the forefront, to protect vulnerable lives.

I can’t do this alone. We need to stand together and advocate for legislation that places serious restrictions on MAiD—before it’s too late.

I’m doing my part to inform the public about where we are with MAiD in Canada. You can also preorder my book Eyes Above the Water that will be published during the Christmas holidays.

What will you do to join this fight?

Warmly, Your friend,

Bill Vassilopoulos