Healing Therapy Alliance

11/16/2025

11/15/2025

🚨 Veterans Affairs Under Fire: Testimony Alleges Systemic Pressure on Ex-Soldiers to Opt for Assisted Dying Over Treatment

In a striking development at the House of Commons Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs on October 28, 2025, combat veteran Kelsi Sheren provided detailed testimony accusing Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) of offering Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) to former service members as an alternative to essential healthcare services.

Sheren, a medically released artillery gunner from the Canadian Armed Forces who served in Afghanistan, described these offers as a "state-endorsed solution" to managing healthcare expenditures for veterans grappling with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), chronic pain, and mobility impairments.

Sheren reported that more than 20 veterans have submitted written statements or audio recordings documenting unsolicited MAiD proposals during consultations for treatment or support.

She highlighted specific instances, including one case where a veteran was presented with a financial payout and nondisclosure agreement to proceed with MAiD discreetly.

Additionally, Sheren noted that others have been deterred from coming forward due to threats of benefit reductions, stating, "We also have individuals too afraid to come forward because Veterans Affairs has threatened their benefits."

This testimony builds on prior reports of similar experiences, such as the 2022 case of Paralympian veteran Christine Gauthier, who received a MAiD offer in response to a request for home accessibility aids.

During the hearing, Conservative MP Blake Richards called for complete transparency, emphasizing the need to address suppressed documents and potentially coerced interactions.

VAC has maintained that its employees have no authority to suggest or discuss MAiD, a position Sheren directly challenged with her collected evidence.

The broader context underscores the rapid growth of Canada's MAiD program, legalized in 2016 under the Liberal government led by then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Initially limited to those with reasonably foreseeable death, eligibility expanded in 2021 to include non-terminal conditions, with further provisions for mental illness as the sole criterion delayed until March 2027.

Official data from Health Canada indicates 15,343 MAiD provisions in 2023 alone, contributing to a cumulative total exceeding 60,000 cases by the end of that year.

Independent estimates from the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition suggest the figure now surpasses 90,000, amid concerns over socioeconomic pressures driving uptake among vulnerable populations.

Critics, including medical ethicists, have pointed to leaked analyses estimating annual healthcare savings of approximately $136 million from MAiD, attributing this to reduced long-term care costs rather than enhanced palliative options.

In response to these developments, Conservative MP Tamara Jansen introduced private member's Bill C-218 on June 20, 2025, which seeks to exclude mental illness as a qualifying condition for MAiD by redefining "grievous and irremediable medical condition."

The bill has secured strong endorsement from anti-euthanasia organizations and aligns with public opinion polls showing majority opposition to MAiD for mental health reasons alone; its first reading debate is anticipated this month.

Sheren's account has resonated widely on social media, with her testimony clip shared by figures like former NHL player Theo Fleury and Rebel News contributor Sheila Gunn Reid, amplifying calls for reform and accountability.

These revelations raise profound questions about the duty of care owed to those who served: After enduring the perils of deployment, should veterans confronting invisible wounds at home face institutional incentives toward finality rather than recovery?

Parliamentary action is essential to safeguard lives and restore trust in the system.

11/15/2025

Give yourself permission.

11/15/2025

Understand the negative impacts of patriarchy and heal.

11/15/2025

Be gentle with yourself. Healing isn't easy.

11/15/2025

We need to raise our boys more consciously.

11/15/2025

Patriarchy caused a lot of harm to men and women just in different ways. We need to unlearn the impacts of thar oppressive and controlling system and heal as a collective.

11/15/2025

Be gentle with yourself.

11/15/2025

Learn to parent consciously by understanding child development stages.

11/15/2025

Harsh reality that we need to face. And it's not just girls. Young boys are also at risk from the harms of unconscious predatory men.

11/15/2025

Men and women need to unlearn the unhealthy paradigms that fractured our society.

Graphic source: Wild witch on FB