Advocacy groups granted intervener status in Calgary MAID appeal case

A pair of advocacy groups can now participate in the ongoing legal battle between a Calgary father and his daughter who is seeking medical assistance in dying (MAID).

The 27-year-old woman, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, was originally approved for MAID in December. But the day before her Feb. 1 death date, her father was granted a temporary injunction, preventing her death.

Since then, it’s been months of back-and-forth in a Calgary courtroom.

Court documents show the woman has ADHD and autism, but doesn’t go into detail as to what qualifies her for MAID. Those who solely suffer from mental ailments are not eligible, and her father claims she should not qualify and is not competent enough to make the decision to end her life.

A Calgary judge ruled in March that the woman can proceed despite her father’s bid to block the request. The case is now before the Alberta Court of Appeal.

Now two advocacy groups, Inclusion Canada and the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, have been granted intervener status, allowing both to provide input in the case.

Inclusion Canada is a group that works to ensure people with intellectual disabilities are afforded equal opportunities. The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition is a group that is opposed to any form of euthanasia and assisted dying, and works to “preserve and enforce legal prohibitions” allowing such.

Helen Long, CEO of Dying with Dignity Canada, says delays like this can be excruciating for patients seeking MAID.

“It can be mentally exhausting,” she says. “There may be physical suffering that is exacerbated because of the delay.”

“At the end of the day these are still people that you may love and have a relationship with, and I don’t think anyone is ever happy when a legal battle happens,” she says. “But, at the end of the day the choice is the patients.”

She adds it often takes family members a while to come around to the prospect of their family members dying.

Long notes it is quite uncommon for MAID applications to end up in court, noting eligibility is not determined by the court system. She says this is just the second time she has seen a case like this play out in court.