At the release of the report in Ottawa, I sat down with Cardus executive vice president Ray Pennings, researcher Nik Nanos, and Dr. José Pereira of Pallium Canada to discuss this serious issue.

By Naomi Biesheuvel April 30, 2015

1 minute read

Views on how and when medical measures to extend life should be taken may differ widely in Canada, but we can all agree that our systems around end-of-life care could be improved in Canada. According to research in "Death Is Natural," a report released by Cardus yesterday, 73 percent of Canadians look toward their final days with a sense of fear that their needs will not be adequately met.

At the release of the report in Ottawa, I sat down with Cardus executive vice president Ray Pennings, researcher Nik Nanos, and Dr. José Pereira of Pallium Canada to discuss this serious issue.

"Those of us who care for patients with progressive illnesses every day have witnessed how ... as a society, we don't know what the dying process is about anymore," says Dr. Pereira. "And so I think there are a lot of myths and misunderstandings."

The report is available for download here.

You'll also enjoy...

Avoiding What's in Front of Us

No matter that more than 50 Quebec medical doctors and some of the province's most senior academics and intellectuals signed one of those submissions The last hurdle to the legislation was yesterday's release of an "expert legal opinion" claiming that legalizing "medical aid to die" is within Quebec...

Protecting Patients in the Shadows of Euthanasia: 3 Recommendations

This agency could provide a team of expert assessors who would screen patients with a wish for euthanasia or assisted suicide, to offer help for any untreated symptoms and who would address deficits in the social determinants of health such as inadequate support or loneliness Even Justice Lynn Smith...

What does post-Carter Canada look like?

In Canada, access to palliative care varies from excellent to extremely poor based on where one lives yet euthanasia is now expected to be available anywhere at the first request The Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) reported in 2010 that 32% of all assisted deaths (including euthanasia an...