Independent journalist and podcaster Rachel Parker has organized a conference to shed light on the realities of assisted suicide while charting a path for further resistance.

Titled “Exposing Assisted Suicide/Euthanasia in Canada,” the panel discussion will take place on Aug. 13 at The Jordan Hotel just outside of St. Catharines, Ont. Organized by Parker in partnership with the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, the evening will feature presentations and conversations with EPC executive director Alex Schadenberg, author and activist Jonathon Van Maren and Redeemer University professor Daniel Gilman.

Parker has a journalistic background covering federal politics in Ottawa, but now runs her own podcast covering politics, culture and health independently. Since transitioning to independent journalism, Parker has contributed to outlets like Western Standard, True North and The Counter Signal, the latter two having merged to form Juno News. 

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Having covered the rise of medical assistance in dying (MAiD) across the country, it was the unravelling of the regime’s “slippery slope” that led the Alberta-based journalist to bring the discussion back to the forefront.

“ I had interned at the Association for Reformed Political Action, and they had these little sliders that showed the slope of what was happening with death in Canada. It started off with, if we kill babies in the womb, then eventually we are going to kill the elderly, if we're willing to kill the elderly, then eventually we are going to be willing to kill the disabled, if we're willing to do that, then eventually we are going to kill regular, healthy citizens,” she told The Catholic Register.

“I remember looking at this slider and wondering if it was true, because it seemed like such an extreme statement to make. Within 10 years, they have been proven to be right. I think people are really concerned when they see some of these aggressive stories with assisted suicide, and so  I want everyone to get caught up to speed on what's going on and what is really happening.”  

Parker highlighted recent troubling stories such as the case of “Mrs. B,” a Canadian woman in her 80s who was granted MAiD by a third assessor despite previously requesting palliative care after her husband was said to be experiencing “caregiver burnout.” The case raised the concern of the Ontario MAID Death Review Committee on the issues of same- and next-day MAiD assessments.  

She also noted the story of Kiano Vafaeian, a 26-year-old who was repeatedly denied MAiD in Ontario but was granted the request in British Columbia last December. Living with Type 1 diabetes that had caused vision loss, his family has since spoken out, believing that the Track 2 “death not reasonably foreseeable” path to MAiD led to Vafaeian’s premature death. 

“He said everything the doctors needed to hear in order to approve him,” his mother told Global News. “Was he actually feeling that way? I strongly believe not.”

“He didn’t have the items necessary to qualify for MAiD, and quite frankly, the system failed him,” his stepfather added.

It remains a case that doesn’t sit right with Parker. 

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“ How is someone like that eligible for this program? His family is devastated because what assisted suicide does is it just simply transfers the pain onto other people,” she said. 

These recent cases, along with elements such as Canada’s ongoing health-care system stresses, Parker believes, are driving aggressive promotion of MAiD as a solution instead of proper care. With that, the organizer feels strongly that the time is now for the event to take place. 

“ We are at a critical juncture right now, and we need to make a decision on this. If we open this up to people with a mental illness, it is going to be a bloodbath,” she said. “ People who suffer from a mental illness need to be given time to heal,  and I think as a society, we would be much better off having that message.” 

Canada continues to weigh the future of MAiD expansion to those with mental illness, with Bill C-62 delaying the change until March 2027, though a parliamentary committee recently recommend an indefinite pause on expansion.

The evening’s discussion with Schadenberg, Van Maren and Gilma also hopes to touch on the societal and cultural issues surrounding the rise of MAiD acceptance, with Parker sharing how pro-euthanasia content often dominates the current online space.

“My Oma will be at the event, and I just think how sad it is that  now, as she's becoming an elderly citizen, the information that is being fed to her online is that as you get older, you can consider killing yourself because you are (becoming) a burden to your loved ones,” she said. 

The panel will also feature a question period, a breakdown of real-world cases in Canada and Europe, troubling trends and practical support for those pressured into euthanasia.

It is that all-encompassing understanding of current realities, combined with actionable tools such as contacting MPs and being equipped with how to operate in a MAiD-accepting society, Parker hopes attendees will take away from the event. 

“We hear that MAiD is something to cure people who have an incurable illness and to relieve their suffering, and I want people to understand that is not what's happening. We’re already way farther down that hill,” she said. “I also want people to understand, simply, that just because you are suffering, it doesn't mean your life is no longer worth living.” 

Post-event, Parker will return to working on a documentary on assisted suicide in Canada, currently in the pre-production stage.  

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Working with her brother Jonathan Emmanuel as videographer, the project aims to further expose domestic realities around euthanasia through interviews with families who lost loved ones and people offered MAiD when seeking other assistance.

To register for Rachel Parker Live, visit anvproductions.com.