They served their country, but when they needed help, Canadian veterans allege they were offered death instead — raising fresh questions about Ottawa’s assurances that its MAID scandal was isolated.
“You’ve got physically healthy young men asking for help, and the help offered is death,” Alberta lawyer Catherine Christensen told the Daily Mail.
The allegations have brought renewed scrutiny to Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC), which confirmed four inappropriate MAID discussions with one of its staff, though it maintains the incidents were isolated.
David Baltzer (former soldier, two tours in Afghanistan) claimed a VAC caseworker recommended MAID in December 2019 as he was trying to get to the bottom of the cuts to his veterans’ benefits.
Baltzer, who was in his 30s at the time, had been undergoing treatment for PTSD and suicidal ideation when the caseworker went through his treatment record and asked him, “Have you ever given any thought to medical assistance in dying?”
