Ontario family calls for changes after their 26-year-old son received MAID in B.C.

An Ontario family is calling for changes to medical assistance in dying (MAID) after the death of their son in B.C.

Kiano Vafaeian was 26 years old when he received MAID on Dec. 30.

His family says he lived with Type 1 diabetes and partial vision loss, but says that his biggest struggle was his mental health, which they believe should have made him ineligible for MAID.

“He said everything the doctors needed to hear in order to approve him,” Margaret Marsilla, Vafaeian’s mother, said. “Was he actually feeling that way? I strongly believe not.”

Vafaeian’s family said he first sought MAID in Ontario, where he was from, but was repeatedly denied for several years.

They said that is when he turned to B.C., where he was approved.

“He didn’t have the items necessary to qualify for MAID and quite frankly, the system failed him,” Joseph Caprara, Vafaeian’s stepfather, said.

4:48 MAID charter challenge puts religious-based hospitals in the spotlight

Under Canada’s MAID law, Track 2 applies to people who are not terminally ill, but who have a serious and incurable condition.

Get weekly health news

Receive the latest medical news and health information delivered to you every Sunday.

Sign up for weekly health newsletter Sign Up

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

It comes with additional safeguards, including a minimum 90-day assessment period and evaluations by two independent practitioners.

The family says a prominent MAID advocate, Dr. Ellen Wiebe, signed their son’s death certificate and alleges the safeguards were not fully followed.

“We believe she was coaching him in order for her to check off her own boxes to approve him,” Marsilla said.

In a statement to Global News, Wiebe said that each patient she has provided MAID to had a grievous and irremediable medical, not psychiatric, condition, adding each of them was capable of consent and that all Track 2 assessments took at least 90 days.

Randall White, an independent expert at the UBC Department of Psychiatry, told Global News that mental health issues often accompany conditions seen in Track 2 MAID cases.

“Are those conditions — those mental health conditions accompanying these other conditions — are they adequately assessed?” he said.

“Are they diagnosed even before MAID is a consideration? I would question that.”

B.C. Health Minister Josie Osborne said the government will continue to learn from everyone’s experiences and make any changes that might be warranted.