Quebec financing project to better understand medical aid in dying

A person holds a stress ball. (Matthias Zomer/pexels.com)

The Quebec government says it plans to spend more than $900,000 to support a research project to better understand the growing use of medical aid in dying (MAID) in the province.

Quebec's minister responsible for seniors, Sonia Bélanger, announced Wednesday that Université de Montréal researcher Marie-Ève Bouthillier has been awarded $920,750 in funding over three years.

Bouthillier's research is expected to provide "scientific knowledge on the factors that may explain the steady increase in the use of MAID and its social acceptability in Quebec."

According to data from the Commission on end-of-life care, 5,211 people received MAID in Quebec between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023, an increase of 42 per cent over the previous year.

The use of MAID is also more frequent in Quebec than in the rest of the country.

In 2022, deaths attributable to medical aid in dying represented 4.1 per cent of all deaths in Canada, according to Statistics Canada.

In Quebec, the proportion was 6.6 per cent, higher than any other province.

According to Bélanger, "the implementation of this project is one more step towards a better understanding of the sensitive and important issue of MAID in Quebec."

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on March 27, 2024.