Doctor sanctioned after meeting MAiD patient outside Tim Hortons

A London, Ontario doctor has received a six-month sanction after an investigation revealed he committed a number of violations in administering Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD).

Key Takeaways:

• Dr. James MacLean must practice under supervision for the next six months due to two instances in which he violated MAiD protocols.

• In the first instance, he approved a man for death outside a Tim Hortons coffee shop, and later drove the man to the place he was to be euthanized.

• In the second instance, MacLean failed to administer the full euthanasia concoction. He declared the patient dead, only for the man to start breathing again after MacLean left the home.

• There has been some outcry over the decision to allow MacLean to continue to practice medicine.

The Details:

According to the National Post, the  College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario investigated Dr. James MacLean after two public complaints were made in relation to MacLean's administration of euthanasia. The investigation's findings concluded MacLean "did not meet the standard of practice of the profession, displayed a lack of judgment and that his conduct exposes or is likely to expose patients to harm or injury in five out of twenty charts reviewed."

In response, MacLean was verbally “cautioned” and agreed to mandatory clinical supervision for at least six months. He can, however, continue practicing medicine under supervision.

Assessing for MAiD outside of a coffee shop

In the first instance, MacLean reportedly assessed 45-year-old Thomas Dillon for MAiD outside a Tim Hortons coffee shop. Dillon had a medical history of inflammatory bowel disease and associated surgeries, along with mental health concerns, but was not terminally ill.

MacLean later drove Dillon to the MAiD location described by The Globe and Mail as "a room at a holding facility in an industrial unit where cadavers are prepared for transport to funeral homes" and administered the deadly drugs which ended Dillon's life.

A finding from the MAID Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee took issue with the casual manner in which MacLean interacted with Dillon, along with “specifically discussing sensitive MAID-related matters in an informal public setting.”

“In the committee’s view, this reflected a lack of the level of formality and care expected when assessing requests for MAID," the report said, noting, "The committee was also troubled by the respondent’s communications and degree of personal involvement with the patient,” describing text messaging with Dillon that "went beyond" what was reasonable.

Failure to complete full euthanasia protocol

In the second instance, the committee found that MacLean failed to administer one of the three necessary drugs in the fatal concoction meant to kill a patient. After driving to the patient's home to commit the euthanasia, he failed to administer a neuromuscular-blocking medication, which causes paralysis, because "he was unable to locate it in his briefcase."

Though the patient lost consciousness and was declared dead with the two drugs MacLean did administer, after MacLean left the home “the patient resumed spontaneous breathing.” MacLean returned to the home, administered more lethal drugs “and again pronounced the patient’s death.”

Zoom In:

Despite the seriousness of these MAiD violations, MacLean is still able to work as a physician — and that is prompting some pushback.

“I am horrified that the college has not stopped him from practising,” Dillon’s aunt, Megan Nichols, said in an interview with The Globe and Mail. “What does it take?”

Dr. Ramona Coelho, a former member of the Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario’s MAID death review committee, also questioned the decision by the committee to allow MacLean to continue to practice medicine. “What is striking is not only the seriousness of the concerns identified in these cases, but the limited regulatory response,” she said.

MAiD violations are nothing new — and neither is a half-hearted response. In 2024, a report published by Alexander Raikin, a visiting fellow in bioethics at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, analyzed leaked documents which revealed that Ontario’s euthanasia regulators had tracked 428 cases of illegal euthanasia deaths through non-compliance since 2016. Despite that incredibly high number, no violations resulted in a criminal complaint to authorities.

The Bottom Line:

Since its legalization, euthanasia in Canada has spiraled out of control. Those who are sick and suffering deserve real, compassionate care, not a rush toward death, and more than 100,000 have been killed so far.