New book explores Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying policies

A newly released academic book edited by a university professor and a health lawyer is making an important contribution to Canadian public policy on Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) while examining opportunities for advocacy for health equity.

Edited by Dr. Jaro Kotalik, Chair of the Executive Committee of the Lakehead University Centre for Health Care Ethics and a Professor at NOSM University, and David Shannon, a lawyer and disability advocate, the book Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada: Key multidisciplinary perspectives is
being published by Springer in the International Library of Bioethics.

“With over 30 multidisciplinary chapter authors, including Canadian legal authorities, scholars, and clinicians with affiliations to over a dozen universities, this book offers the first comprehensive overview of MAiD,” Dr. Kotalik said.

“It delves into complexities and problems, and also provides various recommendations on how the MAiD program could be improved while suggesting relevant research topics that could be explored.”

A national launch of the book is scheduled to take place in Ottawa on Tuesday, Sept.  19 at 7 pm at Cardus, located at 45 Rideau St, which will also be livestreamed.

A Thunder Bay book launch will follow in October.

The book is available online, at the Lakehead University Bookstore, and in the Lakehead University and NOSM University libraries.

“The publication of this kind of scholarship demonstrates the leadership that Lakehead University and NOSM University are known for. This is a wonderful accomplishment, occurring on the 25^th anniversary of the establishment of the Centre for Health Care Ethics,” Dr. Kotalik said.

You can learn more about the book and secure your digital or paper copy through the Springer website. 

You can register for the in-person or the on-line event here.

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About NOSM University

NOSM University is Canada’s first independent medical university and one of the greatest education and physician workforce strategy success stories of Northern Ontario. More than just a medical university, it was purpose-built to address the health needs of the region. While advocating for equitable access to care, the university contributes to the economic development of Northern Ontario. NOSM University relies on the commitment and expertise of the peoples of Northern Ontario to educate health-care professionals to practise in Indigenous, Francophone, rural, remote, and underserved communities. With a focus on diversity, inclusion, and advocacy, NOSM University is an award-winning, socially accountable organization renowned for its innovative model of distributed, community-engaged education and research.

For further information, please contact news@nosm.ca.

About Lakehead University

Lakehead University is a fully comprehensive university with approximately 9,700 full-time equivalent students and over 2,000 faculty and staff at two campuses in Orillia and Thunder Bay, Ontario. Lakehead has nine faculties, including Business Administration, Education, Engineering, Graduate Studies, Health & Behavioural Sciences, Law, Natural Resources Management, Science & Environmental Studies, and Social Sciences & Humanities. Lakehead University’s achievements have been recognized nationally and internationally, including being ranked in the top half of Times Higher Education‘s 2023 World Universities Rankings for the fourth consecutive year, and the number one university in the world with fewer than 9,000 students in THE’s 2023 Impact Rankings (which assesses institutions against the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals).