In a letter to Ontario Minister of Culture David Tsubouchi, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition (EPC) President Dr. Barrie deVeber insisted that the Ministry launch a real, impartial investigation into a grant by the Ontario Trillium Foundation to the pro-euthanasia group Dying with Dignity (DWD). In January, LifeSite broke the story that the government-funded foundation granted DWD CAN$177,800 over three years for DWD's counseling program.
Despite evidence provided by EPC, both the Trillium Foundation and the Ministry of Culture continue to deny that DWD's intended program contravenes Trillium policies or that DWD's programs include illegal activity.
EPC points out that DWD is the largest organization promoting the legalization of assisted suicide in Canada, and that DWD newsletters clearly indicate that one of the purposes of the pilot counseling program, for which the Ontario Trillium Foundation allocated $177,800 over three years, is to counsel clients in the issues of "Self Deliverance," a euphemism for suicide.
"It is clear from DWD newsletters that the program will counsel methods of suicide, something which is prohibited by section 241 of the Canadian Criminal Code," said EPC in a statement. "To impart information on methods of suicide both endangers the law and endangers the lives of vulnerable people, particularly people with disabilities."