Sisters Alicia and Christie Duncan were given only 48 hours' notice that their mother, Donna, was approved for Canada's Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) program. Her death was scheduled for Tuesday, October 26, 2021, expedited by Canada's streamlined 'Track 1' pathway for individuals whose natural death is reasonably foreseeable. However, her daughters insist Donna was not terminally ill but experiencing a severe mental health crisis, exacerbated by isolation during the COVID-19 lockdown and triggered by a car accident.
According to her daughters, Donna, a retired psychiatric nurse, exhibited paranoid behavior, fearing snipers and believing her food was contaminated with heavy metals, leading her to consult a psychic. She was also diagnosed with central sensitization syndrome, a condition causing extreme sensitivity to stimuli, and was reportedly eating only about 800 calories a day, which her daughters believe was a method to appear physically ill to MAiD assessors.
In an attempt to halt the process, Alicia and Christie contacted the police and obtained a last-minute arrest warrant under the Mental Health Act to transfer Donna to a psychiatric ward. Despite these efforts, Donna was discharged from the ward without her daughters' knowledge and died by lethal injection on Friday, October 29, 2021. The sisters stated that MAiD practitioners determined she was on a 'foreseeable trajectory' toward death due to malnutrition.
Alicia expressed that medical practitioners seemed determined to see the MAiD process through, likening their efficiency to factory workers. She believes her mother's death is a result of systemic failures in Canada's legislation, citing concerns about loopholes that allow approvals for non-terminal conditions. Alicia now advocates for stricter safeguards in end-of-life legislation to protect vulnerable individuals who might benefit from support to live.
Donna Duncan had been a vibrant individual prior to a car accident in February 2020. Over the subsequent 20 months, her behavior changed dramatically. Doctors had diagnosed her with a concussion, but this did not explain her significant weight loss or other reported symptoms. Her daughters questioned her self-diagnosis of central sensitization syndrome, noting instances where her alleged hypersensitivity seemed to dissipate.
Medical professionals had also diagnosed Donna with a psychosomatic disorder, where physical symptoms stem from mental and emotional distress, less than a month before her death. This diagnosis was deemed convincing enough for the judge to issue the arrest warrant. However, after being admitted to a psychiatric ward, Donna was discharged, and four hours later, she died via lethal injection. Alicia learned of her mother's death via a text message.
Following Donna's death, an investigation was opened by the police into whether she should have been approved for MAiD, given her mental health state. This marked the first known MAiD death in Canada to be investigated by police. However, the investigation reportedly stalled when the Fraser Health Authority declined to provide police with the MAiD assessments, citing privacy protections.
In August 2026, Alicia published a memoir titled 'The Other Side of the Straitjacket,' detailing her experience. She has since used her platform to raise awareness about the potential dangers of end-of-life legislation that lacks adequate mental capacity screenings. Alicia has presented evidence to the UK parliament regarding assisted dying legislation. Canada's MAiD program accounted for 4.7 percent of deaths in 2023, with Alicia expressing concern that individuals with disabilities are particularly at risk.
She also pointed to a 2021 report from Canada's Parliamentary Budget Office estimating significant cost savings through the MAiD system as an alternative to palliative care, suggesting potential financial motivations influencing end-of-life decisions.