One of Canada’s most prominent MAID providers reflects on divisive decade
Wiebe says court rulings and regulatory reviews have not stopped her, even as more than 15,000 people signed a petition demanding scrutiny.
- Today marks the 10-year anniversary of MAID legalization in Canada, with Vancouver family physician Dr. Ellen Wiebe remaining a polarizing figure dogged by controversy yet undeterred in her practice.
- Since 2016, Wiebe has faced repeated legal and regulatory challenges almost as long as MAID has been law. Despite complaints to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia, she has never been found guilty of violating the law.
- Margaret Marsilla has been particularly vocal in criticizing Wiebe, accusing her of granting MAID to her 26-year-old son, Kiano Vafaeian, after Ontario doctors denied him. Marsilla alleges Vafaeian "shopped around" until he found a provider willing to do it.
- Trudo Lemmens, a professor specializing in health law at the University of Toronto, argues that MAID's self-monitored adjudication system makes prosecution "very difficult, if not virtually impossible" because physicians possess broad leeway to interpret boundaries.
- MAID eligibility is split into two tracks; track two allows individuals with serious, incurable disabilities to apply, while plans to extend access to those with mental illness are delayed until March 2027.
19 Articles
19 Articles
castanet.net
One of Canada's most prominent MAID providers reflects on divisive decade
Dr. Ellen Wiebe has never been one to shy away from risk. It started with the very first patient she provided with a medically assisted death: Hanne Schafer, a 66-year-old Calgary psychologist diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis three months before retiring in 2013. MAID was three years awa...
The Toronto Star
One of Canada’s most prominent MAID providers reflects on divisive decade
TORONTO - Dr. Ellen Wiebe has never been one to shy away from risk.
One of Canada's most prominent MAID providers reflects on divisive decade – Energeticcity.ca
Dr. Ellen Wiebe poses for a photograph at her home in Vancouver, on Tuesday, June 9, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck TORONTO — Dr. Ellen Wiebe has never been one to shy away from risk. It started with the very first patient she provided with a medically assisted death: Hanne Schafer, a 66-year-old Calgary psychologist diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis three months before retiring in 2013. MAID was three years away from legalizati…
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