The government is responsible for funding every aspect of this process, though. It regulates the controls and rubrics over who gets what kind of care. The husband may have instigated it, but the system is broken if a person eligible for euthanasia isn't eligible for palliative care or hospice.

Most importantly, I continue to contend that MAID is turning into something that isn't what Canadians voted for. It is, however, turning into something that its opponents feared might come to pass.

Separately, why do these services have to move so quickly? It seems like it’s either glacially slow in other countries where people pass before even finishing the paperwork, or insanely fast like in this case. There really should be a balance.

After all, using the monopoly power of government and taxation is meant to be more efficient and provide more services at lower costs.

A cynical person might presume that MAID is being used as a cost savings measure more than an empathetic alternative for those who do not wish to wait to die of natural causes.

Are the headlines the tip of the iceberg, or the exceptions that gain notoriety? When the government and health care system are so deeply intertwined, who has access to the data but not an incentive to obscure the facts? With any luck, time will tell.