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Toronto Sun
14 hours ago
- Health
- Toronto Sun
Ottawa shows no signs of limiting MAID after UN panel calls for reversal
Published Jun 19, 2025 • 4 minute read A screen displays a patient's vital signs during open heart surgery at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore on Nov. 28, 2016. Photo by Patrick Semansky / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS OTTAWA — Ottawa is giving no sign that it intends to amend existing legislation on medical assistance in dying — something a UN committee called for earlier this spring. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The federal minister responsible for disabilities spoke at a hearing of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities last week, about two months after the committee called on Canada to repeal the 2021 law that expanded eligibility for assisted dying to those whose deaths were not reasonably foreseeable. Jobs and Families Minister Patty Hajdu gave a speech at the UN last Tuesday to mark 15 years since Canada ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. 'It's about, for me, making relationships in this space and making sure that I have a really strong connection with the community, which I think is really important to be a good minister,' she said in an interview after the speech. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Her address did not cite the committee's report, which was released in late March as the federal election got underway. The report said the committee is 'extremely concerned' about Canada's policy on track 2 medical assistance in dying. '(T)he concept of 'choice' creates a false dichotomy, setting up the premise that if persons with disabilities are suffering, it is valid for (Canada) to enable their death without providing safeguards that guarantee the provision of support,' the report said. In a written statement, a spokesperson for Hajdu said the government thanks the committee for its report. 'MAID is a deeply personal choice. We will make sure that the rights of persons with disabilities are upheld and protected,' said Jennifer Kozelj. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Disability rights groups in Canada have argued the law singles out people with disabilities who are suffering because they're unable to access proper support. Last September, Inclusion Canada was among a group of organizations that filed a Charter of Rights challenge against what's known as track 2 MAID. In court documents, they argued the law 'allows people with disabilities to access state-funded death in circumstances where they cannot access state-funded supports they need to make their suffering tolerable.' The organization's CEO, Krista Carr, said she wants to see Ottawa deliver an action plan on implementing the recommendations in the UN report. 'It was crystal clear — the United Nations said they need to repeal track 2 medical assistance in dying,' she said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Garnett Genuis, the Conservative employment critic, said he came away from the UN event worried about Canada's international reputation being harmed by what he called Ottawa's 'failures to uphold our obligations to protect the rights of people with living with disabilities.' 'There is a lot of concern internationally within the disability rights community about what's happening in Canada around euthanasia and people living with disabilities,' he said. Genuis said he would support additional guardrails around track 2 assisted dying. In New Zealand, he pointed out, health professionals cannot suggest assisted dying as an option but are able to provide information to patients who ask for it. 'I think that would be a meaningful way of improving the experience of people living with disabilities who interact with the health-care system,' he said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Read More The offices of Health Minister Marjorie Michel and Justice Minister Sean Fraser did not say whether Ottawa is considering changes to the assisted dying law as a result of the report. A spokesman for Michel cited strict eligibility requirements and 'multiple robust safeguards' in the current law. Canada's medical assistance in dying law was updated in 2021 after the Quebec Court of Appeal found that limiting access to people whose deaths were reasonably foreseeable amounted to discrimination. The federal government opted not to take that ruling to the Supreme Court, and instead changed the law to broaden eligibility. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The latest annual report on medical assistance in dying shows that 622 of the 15,343 people who had an assisted death in 2023 were part of that track 2. They included 210 people who self-identified as having a disability. The report said that less than three per cent of the people who qualified for an assisted death in 2023 said they did not receive the disability support services they needed. The most frequently reported disabilities among MAID recipients were mobility and pain-related. To be considered eligible to apply for MAID, a person must have a grievous and irremediable medical condition. For people whose death is not reasonably foreseeable, there's a minimum 90-day waiting period between the first assessment and the procedure. The applicant must be informed of counselling, mental health supports, disability supports, community services and palliative care, and must be offered consultations with relevant professionals. The applicant and two different medical practitioners also have to discuss means to relieve the person's suffering and 'agree that the person has seriously considered these means,' according to Health Canada's website. NHL Basketball Canada Editorial Cartoons NHL
CBS News
16 hours ago
- Business
- CBS News
Johns Hopkins, University of Maryland sue U.S. Department of Defense over research funding cuts
Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland, College Park are fighting to protect millions of dollars in federal research funding, according to a lawsuit. The two universities, along with 10 others, are suing the department and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over an attempt to slash indirect cost rates to 15% for research funded by the department. In a memo issued on June 12, the Defense Department announced plans to cap the amount paid for indirect costs awarded on all research grants to 15%. According to the lawsuit, UMD currently has a 56% indirect costs rate, and JHU has a 55% rate. Indirect costs are resources used for operational expenses that are related to research activities. In a statement, Johns Hopkins said these costs are "necessary costs of conducting groundbreaking research that has made our nation the world's leading military superpower." How would cuts impact universities? Johns Hopkins University said the funds help offset a broad range of costs essential for its research, including equipment and electricity for labs, technical expertise and technological infrastructure, and other basic operational expenses. JHU said it has nearly 300 active Department of Defense grants totaling around $375 million across multiple years, with nearly half of that funding going to the School of Medicine and another 39% going to the Whiting School of Engineering. JHU's negotiated indirect cost rate for Department of Defense research grants was expected to remain at 55% through Fiscal Year 2026. Of the estimated $122 million in DOD funding that the university received in fiscal year 2024, nearly $90 million covered direct costs, and another $32 million accounted for the DOD's share of indirect costs. JHU co-invested to cover the remaining indirect costs. Johns Hopkins expects to receive similar amounts of DOD funding in fiscal years 2025 and 2026. However, if indirect costs are slashed, JHU said it could lose about $22 million. UMD receives approximately $125 million in DOD awards each year. The university could lose $7 million under Pete Hegseth's plan. Johns Hopkins grapples with federal funding cuts In February, Johns Hopkins University joined a federal lawsuit against the National Institutes of Health (NIH) after the agency announced that it would be limiting funding for indirect costs to 15%. That effort was blocked by a federal judge on June 17 after multiple states and institutions filed similar lawsuits. JHU lost more than $800 million from USAID grant terminations. Since January, 90 grants have ended, adding up to another $50 million in federal research funding. The university has been one of the top recipients of research funding from NIH. In June, the university announced it was pausing pay increases and reducing spending due to funding uncertainty.
Buzz Feed
20 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
Feel-Good Photos: 19 Images That Spark Pure Joy
There's a lot of "bad" on the internet. But you know what? There's a lot of "good," too! If you don't believe me, just take a look at the photos in this post, and enjoy your little dose of joy. Want more funny, weird, wholesome, or just plain interesting internet content? Subscribe to the Only Good Internet newsletter to get all of the scrolling with none of the doom. Here's Kermit the Frog giving the commencement speech at the University of Maryland: This guy told his girlfriend that he would need to poop when he got home, so she set this out for him: And this is why sex work is work: This pit bull who was raised by cats, so now he folds his paws like one: Here's a short list of wonderful sounds that you might be taking for granted: This letter from a very grateful eBay buyer: This elephant who went into a grocery store in Thailand to grab snacks: Kiwi and his goth GF (and their babies): The little story that this photo tells: Richie knows what he's doing: This club goer woke up at the bouncer's apartment with this note on the bedside table: Surprise chihuahua! Ha, sucker! VICTORY! She's so dang proud: And so is this squirrel who got to the delivery bag before the bag's owner did: 😎😎😎 FREE HIM: And finally, you can never go wrong with mac and cheese: Want more funny, weird, wholesome, or just plain interesting internet content like what you just read? Subscribe to the Only Good Internet newsletter to get all of the scrolling with none of the doom. No politics, no celeb drama, just Good Content.
Chicago Tribune
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Today in History: Father's Day celebrated in US for the first time
Today is Thursday, June 19, the 170th day of 2025. There are 195 days left in the year. This is Juneteenth. Today in history: On June 19, 1910, the first-ever Father's Day in the United States was celebrated in Spokane, Washington. (President Richard Nixon would make Father's Day a federally recognized annual observation through a proclamation in 1972.) Also on this date: In 1865, Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, with news that the Civil War was over and that all remaining enslaved people in Texas were free — an event now celebrated nationwide as Juneteenth. In 1953, Julius Rosenberg, 35, and his wife, Ethel, 37, convicted of conspiring to pass U.S. atomic secrets to the Soviet Union, were executed at Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, New York; they were the first American civilians to be executed for espionage. In 1963, Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova completed her historic flight as the first woman in space, landing safely by parachute to conclude the Vostok 6 mission. In 1964, the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 was approved by the U.S. Senate, 73-27, after surviving a lengthy filibuster. In 1986, University of Maryland basketball star Len Bias, the first draft pick of the Boston Celtics two days earlier, suffered a fatal cocaine-induced seizure. In 1975, former Chicago organized crime boss Sam Giancana was shot to death in the basement of his home in Oak Park, Illinois; the killing has never been solved. In 1987, the U.S. Supreme Court, in the case Edwards v. Aguillard, struck down a Louisiana law requiring any public school teaching the theory of evolution to teach creation science as well. Today's Birthdays: Hall of Fame auto racer Shirley Muldowney is 85. Nobel peace prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is 80. Author Tobias Wolff is 80. Author Salman Rushdie is 78. Actor Phylicia Rashad is 77. Rock singer Ann Wilson (Heart) is 75. Actor Kathleen Turner is 71. Singer-choreographer-TV personality Paula Abdul is 63. TV host Lara Spencer is 56. Actor Jean Dujardin is 53. Actor Robin Tunney is 53. Basketball Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki is 47. Actor Zoe Saldaña is 47. Rapper Macklemore is 42. Actor Paul Dano is 41.
Boston Globe
a day ago
- Boston Globe
Today in History: June 19, Union troops arrive in Galveston on ‘Juneteenth'
In 1865, Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, with news that the Civil War was over and that all remaining enslaved people in Texas were free — an event now celebrated nationwide as Juneteenth. Advertisement In 1910, the first-ever Father's Day in the United States was celebrated in Spokane, Wash. (President Richard Nixon would make Father's Day a federally recognized annual observation through a proclamation in 1972.) In 1953, Julius Rosenberg, 35, and his wife, Ethel, 37, convicted of conspiring to pass US atomic secrets to the Soviet Union, were executed at Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, N.Y. They were the first American civilians to be executed for espionage. Advertisement In 1963, Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova completed her historic flight as the first woman in space, landing safely by parachute to conclude the Vostok 6 mission. In 1964, the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 was approved by the US Senate, 73-27, after surviving a lengthy filibuster. In 1975, former Chicago organized crime boss Sam Giancana was shot to death in the basement of his home in Oak Park, Ill. The killing has never been solved. In 1986, University of Maryland basketball star Len Bias, the first draft pick of the Boston Celtics two days earlier, suffered a fatal cocaine-induced seizure. In 1987, the US Supreme Court, in the case Edwards v. Aguillard, struck down a Louisiana law requiring any public school teaching the theory of evolution to teach creation science as well.
