iN DISCUSSION: More Canadians want in on MAID

This is where cold hard facts give way to the hottest of takes, mostly mine I suppose. I’m the editor, Marshall Jones.

Want to include yours? Listen, this isn’t the comment section, this isn’t social media. Discussion and debate requires context and a wee bit of bravery — we need your name and where you’re writing from. Include it in your account or email me anytime.

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Has legalized suicide in Canada opened a Pandora’s box?

When you’ve seen people in a hospital at their last, at their worst, you can’t help but wonder if there’s a better way.

‘I don’t want to go that way.’

That’s the thinking that got us medically assisted deaths in Canada.

I argued for it before it was legal and I absolutely think it’s the right thing to do. 

What I didn’t realize, I guess, is just how many others agreed with me. 

This year, 22,535 people applied. They all died but only 16,499 people made it to a medical death. That’s five percent of all deaths in Canada.

I’m certainly open to discussing the merits of MAID. I see how it’s being spun by opponents and it’s effective. To hear that nearly 17,000 people died by the Government of Canada sounds like our country is crazy, particularly since it ignores the groundswell of people who made this happen. It’s not like it was unpopular and pushed on us.

But has it become a Pandora’s box?

Since Canada legalized suicide, it quickly lead the world in such a morbid statistic. It continues to be pushed forward — more people want in.

That includes people with dementia who want to pre-plan their deaths while they still can. So far, red tape prevents it.

If you have room for such a light discussion between the holidays, I’d love to know your take. Email me at mjones@infonews.ca.

Mj

Marshall Jones

Managing Editor

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Before we look forward to 2026, first a look back

Following are a few of our favourite stories we published this year.

All are exclusive or we were first to report, most wouldn’t have been told at all without us.

• What it’s like for a Kelowna magic mushroom business operating outside the law
• NO PARKING: How Kelowna’s planning for a future with a lot fewer cars
• What it’s like to be a crime scene cleaner in Kelowna
• ‘I’m getting tired’: Kamloops woman losing sleep in battle against rats
• Motorcycle photo shoot takes tragic turn for Kamloops newlyweds
• Kelowna philanthropist’s short, cocaine-fuelled relationship cost him $5M after court battle
• ‘He’s so far gone:’ Kelowna woman fights for addicted brother
• Who’s behind the giant digits in larch trees on a Shuswap mountain?
• Did a Kelowna church pressure rape victim to drop the charge?
• How a steam train came to rest in Kamloops Lake almost 100 years ago
• Why green hard hats hang from power lines in BC
• North Okanagan man spent 10 years selling illegal smokes; he now owes the gov’t $17M
• This is not Thompson Rivers University’s next president
• Councillor Sarai breached oath by recording Kamloops mayor and covering it up
• Kamloops sex offender planned to start new life with abducted teens
• Kelowna conservative strategist behind AI news site targeting John Rustad
• Kamloops school district boss accused of bullying, creating toxic work environment
• BC granddaughter must return cash after dementia diagnosis, legal powers revoked

Mj

Marshall Jones

Managing Editor

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Are you satisfied with your cell coverage Thompson-Okanagan?

I guess Rogers should get some credit for trying to improve cell service.

It has been testing a new cell service that uses satellites instead of cell towers, particularly in BC mountain towns where it’s intended to be used. 

Cellular reception is one of the least talked about downside disruptions about living and trying to do business in the BC interior. There isn’t a week that goes by that I don’t have some cell phone issue with my own staff.

Can you hear me now? HA. There are so many dead spots, some staff can’t get calls to their home at all on one service, so we had to try another.

We manage, we get through. Perhaps it’s more annoying than crucial but then I’m not taking electronic payments or communicating with emergency services or coordinating fleets, etc.

You tell me: Are you satisfied with your cell coverage in the Okanagan and Thompson valleys? Email me at mjones@infonews.ca.

Mj

Marshall Jones

Managing Editor

p.s. Happy New Year everyone, 2026 is going to be great.

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iN RESPONSE

iN RESPONSE to Friday’s newsletter about cell coverage

Cell service in my end of Penticton is terrible. I am near Skaha Lake. 

Every single call I get or make, there are dead spots in the call…. very often we just hang up.
I don’t think I’ve ever had a single call where there has not been dead spots.

If you find a service that works, please let me know, this is very frustrating!

— Konnie Kranenburg

The cell service provided by Telus in the Cherry Creek area, just outside of Kamloops is beyond terrible. Even the Hub service they provide is questionable. When you include the internet service, it is probably the worst in Canada. Telus knows this and still do nothing about it.

The worst part is that fibre optic cable goes right through Cherry Creek to reach Tobiano, and they will not add Cherry Creek to the service. For the last 30 years, they have been promising to do something about the shoddy service and still nothing is happening. They acknowledge they have oversold the capacity of the equipment so badly, that some hours of the day, you may as well leave everything turned off.

— David Monsees

Cell service in the interior is horrendous. In my home in Vernon, there’s areas in my house and on the property that drops calls or has no signal. For 30 years you can’t drive south on 97 past the dump without losing your signal. There’s just no accountability for the monopoly of cell companies. Maybe we need some more competition.

— Bonnie Derry

iN RESPONSE to Monday’s newsletter opinion editorial about MAID

I will try to keep this brief. I have recently been diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. It seemed to come out of nowhere & the prognosis isn’t great. I will start chemo immunotherapy next week & I am hoping that I will tolerate the treatment & maybe get a little more time to spend with my family & loved ones. I will be applying for MAID. I intend to fight this but I want to determine when enough is enough. I’m not writing this to change peoples minds or justify my actions. This is MY decisions & knowing that I have this option has brought me so much peace & courage. I want to end this life’s journey with my family by my side & on MY terms. I want their last memory of me to be one of love, acceptance, courage & hopefully some laughter. I will be starting the process next week.

— Diane Milne

This is such a great program and clearly needs to be expanded to assist all those who are eligible and want in.

I always thought it was weird that other animals have always been “put down” to ease their suffering, but human animals just had to suck it up.

I’m grateful for the program and would definitely use it if I were ever in a hopeless health situation. It serves as a gift for the patient, their family, hospitals, and the public funding the costs of ongoing care.

— Karen Klein

5% of people who died in Canada used MAID, instead of dying in pain and in humiliating circumstances.
There is no dignity in hospice. Family and friends have died in hospice. Weak, helpless and humiliated by being so.
No thank you. For me, choosing my time and place, having time to say my goodbyes, having time to make my peace, having time while I’m still able to express my love for my family is the choice that is best for me.
MAID is everyone’s choice.
It’s an option, if you choose it. No one is coerced into suicide. The route to obtaining MAID is long with many checks. The final decision rests with the person. Even if you’ve decided that MAID is the best option, at the last minute the person can change their mind.
Egregious headlines aren’t helpful.
People who choose MAID are dying. A significant portion of them die before they can access MAID.
Being able to access MAID when you have a dementia diagnosis would help many people to face their remaining life more peacefully. At this time, the law prohibits that. Hopefully, there will be a positive change soon.

— Ken Middleton via email

I totally agree with MAID and I feel that seniors over the age of 80 who are of sound mind should be able to fill in the forms to prepare for whatever old age throws at us.
I don’t mean that we should just go ahead and die just because, but if I get dementia or another debilitating disease it would be nice to be prepared.

— Konnie Kranenburg via email

I am so in favour of MAID. There is absolutely no way I want to be lying on my death bed waiting, just let me head off into the light. My body, my decision and thank you to a government that is letting us decide our own fate.

— Marti Giroux via email

Three years ago my sister used MAID as she was dying of pancreatic cancer and they couldn’t do anything for her for the pain. It was lovely that we could all be with her to say goodbye. My feelings about those who disagree with it are the same as abortion, and same sex marriage. If you don’t agree with it, don’t do it. But you have no right to impose your beliefs on anyone else.

— Bonnie Derry via email

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11 homicides, suspicious deaths in Kamloops, Okanagan in 2025

Well that was a dark bit of commentary. Let’s also remember that the vast majority of the population also went home quite safely. Canada in 2022 had an intentional homicide rate of 2.273 people per 100,000. The US in 2023 had a rate of 5.763 per 100,000 people. Mexico in 2023 had a rate of 24.859. Jamaica in 2023 had a rate of 48.299. I am not suggesting violence in Canada does not happen and certainly in many instances visits horrific consequences on victims and families. However, I do say that most of us will go home perfectly safely. I also note that stranger on stranger violence is by far the most rare in deliberate homicides. If you’re going to be killed it much more likely to be your mate, siblings, friends/associates that do it.

— William Mastop via iNFOnews.ca

‘Rather stupid:’ 61-year-old Shuswap man who stole 100 bottles of liquor gets community service

If the judge thinks everyone is going to wonder why such a light sentence then maybe it should have been more. Good grief.

— Bonnie Derry via iNFOnews.ca

Cost of Kamloops council code of conduct investigations up 60 per cent this year

This article exemplifies what is wrong with Kamloops civic governance. Its distortion and deflection only reinforce the destructive culture created by one of the most secretive and bullying city councils and administrations in recent memory. The result has been a steady erosion of public trust.

The article advances a narrative that castigates Mayor Hamer-Jackson for attempting to lift the veil of secrecy surrounding City Hall. In doing so, it ignores a critical reality: some councillors have chosen to weaponize the Code of Conduct (COC) by filing unsubstantiated and frivolous complaints.

According to the City’s own website under “Council Conduct and Investigations,” there are 29 COC matters listed. Of these:
• 6 were deemed “substantiated” in the opinion of a lawyer not by a court of law
• 10 complaints were dismissed as frivolous
• 9 complaints were withdrawn
• 4 complaints remain unresolved

Of the substantiated findings, four involved the Mayor and two involved Councillor Sarai. Importantly, these were legal opinions, not judicial rulings. The Mayor was found to be in technical breach for releasing information from in-camera meetings and for conflict-of-interest matters. Councillor Sarai was found to have misled the public by lying and to have allegedly released confidential documents.

The cost to taxpayers for these substantiated findings alone was $252,093.25, an unacceptable expense simply to referee internal disputes between elected officials.

But it gets worse. This is where the weaponization becomes obvious.

Legal fees totalled $90,420.57 for nine unsubstantiated complaints and $44,553.58 for ten withdrawn complaints. That is $134,924.15 spent on complaints that ultimately went nowhere.

In total, hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars have been burned resolving disputes that should never have reached this level of disputes that could have been settled by a kindergarten class.

City Council needs to move past personal grievances, internal power struggles, and the refusal by some councillors to accept the authority of a duly elected mayor. And while disagreements are part of politics, dishonesty is not. I will have a very hard time forgiving the act of lying by Councillor Sarai.

This is not governance. It is game playing at public expense and Kamloops residents deserve far better.

— Garry Davies via iNFOnews.ca

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Tara Armstrong Recall Countdown

Tara Armstrong is currently the MLA for Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream. She rode the coattails of the BC Conservative Party, got elected, then rejected and left the party to serve as an Independent within weeks because the Conservatives were too left wing. Now she gets to spout moronic, hateful rhetoric and claim that her riding supports her.

Elections BC says you can recall an MLA if 40% of eligible voters in the riding sign a recall petition — but not for the first 18 months after an election. Some people started an online petition calling for a byelection once she made a shift to independent, then got herself a raise by forming her own party, but it won’t mean anything until the countdown clock hits zero.

So let the countdown begin!

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Disclaimer: Any views, thoughts, and opinions expressed on this page are solely those of the writer and does not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of the editor, iNFOnews.ca, iNFOTEL MULTIMEDIA, its partners, principals or advertisers.