My name is Roger Foley. I'm 45 years old. I was born with spinocerebellar ataxia, which is a severe neurodegenerative disease.
Despite my disabilities, I achieved two degrees at Carleton University, in economics and history. I was a caregiver for my father, who had cancer, heart troubles and kidney problems. I helped him live eight years beyond his original diagnosis. He was a front-line Canadian World War II veteran. I worked at the Royal Bank of Canada as their e-business manager and was awarded several RBC top performer awards. I was independent and active in the community and in sports, and as a musician and a writer.
Unfortunately, my disabilities got worse over time and now I have become totally dependent. I can no longer walk, have very limited ability to move and great difficulty even swallowing. I need help with everything, including bowel movements, bathing and medications. I have invested a lot of time and money into making my apartment accessible, but the health care system denied direct funding home care to have the personal attendants I need to remain living in my own home.
With the assisted dying regime in Canada, I have experienced the lack of care and assistance I need to live. I have been denied food and water. I have not been assisted to transfer, take my medications and go to the bathroom. I have been abused and berated because I have disabilities and told my care needs are too much work. My life has been devalued.
I have been coerced into assisted death by abuse, neglect, lack of care and threats. For example, at a time when I was advocating for assistance to live and for self-directed home care, the hospital ethicist and nurses were trying to coerce me into an assisted death by threatening to charge me $1,800 per day or force-discharge me without the care I needed to live. I felt pressured by these staff raising assisted dying rather than relieving my suffering with dignified and compassionate care.
Hospital staff failed to provide me with the necessities of life. I was starved and denied water for up to 20 days. I became severely acidotic. An expert who reviewed the case concluded a failure to provide necessities of life and gross negligence.
Facing these ongoing attacks, I started researching how and why this was happening in Canada. I found out the entire assisted dying regime is all based on false propaganda, bias, conflicts of interest, blindness, a complete abdication of the health and legal systems and the law failing to protect me. Judges who were completely biased and had conflicts of interest decided the assisted dying cases. They were supposed to be fair and impartial, but instead let our country down and failed to protect our most vulnerable.
What is happening to vulnerable persons in Canada is so wrong. Assisted dying is easier to access than safe and appropriate disability supports to live. Committee members, you cannot let this happen to me and others. You have turned your backs on the disabled and elderly Canadians. You or your family and friends will all be in my shoes one day. You cannot let this sliding regime continue.
The Truchon decision is an illegitimate decision made by a biased and compromised judge. Christine Baudouin made her decision because her father's works were used as evidence by the plaintiff's lawyer. She should have recused herself and declared her conflicts of interest. The same issues of bias, conflict of interest and misleading Canadians about assisted dying happened in Carter, during the Lamb case and with the Audrey Parker situation.
The grave mistakes by our legal and health care systems and the failure to protect our most vulnerable need to end.
I read an email from Jean Truchon prior to his death revealing all he needed was 70 hours of home care per week to live. Instead, he was wrongfully assisted to die by your health and legal systems.
I made complaints to the United Nations. The special rapporteur completed a country visit. Her report is very critical. She is extremely concerned about people with disabilities being asked to consider assisted dying.
I made a complaint to the special rapporteur on the independence of judges about the lack of independence and impartiality of our courts as related to assisted dying. I also plan to assist with the motion to retract Truchon in Quebec, as I do not believe the judgment is legitimate, and it puts all persons with disabilities in grave danger.
You are all highly intelligent individuals dedicated to public service. You are not so gullible, are you? Are you persuaded by propaganda, misinformation and a lack of objectivity by decision-makers? Your constituents expect you to scrutinize what has actually happened with the sliding practices of assisted dying and what you need to do to protect all citizens. Please move away from the dogma and see things how they really are.
Do you want to help vulnerable people who want to give back to society and be a part of our community, like heroes such as Terry Fox, or do you just want to be misled and have blood on your hands? My blood will be on your hands if you allow the illegitimate Truchon decision to tear down our laws. I will not survive, and there will be thousands of wrongful deaths.
Help Canada to be the country it should be and not what it is currently sliding toward.
Thank you for your time.