A Canadian doctor has been given only a minor reprimand after assessing a man for euthanasia outside of a Tim Hortons and then driving the man to the place where his state-sanctioned death with fatal injections took place.
Ontario doctor James MacLean was given six months’ probation by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) for two infractions related to assisted suicide or so-called “MAiD” (Medical Assistance in Dying), as it’s known. MacLean had to appear before the committee to get a verbal “caution” of his conduct.
In one case, MacLean did not give the drug that paralyzes a person’s body muscles during an assisted suicide procedure. The person started to breathe after the doctor left the person’s residence, despite MacLean declaring the person dead.
The other case involved a man, Thomas Dillon, outside Tim Hortons. Dillon suffered from Crohn’s disease, and his death was flagged by the Ontario coroner’s “MAiD” death review, according to reports.
The CPSO said that a nurse practitioner first assessed the man after he asked for assisted suicide and was then seen by MacLean outside of a Tim Hortons parking lot. Dillon was approved for assisted suicide under Track 2, or when a death is not reasonably foreseeable but the person suffers from an allegedly “grievous and irremediable” medical condition.
The CPSO found that MacLean’s coffee shop meeting with this man was “concerning” and that “sensitive MAiD-related matters” should have been discussed in a professional setting instead.
“Based on the Respondent’s own account, other locations were not meaningfully explored at the time,” noted the panel.
“In the Committee’s view, this reflected a lack of the level of formality and care expected when assessing requests for MAiD.”
Additionally, the CPSO was concerned with the “quantity and nature” of the text messages between MacLean and Dillon, which showed remarks about the man’s family not approving of assisted suicide.
Both complaints were made against MacLean in 2024, with the CPSO concluding that MacLean “did not meet the standard of practice of the profession” and that he “displayed a lack of judgment.”
Hellbound and Down 