Canadian Man Faces Murder Charges For Chemical Sales

Canadian authorities report that a man is facing 14 counts of murder in the second degree in addition to the 14 accusations of assisting suicide. He is accused of selling deadly chemicals online to individuals who were in danger of harming themselves.

After Kenneth Law was arrested in Canada on charges of advising and assisting suicide, an international inquiry was opened.

Police say Law used several websites that offered sodium nitrite, a food preservative that can kill if consumed. He was accused of selling them to over 40 nations. Police in the UK are investigating 88 website-related fatalities. New Zealand, Italian, Australian, and US authorities are also investigating.

Simon James, York Regional Police Inspector, disclosed Law’s latest accusations, saying they all pertain to 14 Ontario victims aged 16–36. More than one of the victims is under 18. Police did not identify the victims.

Assisted suicide has been permitted in Canada for adults over the age of 18 since 2016, but it is still illegal to suggest suicide to someone else.

A doctor’s permission is required before an adult with a terminal illness, disability, or other significant medical condition may request medical aid in dying.

Dr. Michel Bureau, who heads Quebec’s End of Life Care Commission, expressed concern to the Canadian Press that the prevalence of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) has diminished the stigma around suicide in the province.

Reports show the Canadian euthanasia program is among the world’s most progressive and aggressive.

Canada was hesitant to take the step of expanding MAID to encompass people with mental diseases with no physical conditions this year. Thus, it has been postponed until 2024.

There is a push to start providing MAID to adolescents in Canada. Suicide is no longer only available to those with terminal conditions or intolerable pain. Doctors are told to encourage euthanasia even before a patient brings it up.

According to Dr. Bureau, these policies have created a situation where MAID is seen as normal rather than a unique circumstance. His estimates show that by the end of 2023, doctor-assisted suicides will account for seven percent of all fatalities in Quebec.

Nearly one-third of Canadians think that homeless individuals should have access to assisted suicide, according to a survey published in May in Canada’s National Post.