We Are Fighting Over Maps
While Quebec Prepares to Accelerate MAiD I Bill Vassilopoulos
9/1/20261 min read
We Are Fighting Over Maps
While Quebec Prepares to Accelerate MAiD I Bill Vassilopoulos
I didn’t survive a suicide attempt in 1988 just to watch my country transform state-assisted death into standard medical policy.
In 2012, after nearly losing someone close to me, I dedicated almost a decade to serving as an ASIST Master Trainer, teaching everyday people how to keep others alive. Realizing the scope of the crisis, I spent nine years writing Eyes Above the Water. I did it to show people they aren't alone and that their lives are worth saving.
Yet today, Canada is suffering from a massive collapse in priorities.
We are watching public figures and media outlets throw tantrums over changing the name of a lake, street names, and symbolic politics—all while real, systemic horrors unfold unnoticed.
In Quebec, policy discussions have pushed the boundaries of MAiD to include advance requests for degenerative conditions and even proposed considerations for infants. Nationally, the push to expand access to mature minors and those struggling solely with mental illness continues to march forward.
Worse yet, the cultural narrative has been completely twisted. Activists and political commentators are now framing MAiD through the lens of identity politics—debating demographic disparities, weaponizing terms like "white privilege," and inciting division over who gets access to state-assisted death and why.
Since when did suicide prevention turn into a debate over identity metrics? Since when did we decide that an expedited exit is an acceptable substitute for proper healthcare, psychiatric intervention, and palliative support?
What happened to being "strong and free"?
For ten years, I trained people to act as lifeguards in their communities—to pull people out of the water. Now, our political leadership and medical institutions are handing them weights and telling them to sink.
This is not progress. It is a moral collapse.
We need to stop the political theater, dismantle this trajectory, and reinvest in hospice care, mental health infrastructure, and genuine human support. We must return to a foundational truth:
You are irreversible.
You are unrepeatable.
You are highly valued—and you are never a burden.
Warmly, your friend,
Bill Vassilopoulos
Bill Vassilopoulos is a suicide intervention advocate and author of Eyes Above the Water. Audio and digital editions are available at billvassilopoulos.com.