As I was listening to the news while driving home this afternoon, there were a couple of items whose startling juxtaposition clearly escaped the sensibilities of the announcer. The first was the tragedy of a “suicide crisis” in Attawapiskat, followed closely by a lament that not all the recommendations of a committee investigating government assisted suicide would find their way into law.

Evidently, we have reached some kind of bizarre consensus where do-it-yourself suicide is a Bad Thing, but suicide through government sponsored execution is a Good Thing.

From here:

Attawapiskat suicide crisis subject of emergency debate in House

NDP MP Charlie Angus opened the emergency debate on the Attawapiskat suicide crisis by calling for a groundswell of political will that will put an end to Band-Aid solutions for the problems facing Canada’s First Nations.

[….]

“When I think that there are communities in our country where … young people in groups are deciding that there is no hope for their future, we must do better, we have to find a way to go forward,” said Philpott.

And here:

The Trudeau government won’t be taking a permissive approach to medically assisted dying in new legislation to be unveiled as early as next week, The Canadian Press has learned.

Sources, who aren’t authorized to speak publicly about the imminent bill, say it won’t adopt some of the most controversial recommendations from a special parliamentary committee.

[….]

It will not allow people diagnosed with competence-impairing conditions like dementia to make advance requests for medical help to die, which the committee advocated.

Nor will it include mature minors, to whom the committee recommended extending the right to choose assisted death within three years.