Myths & Facts: MAID and marginalization in Canada

Dr. Sandy Buchman is a palliative care physician and Professor in the Division of Palliative Care, Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto. He currently holds the Freeman Family Chair in Palliative Care and Medical Director of the Freeman Centre for the Advancement of Palliative Care at North York General Hospital in Toronto, where he practices palliative and end of life care in the ambulatory clinic and home settings. From 2005-2019 he practiced palliative and end of life care with the Temmy Latner Centre for Palliative Care, Sinai Health System in Toronto. He has also worked as palliative care physician in the Palliative Care and Education for the Homeless (PEACH) program. He practiced comprehensive Family Medicine for many years with special interest in Social Accountability, Primary Care Cancer Care, Palliative Care, HIV/AIDS and Global Health – including volunteer experiences in South America and Africa. He is a founder and medical lead of a new hospice residence (Neshama) in North York opening in 2026. He also co-founded MAIDHouse, an independent facility in Toronto for the provision of medical assistance in dying. He has served as President of the Ontario College of Family Physicians, the College of Family Physicians of Canada and the Canadian Medical Association. He was awarded the Order of Canada in December 2024.

Dr. James Downar is a Critical Care and Palliative Care physician in Ottawa. He graduated from McGill Medical School and completed residency training in Internal Medicine, Critical Care and Palliative Care at the University of Toronto. He has a Master’s degree in Bioethics from the Joint Centre for Bioethics at the University of Toronto. He is currently Professor and Head of the Division of Palliative Care at the University of Ottawa, where he holds a Clinical Research Chair in Palliative and End of Life Care. He is an adjunct professor at the Australian Centre for Health Law Research at the Queensland University of Technology. He is the current President of the Canadian Critical Care Society and co-chair of the Pan-Canadian Palliative Care Research Collaborative.  He has authored more than 160 peer-reviewed publications and was the principal investigator on more than 30 peer-reviewed grants on topics such as medical aid in dying; communication and decision-making for serious illness; palliative care in the critical care setting; grief and bereavement; and the treatment of psychological and existential distress in advanced illness. In 2025, he received the King Charles III Coronation medal for contributions to Palliative Care in Canada, and in 2021 he received the Award of Excellence from the Ontario Medical Association’s Section on Palliative Medicine.