About
I am currently a social worker and mental health advocate living in Australia with my partner Gail and our hound Gilbert. Although I am a government employee working in public mental health, this is my private website. The opinions and views expressed here are entirely my own and do not represent those of my employer.
• Why am I addressing the File 1000-121 Affair?
Like countless people around the world, I am deeply concerned about the erosion of democracy and the excessive influence of industry lobbyists, corporations and billionaires over our elected governments. Moreover, the increasing concentration of media ownership together with the declining quality of journalism is both a cause and a symptom of poor democracy.
As I identified years ago in an essay for my social work degree, public knowledge of this particular case of systemic corruption has the potential to result in democratic reform in Canada, as it identifies collusion between economic and political elites in abusing the power of the state, in order to redistribute wealth from millions of ordinary citizens to media companies controlled by some of the richest Canadians (June 12, 2007).
Furthermore, Canadians remain unaware of the anti-democratic scheme — and are therefore unable to object to it — due to the failure of media companies to properly inform citizens about the File 1000-121 Affair. In short, information asymmetry about subordinate legislation was manufactured by design, because ignorant people are easy to exploit by powerful vested interests.
On this particular matter of governance, it is accurate to state that I possess expert knowledge.
• Why do I oppose lethal injections for people whose sole medical condition is mental illness under medical assistance in dying (MAID)?
For almost a quarter of a century, I have been engaged in a variety of roles to promote mental health recovery, including volunteering in local, national and international initiatives addressing the stigma of mental illness, working in recovery-oriented mental health services since 2009, conducting conference presentations, and publicly sharing aspects of my own experience of anxiety, suicidal depression, psychosis and recovery. In the process, I have become acquainted with a number of highly productive and impressive people who experienced recovery. It is simply not possible for anyone to accurately predict a person’s future mental health and wellbeing.
In addition, I personally know what it is like to be driven to the point of suicide due to a false sense of hopelessness and being in extreme psychological pain, and to recover.
It is my position that governments should try to make it easier for people with mental health issues to live satisfying lives, rather than making it easier for them to die.
• How is this case of systemic government corruption related to MAID for mental illness in Canada?
While each issue rests on its own merits, both are related to Canada’s federal government and the integrity and competence of politicians over the years.
Furthermore, the world-leading expert on the stigma of mental illness made the connection directly in 2016 to Justin Trudeau, while he was prime minister of Canada. As documented, the late Professor Corrigan stated in his open letter to Mr. Trudeau: “If you choose to initiate an investigation into the company subsidy scheme as requested by Mr. Mahar, there will inevitably be media coverage of his public interest campaign to address this issue, including his personal experience of severe mental illness and recovery. Knowledge of Mr. Mahar’s story will serve to challenge the stigma of mental illness, raise awareness of recovery, and inspire hope for people with mental health problems and their families” (Open Letter, February 22, 2016).