Canada Offered Its Wounded Veterans Something Unthinkable — Trump's VA Did the Opposite

Canadian veterans who asked their government for help with PTSD, brain injuries, and disabilities say they were offered something else entirely — a path to a medically assisted death. This is according to a disturbing new report by the Daily Mail.

David Baltzer served two tours in Afghanistan and was being treated for PTSD and suicidal thoughts. He told the outlet that two days before Christmas in 2019, after his benefits were cut, he called Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) looking for answers. Instead, a caseworker pulled up his file.

"He looked at my file and said, 'I can see the therapy you've done. It doesn't seem like much has helped. I'd like you to keep an open mind and think about this,'" Baltzer recalled. "'Have you ever given any thought to medical assistance in dying?'"

"To me, [the suggestion of assisted suicide] was a confirmation of, 'Oh, my life is worthless,'" he added.

‼️ THIS IS INSANE: Canadian veterans say they asked Veterans Affairs for help and were OFFERED DEATH. David Baltzer, 2 tours in Afghanistan, 2 days before Christmas, AFTER his benefits were cut, a caseworker asked if he'd thought about MAID. Corben McGown, 22 & in treatment for PTSD when MAID came up. He's now suing. Paralympian, Christine Gauthier, asked for a wheelchair lift. She was told: "if you are really so desperate, we can give you medical assistance in dying now." Their lawyer says one client got an offer as recently as this spring. Imagine that's YOUR son, home from Afghanistan after THEY put their life on the line, they ask for help & they’re asked back if they want to die. THEY SERVED CANADA, CANADA OFFERED THEM DEATH. Our veterans deserve better. ALWAYS.

— Mario Zelaya (@mario4thenorth) November 9, 2026

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... PTSD when MAID came up. He's now suing. Paralympian, Christine Gauthier, asked for a wheelchair lift. She was told: "if you are really so desperate, we can give you medical assistance in dying now." Their lawyer says one client got an offer as recently as this spring. Imagine that's YOUR son, home from Afghanistan after THEY put their life on the line, they ask for help & they’re asked back if they want to die. THEY SERVED CANADA, CANADA OFFERED THEM DEATH. Our veterans deserve better. ALWAYS.

Baltzer isn't alone. Christine Gauthier, a former Paralympian, spent five years petitioning for a wheelchair lift while crawling up eight steps to get into her home. She says that when she told her caseworker she couldn't take it anymore, he answered, "You know you have the right to die."

"I said, 'I can't believe you're telling me I have the right to die, but you're not going to give me the equipment I need to live,'" Gauthier said.

"They either want you gone and dead, or quiet like a plant. They don't want you to disturb anyone, be conscious or be able to respond and fight back," she added. "Sometimes I wonder whether the system has been designed this way because so many people eventually give up."

Corben McGown says MAID came up when he was 22 and struggling with PTSD after several suicide attempts. 

"I was looking for help – not to die," he said. 

He is now suing, and the Canadian government denies it ever discussed MAID with him.

His lawyer, Catherine Christensen, is working on a proposed class action. 

"You've got physically healthy young men asking for help, and the help offered is death," she said.

VAC told the Mail its staff is instructed not to raise MAID "under any circumstances." It says a review of more than 402,000 files found four cases, all involving one employee who no longer works there. 

Christensen counters that the practice is “a lot more prominent than Veterans Affairs would be willing to admit," adding she represents a veteran who was offered MAID as recently as this spring.

Community organizations are critical to reaching Veterans who may not otherwise connect with VA care. VA’s Fox grant program often serves as a bridge between vital federal resources and vulnerable Veterans in need of support. https://t.co/0PY5KLKnu5

— VA Secretary Doug Collins (@SecVetAffairs) September 29, 2026

The approach in America has been vastly different.

Under President Trump and VA Secretary Doug Collins, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) calls suicide prevention its "top clinical priority." In September, it awarded $111.9 million in grants to 191 community organizations that work to reach veterans before it's too late.

“Community organizations are critical to reaching Veterans who may not otherwise connect with VA care,” said VA Secretary Doug Collins. “VA’s Fox grant program often serves as a bridge between vital federal resources and vulnerable Veterans in need of help.”

The VA says the Veterans Crisis Line answered more than 1.3 million calls, chats and texts in fiscal year 2026 through Sept. 20, up 7.1 percent from the year before. RISK ID, the suicide-risk screening program launched by the first Trump administration in 2018, completed more than 5.5 million screenings through August. 

The department has also enrolled more than 280,000 new veterans in VA care so far this year.

One government looked at struggling combat veterans and saw an opportunity to close their files. The other is spending millions to find vets who haven't even asked for help yet.

On Veterans Day (Remembrance Day in Canada), it's worth noting the contrasting approaches each nation seems to be taking toward struggling vets.

Veterans in crisis, or anyone worried about one, can dial 988 and press 1, or text 838255.

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