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Complaint Filed to Medical Regulator over MP Saying Fentanyl ‘Readily Available’ in MAID Report
The complaint says the MP’s remarks normalized a lethal means and created foreseeable harm, while the college could order remedial steps or discipline.
Claire Brosseau, 49, filed a complaint with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario against Liberal MP Marcus Powlowski over remarks he made about fentanyl and suicide in a public document.
In a supplementary opinion on medical assistance in dying, Powlowski wrote that ending one's life is "readily available," describing illicit fentanyl as a "painless" option easier for his teenage sons to obtain than cholesterol medication.
Brosseau called the comments "irresponsible, thoughtless and dangerous," arguing they normalize lethal means and create a "foreseeable risk of harm to vulnerable readers" contrary to professional standards.
Investigators at the regulatory college have reviewed the complaint, notifying Powlowski he has until October 22 to file a response before the matter proceeds to committee review.
This controversy emerges amid federal plans to restrict MAID for mental illness this fall, while Brosseau pursues constitutional challenges arguing the current exclusion breaches the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.