In a deeply troubling development for pro-life Catholics in Canada, a government-ordered euthanasia facility—officially known as a MAID (Medical Assistance in Dying) site—is now fully operational on the campus of St. Paul’s Hospital in downtown Vancouver. Although St. Paul’s is a Catholic hospital founded by the Sisters of Providence and operated by Providence Health Care under the Archdiocese of Vancouver, it could not prevent the British Columbia government from enforcing this controversial measure.
“This is incredibly sad news,” said Alex Schadenberg, Executive Director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition. “It’s sad that the unit is now operational. And I’m also incredibly saddened by the fact that the new St. Paul’s will also have a euthanasia clinic attached to it,” he told Catholic News Agency.
The British Columbia New Democratic Party government forced the issue in November 2023 after sustained pressure from pro-euthanasia activists and media campaigns. According to CNA, the province carved out a portion of land in an interior courtyard of the existing hospital campus to construct the facility, which officially opened on January 6, 2024. The MAID unit, called the “Shoreline Space,” is discreetly attached to the western section of the hospital’s Providence Building. It features no public signage, is blocked by a two-yard-high black chain-link fence, and is monitored by security cameras and floodlights.
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, which operates the facility, claimed in an April 17 email that the space “provides patients with options for specialized end-of-life care in a way that supports and respects them, their loved ones, and health care providers.”
But many Catholics view this government-imposed proximity of death-dealing procedures next to institutions devoted to life as an assault on their religious freedom and moral integrity. Providence Health Care has consistently maintained that it does not offer euthanasia or abortion on its premises. A spokesperson for Providence, Shaf Hussain, emphasized in an email to Canadian Catholic News that “we don’t proactively mention MAID as an option to consider… If a patient enquires about it, we contact the VCH MAID team.”
Providence’s existing agreement with the province allows them to discharge patients who request MAID to a separate facility operated by Vancouver Coastal Health. However, this workaround has been aggressively targeted by groups like Dying with Dignity Canada, which called the transfer process “cruel and unusual.” In 2023, the B.C. government responded to this pressure by establishing the current MAID unit directly on hospital grounds.
Planning is also underway to incorporate a similar facility on the site of the new St. Paul’s Hospital campus, now under construction on False Creek Flats, two miles from the current hospital. An internal November 15, 2024, email obtained through a freedom of information request revealed a list of “preliminary requirements” for the future MAID site, including 2,800 square feet of internal space, ground-level entry, utility hookups, and a location five minutes from the hospital pharmacy.
While Providence has attempted to maintain its pro-life identity, the layered reality has become increasingly complex. At May’s Place and St. John Hospice—Catholic-run facilities within buildings leased by Vancouver Coastal—MAID is reportedly being carried out in adjacent rooms “down the hall,” separate from the Catholic hospice space. “This space, which they use for MAID, is separate and away from our hospice operations,” said Hussain.
Yet critics say this amounts to a troubling proximity to euthanasia in settings meant to preserve the dignity of life until natural death. Dr. Will Johnston, head of the Euthanasia Resistance Coalition of B.C., was blunt in his assessment: “This is another example of zealots who won’t allow the population any freedom from euthanasia… I think it’s totalitarianism,” he said.
Catholics are being called to prayer, discernment, and advocacy in the face of policies that threaten the sanctity of life and the mission of Catholic health care. As Schadenberg concluded, “We must not be silent as government policies undermine faith-based care and the foundational Catholic belief in the dignity of every human life.”
