Latest news with #SmithsFalls
New York Times
5 days ago
- General
- New York Times
Do Patients Without a Terminal Illness Have the Right to Die?
One of the doctors wanted to know why, despite everything, Paula Ritchie was still alive. 'I'm just curious,' she said. 'What has kept you from attempting suicide since August of 2023?' 'I'm not very good at it,' Paula said. 'Obviously.' Then she started to cry. She said that everything was getting worse. She said she didn't want to suffer anymore. 'This is a more dignified way to go than suicide.' Paula was lying in the big bed that she had pulled into the center of the living room, facing an old TV and a window that looked out on a row of garbage bins. The room's brown linoleum floors were stained, and its walls were mostly unadorned. On a bookshelf, there was a small figurine of an angel, her arm raised in offering. At 52, Paula had a pale, unblemished face and a tangle of dark hair that fell around her waist. The day before the appointment, in January this year, she washed her hair for the first time in weeks, but then she was not able to lift herself out of the bathtub. When, after hours, she managed to get out, her pain and dizziness was so bad that she had to crawl across the floor. Dr. Matt Wonnacott sat in a folding chair at the foot of the bed. He was there as Paula's 'primary assessor': one of two independent physicians, along with Dr. Elspeth MacEwan, a psychiatrist, who drove through the snow to Smiths Falls, Ontario, to evaluate Paula's eligibility for Canada's Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) program — what critics call physician-assisted suicide. 'You're a difficult case,' Wonnacott admitted. Another clinician had already assessed Paula and determined that she was ineligible — but there was no limit to how many assessments a patient could undergo, and Paula had called the region's MAID coordination service every day, sometimes every hour, demanding to be assessed again, until the nurse on the other line had practically begged Wonnacott and his colleagues to take Paula off her roster. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
CTV News
12-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
Smiths Falls, Ont. declares food insecurity emergency
The town of Smiths Falls, Ont. has declared a food insecurity emergency as the number of residents relying on food banks continues to rise. Food insecurity refers to individuals not having access to sufficient or adequate quality food to meet basic needs. Natalia Soteroff, the executive director of the Smiths Falls Community Food Bank, tells CTV News Ottawa that the demand for their service has grown exponentially since the COVID-19 pandemic. The food bank used to serve about 300 clients per month and that number has more than tripled to about 950. 'We need more support,' Soteroff says. Soteroff says food banks do not receive consistent funding from any level of government, instead relying on donations to support their operation. 'We strictly rely on our community and our community is in need,' she says. Smiths Falls, located about 80 km southwest of Ottawa, has a population of roughly 10,000. The town is the latest eastern Ontario municipality to raise concerns over usage of food banks. Kingston declared a food insecurity emergency in January.
CTV News
06-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
Backyard chickens approved in Smiths Falls
Smiths Falls council has approved a one-year pilot project to allow residents to keep chickens for fresh eggs. CTV's Shaun Vardon reports.
