VIU experts available this week:
Medical assistance in dying: delayed expansion
The federal government has delayed the expansion of medical assistance in dying to people suffering solely from a mental illness who meet all the eligibility criteria and safeguards by three years. Nursing Professor Dr. Caroline Variath is researching ways to enhance awareness of and access to end-of-life care for patients. She says this decision could be seen by some as being discriminatory towards people with mental health disorders, as others with chronic debilitating conditions whose death is not reasonably foreseeably can access MAID. On the flipside, there were very few health-care professionals – even on Vancouver Island, where MAID rates are highest in the country – who were willing to assess and even fewer who would consider providing MAID to this population. She believes the delay will:
- help put in place processes that would support health-care providers.
- provide some time to hopefully improve access to mental health services that are currently lacking in our community.
Finding true love in 2024
Dr. Cameron Gordon is a VIU Psychology Professor who studies the intersection of positive psychology and romantic relationships. He is interested in how couples achieve and maintain high levels of satisfaction over long periods of time. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, he’s happy to take on your questions about finding true love in 2024.
Student designs chocolate flavour
With Valentine's Day comes thoughts of chocolate. And for VIU Baking and Pastry Arts student Grace Poirier, those thoughts were turned into a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Grace recently returned from a field school trip to Europe, where she visited the Cacao Barry factory in Paris to design and create a signature chocolate for VIU. Grace is available to speak about what goes into the chocolate creation process, how she was selected and why she wanted to do this.
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