Suicide of Sophia

Sophia was a 51-year old Canadian woman who had multiple chemical sensitivities, meaning she was allergic to chemical cleaners and cigarette smoke.[1] She lived at the Salvation Army's Grace Communities residential apartments in Toronto and obtained care from Women's College Hospital in Toronto.[1][2][3] With support from friends, Sophia spent two years trying to find affordable housing that did not expose her to cigarette smoke and the scent of chemical cleaners.[1] Her search was not successful, despite her pleas to the Government of Canada, the Government of Ontario, and local government.[1] Sophia spent increased amount of time at home due to the public health measures implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] No government agency in Canada has the responsibility to help people with environmental sensitivities find accommodation.[1]

Sophia avoided media attention prior to her death, concerned that it would thwart her ability to take her own life.[1] On February 14, Sophia recorded a video, later shared to CTV News in which she said: "The government sees me as expendable trash, a complainer, useless and a pain in the ass".[1][4] To protect the privacy of her family, she asked her friends to share the video but to use the pseudonym of Sophia.[1]

Sophia died on February 22, 2022, making use of new legal rights that existed in Canada since March 17, 2021.[1]

Rohini Peris, President of the Environmental Health Association of Québec said, after her death: "This person begged for help for years, two years, wrote everywhere, called everywhere, asking for healthy housing."[1]

University of Toronto PhD candidate Sophia Jaworski wrote in the American Ethnologist journal that "it is easier to access physician-assisted suicide than it is to secure accessible housing."[3]

• Euthanasia in Canada