John Hofsess says he helped eight Canadians end their lives, before he ended his own

He was a prominent Canadian right-to-die advocate who ended his life, by choice, at a clinic in Basel, Switzerland yesterday. And moments after John Hofsess died, his extraordinary story was published by Toronto Life magazine. The title: "By the time you read this, I'll be dead."

The story is Hofsess' first-hand account of helping eight people end their lives between 1999 and 2001 -- including aiding in the death of poet Al Purdy, at his request. Until now, it was reported that Purdy had died of natural causes.

Hofsess' official time of death was 4:45 pm, Monday, Feb. 29. And his friend and fellow right-to-die advocate Michael Irwin accompanied Hofsess to Switzerland, and was with him when he died. Irwin spoke to As It Happens host Carol Off about his friend's last day.

"It was a sad occasion, however I've known John since the year 2000, and I know he's a very determined person. And he took a decision, [considering] various medical problems. It was about time his life came to an end, and he was fully respected for that by his various friends," Irwin says.

Even in his final hours, Hofsess was working. Irwin says his friend spent the better part of yesterday working on a manuscript as a way of distracting himself, "which was perhaps a good thing to do." Later that afternoon, when Hofsess felt it was time to end his life, he had a couple of final requests.

"John wanted to have music playing in the background. His choice was Ol' Man River, [by] Paul Robeson. And his last request was to have some ice cream. He's a passionate ice cream enthusiast," Irwin says.

This week's Toronto Life article written by Hofsess is a confessional on why and how he helped Canadians end their lives in secret. "Let's not mince words: I killed people who wanted to die," Hofsess writes in Toronto Life.

That included assisting Al Purdy in his death. The poet had sent a letter to Hofsess in April of 1999, requesting that Hofsess help him fulfill his final wish. For Purdy, Hofsess did this with the help of a helium method, which involved placing an "exit bag" over Purdy's head, and inflating the bag with helium, until he died.

Irwin says he can understand that some readers may be shocked by the details Hofsess describes in his piece. But he felt that it was too important for his friend not to share posthumously.

"I would feel that John would want to bring things into the open ... Sometimes a good shock is important."​