Tamara Jansen

[Criminal Code, February 23rd, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, what is really shameful is that we did not ask for this lower court decision to go to the Supreme Court. One lower court judge from Quebec should not decide a complete change in the way Canadian law works and the way our mental health and disabled patients are treated. Again, I beg that we have a fulsome discussion and go all the way to the Supreme Court with this.

[Criminal Code, February 23rd, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, the death of a parent is a very difficult thing. That is why we have been calling for better palliative care. Things can be peaceful and different.

My father-in-law passed away also. We as family were able to be around him and sing psalms from the Bible. It was a wonderful time in our lives where we could reconnect and remember the history my father-in-law passed down to us and our grandkids. Palliative care must be our first goal. We must ensure that all Canadians can access it. Right now only 30% of Canadians can access good quality palliative care. I ask the member to please support that.

[Criminal Code, February 23rd, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, it is 100% guaranteed that we will kill people who would have gotten better. That is a statement made by a well-respected Canadian psychiatrist this weekend at an emergency Bill C-7 meeting I cobbled together in response to this Frankenstein bill that we are now debating here in the House. How the Senate managed to change the bill from what it was to what it is completely boggles the mind.

The bill is now so deadly that not only are the disability community and the indigenous community crying out against it, but the mental health community and the geriatric professionals have joined in sounding alarm bells against the extreme danger this bill poses to the most marginalized in our communities.

Some in the Senate in the Liberals' group of wealthy, worried well people have decided that their wishes far outweigh any harm that may come to the vulnerable who cannot afford or cannot access the kind of care that powerful individuals can.

Let us take the issue of advance directives. Senator Pamela Wallin stated, “As someone with a history of dementia in my family, I seek the peace of mind that an advance request—and consent to it—will provide.” I would like to pose a question. Does Senator Wallin's peace of mind carry more weight than the premature deaths of frail seniors that will result if this amendment becomes law?

Imagine a person—for example, Senator Wallin—possibly dealing with dementia at some future time who has reached the stage at which her advance directive authorizes her death. Imagine that she is completely unaware of her cognizant deficits and is living happily with her loving family or in a top-notch residential setting somewhere in Canada. Who will give the MAID order? How will Ms. Wallin's caregivers explain this to her? Will that directive take precedence over her current wishes and those of everyone around her?

Imagine now a family that is less loving, one that is fighting over the inheritance while mother is still alive, fighting over how much is spent in paying for nursing care. This is a common scenario, as many professionals witness. Now who will give the MAID order, and in whose interest?

Now imagine there is no family and that the administration at the nursing home is under orders from the ministry to find beds for patients to be transferred from the hospital. There are already horror stories from around the world where advance directives for euthanasia exist as an option, stories of doctors trying to sedate their patients by putting sedatives in their coffee or stories like that of a 74-year old Alzheimer's patient from the Netherlands whose family had to hold her down as she was struggling so that the doctor could administer the lethal cocktail.

I learned in a conversation with Dr. Catherine Ferrier, who works with dementia patients, that often when a person is suffering with dementia, it is their family who are most distressed. Patients themselves are often content, even happy. The point I am trying to make here is that it is impossible to know the exact wishes of someone who is suffering with dementia. Someone who is young and healthy can imagine what they would want for themselves if they were to decline in that way, but they do not know what that future self, in a state of mind that they do not understand, would actually wish for.

I am terrified for vulnerable Canadians who want to live despite an earlier wish to die. They will not be able to communicate their desires, and their families and caregivers may pressure them to die to remove a burden from their own lives. I implore my colleagues to remember that our duty is to promote the safety and well-being of all Canadians, especially those most marginalized, not to calm the worried well.

The Council of Canadian Academies' expert panel working group on advance requests for MAID found that relatives of patients with dementia generally support euthanasia if an AED exists, but when they are faced with a decision to follow an AED, most decide against it. Many experts now favour, instead of a directive giving specific instructions, a process of reflection on broad health care goals, conversations with loved ones and the designation of a proxy decision-maker.

Listening to those who advocate MAID by advance request for patients with dementia, our first reaction should be horror at the demeaning and discriminatory terms in which they are depicted. To state that people who no longer recognize family members, are bedridden or are dependent for hygiene or feeding have lost their dignity is a marginalizing and ableist depiction. Dignity is never lost, but it can be either affirmed or denied.

Let us tackle the first myth, the myth that people deserve death with dignity and that MAID provides that. The fact is that this debate has distorted what dignity means. Dignity means to deserve honour or respect. What MAID advocates mean by “loss of dignity” is a loss of control, a loss of superficial appearance, a loss of self-critical judgment. They have tragically subverted the most dignified acts of all: unfailing love and deep respect for each other in all life circumstances. Bathing my dying grandmother, whispered conversations on the threshold of death, silent reflection and presence through a long night waiting for a last breath: These are the moments of greatest dignity. Dignity is found within our relationships. It is about whether someone looks at us and treats us with respect, rather than with subtle disdain or prejudice or by making us feel that we are bothering them.

Dignity is not about the means of death. Dying with dignity means dying in a milieu of care, love, kindness and respect. Anyone who says all these things are not present in a natural death setting simply does not understand what dignity is.

However, wait; the senators, the Liberals, Jocelyn Downie and all their friends at Dying with Dignity will cry, “No one will be euthanized under this legislation who has not already freely consented to it.”

The notion of consent by advance directive is not that simple. The vulnerability and power imbalance that is present between the parties is glaringly obvious. However, advertising campaigns and media have been busy creating a fantasy world for Canadians that pretends that the use of a physician in ending the life of someone not near death is compassionate and respects autonomy. We read in the paper about parties being organized to celebrate the last moments of life with balloons and symphony music playing in the background. We can see by the few statistics that are being reported that the glorification of euthanasia provides encouragement for those who are already unsure of their value or feel a burden to their loved ones, regardless of the fact that they are not near death.

In actual fact, what we are able to provide families with amounts to moral absolution. With this bill, we are offering to make legal what is illegal in every other country around the globe. Let me repeat that: There is no other country on the planet that allows death administered by a doctor to someone who is not imminently about to die if they have not first been given treatment. Canada, with the implementation of this legislation, will be the only country in the world where access to alternative treatments is not even required in order to qualify for death by physician.

Not only are the changes to the euthanasia regime that will come with the Senate amendments unprecedented from a legal and moral perspective, but they are also unheard of from a medical perspective. This bill would require doctors who work with patients suffering from mental illness to prescribe death, with no evidence, no data, no statistics to prove that it is an effective or beneficial treatment. There has been no due diligence done by the medical community to support the idea that MAID belongs in the tool box of mental health professionals. It is politicians, motivated by ideology and not by evidence, who have forced it upon them.

I have been told by doctors who support MAID in principle that this bill will force them to act against their conscience and their Hippocratic Oath. It is one thing to conscientiously object, but it is something much worse when there is a lack of faith in the treatment they are forced to provide. To make the concept more clear, they explained that doctors do not prescribe cigarettes to patients because the health risks far outweigh the calming benefits of nicotine. These same doctors know that there is no evidence to support the idea that MAID is an acceptable medical treatment for mental illness. Thus, if this bill passes, doctors will be forced to provide, against their conscience, an unproven treatment that causes the demise of their patient.

Further, allowing MAID for mental illness in this bill makes the bill incoherent. On the one hand, it says that MAID can only be offered to those who are not dying if their condition is grievous and irremediable. On the other, it fails to acknowledge what psychiatrists know to be true; that it is impossible to know if a mental illness is irremediable. There are many cases of doctors who have thought that a patient's condition was irremediable, only to find that the patient got better. This means that the entire entry point of accessing medical assistance in dying is not satisfied for those who suffer from mental illness. That is why doctors are pleading with us, telling us that they are 100% certain that if we accept this amendment, we will kill people who would have gotten better. This bill would ensure that people would no longer be seeking to avoid a painful death, but, rather, to escape from a painful life.

It is also important to tackle the second myth being propagated by the Liberals and their friends at Dying with Dignity, and that is the myth that Bill C-7 is not discriminatory. Here are the facts. Canadian disability organizations, mental health organizations, indigenous organizations and the United Nations all say that Bill C-7 is absolutely discriminatory. The bill singles out vulnerable Canadians and offers them physician-assisted death without offering adequate disability supports or treatment to help them live full lives, free of the suffering caused by poor health care, poverty and stigma. It singles out persons with disabilities who are not terminally ill as fit for suicide completion. This will become a choice of desperation, not autonomy.

Let us understand what discrimination really is. It is pretending that all Canadians are equal in all ways. The obvious reality is that some of us face profound life challenges. We need laws that protect the disadvantaged. A law that offers death to one group and support and treatment to all others is the paradigm of discrimination. This law proclaims that a disabled Canadian or someone suffering with a mental health challenge should consider death instead of recovery. Vulnerable patients need protection from politicians and doctors who want to make it easier for them to die, while simultaneously denying access to appropriate health care supports. This is true discrimination.

Let us face it, there is a myriad of reasons that many organizations have come out opposing the bill.

Take as another example the testimony from Tyler White, CEO of Siksika Health Services, who stated:

MAID with its administration of a lethal substance with the intent to end a person's life is countercultural to our indigenous culture and practices. Our concept of health and wellness does not include the intentional ending of one's life. We recognize the dignity [of life] from its beginning to natural death, and efforts to suggest to our people that MAID is an appropriate end to life is a form of neo-colonialism. Extraordinary efforts have been made in suicide prevention in our communities and the expansion of MAID sends a contradictory message to our peoples that some individuals should receive suicide prevention, while others suicide assistance....

...Bill C-7 in its current form is the absence of protection for individuals working in our communities who do not wish to participate in MAID. We believe that our people should not be coerced to participate in non-indigenous practices against our conscience and will. And it is the kind of oppression that has been the source of much trauma in our history. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada calls upon those who can effect change within the Canadian health care system to recognize the value of aboriginal healing practices and for respecting indigenous people's right to self-determination in spiritual matters, including the right to practise our own traditions and customs. Bill C-7 should be amended such that those who opt to abstain from participating in MAID directly and indirectly will be protected to do so without discrimination in their employment in the health care system.

How about Margaret Eaton, national CEO of the Canadian Mental Health Association, who stated the following in a recent press release:

Anyone living with mental illness knows it can absolutely be grievous and...unbearable. However, what sets mental illness apart from all other types of suffering is that there always remains the hope of recovery. That’s why the Senate’s amendment to C-7, the assisted dying bill, is so concerning.

People with a mental health problem or illness need assistance to live and thrive, not hasten death.

The Canadian Mental Health Association...is urging MPs to vote against the amendments made by the Senate to C-7. In particular, the clause to start the clock on eventually allowing people to seek medical assistance in dying...with mental illness as a sole underlying cause.

Then there is the petition I received this morning from 130 psychiatrists, psychotherapists and mental health professionals, calling on us to reject the amendment which would include mental illness as a sole criterion for medical assistance in dying. It states:

Some persons with mental illness, that often includes symptoms of hopelessness and suicidal thinking, have long been recognized as potentially vulnerable to suicide inducement and, until now, have rightfully been excluded from eligibility for MAiD. Suicide prevention is recognized as a critical mental health service necessary to preserve life. Review of evidence...found that, unlike with MAiD for terminal illness, we cannot distinguish between those seeking MAiD for mental illness and suicidal individuals.

Over and over again, we have heard from medical professionals how disastrous the bill will be to the safety and security of their patients.

Therefore, the question begging to be asked is this. Why the rush? During the pandemic, the Liberals have made the passage of Bill C-7 their priority. However, the bill is not a high priority for Canadian citizens and it is safe to assume that the majority of Canadians know very little about Bill C-7 or its implications.

Canadians have been preoccupied with more pressing matters, such as keeping themselves and their loved ones alive during this pandemic. They have been concerned with keeping financially afloat, making rent and mortgage payments, keeping their jobs and keeping their businesses from going under.

However, throughout this time, the Liberals have been concerned with driving Bill C-7 to the post, perhaps with the hope of slipping one by a distracted public. This is one of the most serious changes of legislation in law undertaken in a long time, with far-reaching implications. It will surely change the character of the country and how life and death is viewed. It has, at the very least, the potential to cause individual and social harm and open up abuses that no safeguards can guarantee against.

I will end with one final quote from the Washington Post this week under the title “Canada is plunging toward a human rights disaster for disabled people”. It said:

This month, the Journal of Medicine & Philosophy found that in the 18 years since Belgium permitted this sort of euthanasia, the laws and regulations meant to protect patients from abuse “often fail to operate as such.” Much like in the Netherlands, the eligibility criteria had steadily expanded to the point where more and more people pursued it not for medical reasons but simply for “tiredness of life.”

Legalizing assisted death for disabled people only fortifies the underlying problem: Canada has long mistreated its disabled citizens. This bill is a workaround for that problem, not a solution.

I ask this one more time. If this bill is so good, why are the vulnerable, the poor, the disabled, our indigenous brothers and sisters feeling so threatened? Why do we want our hospitals to offer suicide prevention programs through one door and doctor-assisted suicide through the other? I beg my colleagues to hear the cries of those most vulnerable among us and reject the discriminatory and dangerous bill, Bill C-7.

[Persons with Disabilities, February 22nd, 2021]

Madam Speaker, one might think that poverty groups, disability groups and indigenous peoples could count on progressive politicians to hear and stand with them in solidarity, helping to amplify their noble voices against the shocking wall of disregard. Sadly, they are on the other side, trying to protect themselves from the Liberal government.

With the passing of the bill, their battle for respect as valuable contributors to the fabric of a healthy and inclusive society will be severely damaged. Rather than death to escape a painful death, it has become death to escape a painful life.

[Persons with Disabilities, February 22nd, 2021]

Madam Speaker, the parliamentary secretary said, back in late November, that “the issue of sensitivity toward persons with disabilities is central for all parliamentarians in the House.” I could not agree more. He also stated that the Liberals “are crafting a piece of legislation that ensures the autonomy, dignity and competence of individuals.” I wish that were the truth.

What has been crafted is a bill that declares that some lives are not worth living. In fact, Bill C-7 has shocked and terrified those in the disability community. Why has a policy generated so much fear among so many vulnerable citizens?

First and foremost, it is because they understand the inherent discrimination in this bill. To state that people who are bedridden or are dependent on others for hygiene or feeding have lost their dignity is a marginalizing and ableist myth. This is the perspective of the “worried well,” such as my hon. colleague and his friends at Dying With Dignity. Dignity is never lost, but it can be either affirmed or denied.

Speaking of myths, let us deal with the idea that Bill C-7 is not discriminatory. The fact is Canadian disability organizations, mental health organizations, indigenous organizations and the U.N. all say that Bill C-7 is discriminatory. This bill singles out vulnerable Canadians and offers them physician-assisted death without offering adequate disability supports or treatment to help them live full lives free of the suffering caused by poor health care, poverty and stigma. It singles out persons with disabilities who are not terminally ill as fit for suicide completion. This will become a choice of desperation, not autonomy.

Let us understand what discrimination really is. It is pretending that all Canadians are equal in all ways. The obvious reality here is that some of us face profound life challenges. We need laws that protect the disadvantaged. A law that offers death to one group, and support and treatment to all others is the paradigm of discrimination.

This law proclaims that a disabled Canadian should consider death instead of recovery. Vulnerable patients need protection from politicians and doctors who want to make it easier for them to die, while simultaneously denying access to appropriate health care supports. This is true discrimination.

The second myth that needs to be countered is the idea that Bill C-7 must be passed right away, because suffering Canadians need relief through MAID as fast as possible. Let us face it: if this were true, then it is also true that adequate palliative care, disability supports, and mental health care must be available as fast as possible, because it is the absence of these that makes people suffer so much that they want to die rather than live.

If it were not for the COVID pandemic, Parliament Hill would see the largest protest of disabled Canadians ever assembled. If it were not for poverty and marginalization and the fact that most Canadians are unaware of the shocking push for state-sanctioned suicide, those protestors would be joined by millions more.

I have listened to the wealthy and healthy politicians opine on what they would wish for if it were them in such a terrible position. They say, with a straight face, that we must hurry to act to stop this horrible suffering, not because they are suddenly seeing what has always been in front of their eyes, but because of the realization that it could be them some day.

This bill would ensure that disabled Canadians would be treated as second-class citizens. I beg the parliamentary secretary, for the love of God, will he join me in voting firmly against this Frankenstein bill?

[Public Safety, February 3rd, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, last year, Crime Stoppers in Metro Vancouver received over 500 calls related to gangs and illegal weapons. Of the 510 calls, 401 were tips regarding illegal guns. Since the end of December, six shootings associated with gang activity have occurred here, five of which were fatal and two of which happened within the past week in my riding of Cloverdale—Langley City.

Despite the clear evidence of illegal guns fuelling gang violence, last week's Conservative private member's bill designed to curb violence through tougher sentences on possession of smuggled firearms was voted down by the Liberal government. That is unbelievable. Liberals are failing with their misguided approach to gun violence, and it is costing people their lives.

Rather than punishing law-abiding gun owners, Conservatives have a plan to tackle smuggled and illegal firearms and to focus on criminals whose gun violence is a threat to the safety and security of our communities.

[COVID-19 Emergency Response, February 1st, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians' well-being is disintegrating under prolonged lockdown orders that just keep on coming. Yesterday, we read the heartbreaking news that there is a disturbing doubling trend of infants with head trauma and broken bones coming to hospitals across the country, indicating that parents and caregivers are struggling and need hope.

Many Canadians have pinned their hope on the speedy rollout of a vaccine, and who could blame them? The Prime Minister told us that was the key to opening. Now the vaccine rollout is failing badly, and we had been warning about this from the very start. It is like watching a car wreck in slow motion, as provinces see their promised doses go undelivered. With the combination of a deal gone back with China, a secretive vaccine task force and zero manufacturing rights negotiated for Canadian production, the September vaccination timeline is beginning to look like pipe dream.

On this side of the House we have been fighting tirelessly to find actual solutions that could bring hope and help. Canadians can count on the Conservatives to secure health care, our economy and our future.

[Petitions, January 29th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I present this petition calling on the government to recognize the genocide of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang, China.

I do so on this day when we remember the horrific attack on Muslim worshippers in our country, who were gunned down as they peacefully kneeled in prayer. We have an opportunity to do more than just remember; we have a responsibility to eradicate such horrific religiously motivated violence, both here and abroad. We have heard at committee that Chinese Muslims are being subjected to forced labour, invasive surveillance, and forced abortions, sterilizations and organ harvesting.

If we are committed to assisting in the development of religious freedom around the world, we need to strongly condemn religious persecution, so today, on what will be the national day of remembrance of the Quebec City mosque attack and action against Islamophobia, the petitioners urgently call for justice for Uighur Muslims in China as well.

[Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2020, January 25th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, I wonder if the member might be able to tell me if the $700-billion credit increase that we are looking for is not actually for a plan to buy Facebook. That is the value of Facebook. I had to laugh when I saw that number. A $700-billion increase to credit is just crazy. I am sorry.

[Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2020, January 25th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, right now our top priority should be our senior care homes. We need to make sure that we have proper funds going to protect them, to create this iron band around our long-term care facilities. That is for me. That is why I am here. I am very passionate about seniors, and that is what I am going to be focusing on.