An Act to amend the Criminal Code and to make related amendments to other Acts (medical assistance in dying)

This bill is from the 42nd Parliament, 1st session, which ended in September 2019.

Sponsor

Status

This bill has received Royal Assent and is now law.

Summary

This is from the published bill. The Library of Parliament has also written a full legislative summary of the bill.

This enactment amends the Criminal Code to, among other things,
(a) create exemptions from the offences of culpable homicide, of aiding suicide and of administering a noxious thing, in order to permit medical practitioners and nurse practitioners to provide medical assistance in dying and to permit pharmacists and other persons to assist in the process;
(b) specify the eligibility criteria and the safeguards that must be respected before medical assistance in dying may be provided to a person;
(c) require that medical practitioners and nurse practitioners who receive requests for, and pharmacists who dispense substances in connection with the provision of, medical assist­ance in dying provide information for the purpose of permitting the monitoring of medical assistance in dying, and authorize the Minister of Health to make regulations respecting that information; and
(d) create new offences for failing to comply with the safeguards, for forging or destroying documents related to medical assistance in dying, for failing to provide the required information and for contravening the regulations.
This enactment also makes related amendments to other Acts to ensure that recourse to medical assistance in dying does not result in the loss of a pension under the Pension Act or benefits under the Canadian Forces Members and Veterans Re-establishment and Compensation Act. It amends the Corrections and Conditional Release Act to ensure that no investigation need be conducted under section 19 of that Act in the case of an inmate who receives medical assistance in dying.
This enactment provides for one or more independent reviews relating to requests by mature minors for medical assistance in dying, to advance requests and to requests where mental illness is the sole underlying medical condition.
Lastly, this enactment provides for a parliamentary review of its provisions and of the state of palliative care in Canada to commence at the start of the fifth year following the day on which it receives royal assent.

Elsewhere

All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.

Bill numbers are reused for different bills each new session. Perhaps you were looking for one of these other C-14s:

C-14 (2022) Law Preserving Provincial Representation in the House of Commons Act
C-14 (2020) Law Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2020
C-14 (2020) Law COVID-19 Emergency Response Act, No. 2
C-14 (2013) Law Not Criminally Responsible Reform Act

Votes

June 16, 2016 Passed That a Message be sent to the Senate to acquaint their Honours that this House: agrees with the amendments numbered 1, 2(d), 2(e), 4, and 5 made by the Senate to Bill C-14, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and to make related amendments to other Acts (medical assistance in dying); proposes that amendment 2(c)(i) be amended by replacing the text of the amendment with the following text “sistance in dying after having been informed of the means that are available to relieve their suffering, including palliative care.”; proposes that amendment 3 be amended in paragraph (b) by adding after the words “make regulations” the words “that he or she considers necessary”; respectfully disagrees with amendment 2(a) because requiring that a person who assists to be free from any material benefit arising from the patient's death would eliminate from participation the family members or friends most likely to be present at the patient's express wish, and this would violate patient autonomy in a fundamental and inacceptable manner; and respectfully disagrees with amendments 2(b), 2(c)(ii), and 2(c)(iii) because they would undermine objectives in Bill C-14 to recognize the significant and continuing public health issue of suicide, to guard against death being seen as a solution to all forms of suffering, and to counter negative perceptions about the quality of life of persons who are elderly, ill or disabled, and because the House is of the view that C-14 strikes the right balance for Canadians between protection of vulnerable individuals and choice for those whose medical circumstances cause enduring and intolerable suffering as they approach death.
June 16, 2016 Failed That the motion be amended by: ( a) deleting the paragraph commencing with the words “respectfully disagrees with amendments numbered 2(b), 2(c)(ii), and 2(c)(iii)”; and ( b) replacing the words “agrees with amendments numbered 1, 2(d), 2(e), 4, and 5” with the words “agrees with amendments numbered 1, 2(b), 2(c)(ii), 2(c)(iii), 2(d), 2(e), 4, and 5”.
May 31, 2016 Passed That the Bill be now read a third time and do pass.
May 31, 2016 Failed That the motion be amended by deleting all the words after the word “That” and substituting the following: “Bill C-14, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and to make related amendments to other Acts (medical assistance in dying), be not now read a third time but be referred back to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights for the purpose of reconsidering Clause 3 with a view to ensuring that the eligibility criteria contained therein are consistent with the constitutional parameters set out by the Supreme Court in its Carter v. Canada decision.”.
May 30, 2016 Passed That Bill C-14, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and to make related amendments to other Acts (medical assistance in dying), {as amended}, be concurred in at report stage [with a further amendment/with further amendments] .
May 30, 2016 Failed “Health, no later than 45 days after the day”
May 30, 2016 Failed “(7.1) It is recognized that the medical practitioner, nurse practitioner, pharmacist or other health care institution care provider, or any such institution, is free to refuse to provide direct or indirect medical assistance in dying. (7.2) No medical practitioner, nurse practitioner, pharmacist or other healthcare institution care provider, or any such institution, shall be deprived of any benefit, or be subject to any obligation or sanction, under any law of the Parliament of Canada solely by reason of their exercise, in respect of medical assistance in dying, of the freedom of conscience and religion guaranteed under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms or the expression of their beliefs in respect of medical assistance in dying based on that guaranteed freedom.”
May 30, 2016 Failed “(3.1) The medical practitioner or nurse practitioner shall not provide a person with assistance in dying if the criteria in subsection (1) and the safeguards in subsection (3) have not been reviewed and verified in advance (a) by a competent legal authority designated by the province for that purpose; or (b) if no designation is made under paragraph (a), by a legal authority designated by the Minister of Health in conjunction with the Minister of Justice for that purpose. (3.2) The designation referred to in paragraph (3.1)(b) ceases to have effect if the province notifies the Minister of Justice that a designation has been made under paragraph (3.1)(a).”
May 30, 2016 Failed “(3.1) As it relates to medical assistance in dying, no medical practitioner or nurse practitioner may administer a substance to a person if they and the medical practitioner or nurse practitioner referred to in paragraph (3)(e) concur that the person is capable of self-administering the substance.”
May 30, 2016 Failed “(d) their imminent natural death has become foreseeable, taking into account all of their medical circumstances.”
May 30, 2016 Failed
May 30, 2016 Failed “(f) they have, if they suffer from an underlying mental health condition, undergone a psychiatric examination performed by a certified psychiatrist to confirm their capacity to give informed consent to receive medical assistance in dying.”
May 30, 2016 Failed “(f) prior to making the request, they consulted a medical practitioner regarding palliative care options and were informed of the full range of options.”
May 30, 2016 Failed
May 18, 2016 Passed That, in relation to Bill C-14, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and to make related amendments to other Acts (medical assistance in dying), not more than one further sitting day shall be allotted to the consideration at report stage of the Bill and one sitting day shall be allotted to the consideration at third reading stage of the said Bill; and That, 15 minutes before the expiry of the time provided for Government Orders on the day allotted to the consideration at report stage and on the day allotted to the consideration at third reading stage of the said Bill, any proceedings before the House shall be interrupted, if required for the purpose of this Order, and in turn every question necessary for the disposal of the stage of the Bill then under consideration shall be put forthwith and successively without further debate or amendment.
May 4, 2016 Passed That the Bill be now read a second time and referred to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights.
May 4, 2016 Passed That the question be now put.
May 4, 2016 Passed That, in relation to Bill C-14, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and to make related amendments to other Acts (medical assistance in dying), not more than one further sitting day shall be allotted to the consideration at second reading stage of the Bill; and That, 15 minutes before the expiry of the time provided for Government Orders on the day allotted to the consideration at second reading stage of the said Bill, any proceedings before the House shall be interrupted, if required for the purpose of this Order, and, in turn, every question necessary for the disposal of the said stage of the Bill shall be put forthwith and successively, without further debate or amendment.

Criminal CodeGovernment Orders

October 21st, 2020 / 6:50 p.m.


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Conservative

Dean Allison Conservative Niagara West, ON

Mr. Speaker, today we are talking about Bill C-7, an act to amend the Criminal Code with respect to medical assistance in dying. While I realize this is a very sensitive and difficult issue, I want to be very clear that I will not be supporting the bill. I would like to take a few minutes to talk about why that is and to provide some context to all Canadians, specifically from my constituents in Niagara West.

On February 6, 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that grievously suffering patients had the right to ask for help in ending their lives. This was the Carter v. Canada decision. The court declared that paragraph 241(b) and section 14 of the Criminal Code, which prohibited assistance in terminating life, infringed upon the charter right to life, liberty and security of the person for individuals who want to access an assisted death.

The Supreme Court decision was suspended for a year to give the government time to enact legislation that reconciled the charter rights of individuals, doctors and patients. As a result, the government introduced Bill C-14 on April 14, 2016, which received royal assent on June 17, 2016. Medical assistance in dying has been legal since then.

On September 11 of last year, the Superior Court of Québec found that it was unconstitutional to limit access to medical assistance in dying to people nearing their end of life. Basically, the court said that the Criminal Code requirement that natural death should be reasonably foreseeable to get medical assistance in dying is against the rights and freedoms of Canadians as they are written in the charter. It is important to note this ruling will come into effect on December 18, 2020, unless a third extension is granted by the court.

The focus and priority of all of us in the chamber should be to ensure safeguards are always in place for the most vulnerable in our society. We also have to keep in mind that we need to be respectful and accepting of the conscience rights of physicians and health professionals. Doctors are trained to save lives, not to end them. I actually believe we should go a step further and protect the conscience rights of all health care professionals.

I am supportive of doctors and health care providers who are not willing to leave their core ethics behind when they are at their patient's bedside. I do not believe it is appropriate to force a doctor or other health care provider to participate in assisted suicide. I also do not believe it is appropriate to hire or fire an employee based on their willingness to be involved in assisted suicide. Physicians who wish to follow their conscience on serious moral issues should be free to do so. Again, we need to be respectful and accepting of the conscience rights of physicians and health professionals.

The last time I voted on this issue, I went through the legislation, which at the time was Bill C-14, and I made a determination that it did not include sufficient safeguards for those most vulnerable, so I opposed it. I had the chance to examine the current bill before us today and I still do not think it has sufficient safeguards, so I will oppose it again.

Let us be clear about something. Medical assistance in dying is a tremendously difficult issue to debate. It absolutely is. It is a highly emotional topic for all sides, and there are many factors and personal convictions that come into play. In the House we agree on many things, but we also disagree strongly on others. The key is to respect one another in the process as we discuss sensitive issues, especially issues relating to human life. Medical assistance in dying has to do with some of the most vulnerable people in our society. That is why it is important we, as representatives of the people who voted for us, have utmost respect for all who have an opinion on this topic. This includes many folks in my riding of Niagara West who are people of faith and disagree with what this bill would do.

I would like to highlight some critical evidence from an expert who appeared before the Quebec superior court on this issue. Dr. Mark Sinyor is a Canadian psychiatrist widely recognized for his clinical expertise and research on suicide prevention. He was an expert witness in the case, who provided important testimony before the Quebec superior court.

In his 50-page affidavit, Dr. Sinyor detailed for the court the likely impact of expanding medical assistance in dying to those who are not at the end of their lives. He notes that under an expanded law, which is what we have in front of us here today, physicians would bring about a death that is not otherwise foreseeable. This is something that is exceptionally difficult to accept for many Canadians across the country and for many in my riding of Niagara West. Issues like the planned legal death of someone who is terminally ill is a very delicate matter to begin with, but to open up the door for more people to qualify for a planned death, a legal death, to me and to many of my constituents, is very troubling.

I would like to return to Dr. Sinyor again.

He talks about a well-established phenomenon referred to as suicide contagion. Dr. Sinyor explains that suicide contagion occurs “through a process called social learning in which vulnerable people identify with others who have had suicidal thoughts and/or behaviour.” He goes on to say, “Expansion of MAID to include suffering, not at the end of life is likely to lead to suicide contagion and higher suicide rates, and to have a negative impact on suicide prevention.”

Dr. Sinyor also talks about the extent to which many elderly people with chronic conditions and younger people with severe disabilities are impacted. He says that they “feel like a burden to their loved ones and that their families would be better off if they were dead.”

When one of our friends, of family members or loved ones is in a similar circumstance and they begin to think that they will be solving this problem of being a burden, knowing that this law will allow it, would it be more comfortable for us? My answer is no, I do not think it would be.

To quote Dr. Sinyor again, “Normalizing suicide death via MAID as a remedy for suffering not at the end of life is likely to increase suicide rates in Canada at a time where there is a universal consensus among public and mental health experts of the imperative to decrease suicide rates.”

In short, the bill would simply make it possible for a person to choose to access medical assistance to end their life, even if their death is not reasonably foreseeable. I am concerned for people with disabilities. I am concerned that, if passed, the legislation will allow people with disabilities to die with medical assistance because they have a disability.

Michael Bach, managing director for the Institute for Research and Development on Inclusion and Society confirms this, saying “people who are not at the end of life will nevertheless be able to access assisted death on the basis that their disability is grievous and irremediable and they experience suffering they find intolerable.” I am concerned that people with disabilities may be coerced into ending their life while they are in a state of personal suffering.

Michael Bach also said, “Negative stereotypes are an undeniable cause of disability-related disadvantage and suffering. The Quebec Superior Court struck a blow to social rights in Canada when it rejected the end of life requirement.”

One of Bach's most striking statements on this issue is that the court's decision “institutionalizes the idea that disability can justify terminating a life. Stereotypes don’t get much worse than that.”

I am afraid that the bill may reinforce horrible stereotypes that a life with a disability is a life not worth living or that living with a disability is a fate worse than death. This cannot happen. I am also concerned that the suffering may not be caused by the disability but because of a lack of services and supports needed by many people with disabilities to lead a full life.

As an example, we have the story of Sean Tagert, a B.C. man who was living with ALS. Sean chose to access medical assistance in dying because he was unable to secure funding for the 24-hour care he needed to live in his home, in his community and raise his young son. The story is heartbreaking. This young man chose death because he was unable to get the proper care for his disability, and he left a young child behind.

It is so sad to hear stories like this. That is why I believe that providing high-quality palliative care is critical. Palliative care is so important because it puts patient care at the forefront of this discussion and not the patient's death. Palliative care helps improve the quality of life, reduces or relieves physical and psychological symptoms and supports the families and loved ones of those struggling with the condition. It could be provided in a variety of settings, including hospitals, at home, long-term care facilities and hospices.

The focus of palliative care is on respecting dignity and having compassion for human life. That in my view is the right approach. I do not think any of us in the chamber should ever underestimate the importance of this issue and its complexity. We all understand the delicate and sensitive nature of it. We all have views and we all know the views of our constituents. They sent us here to represent them, and that is what we are doing.

My hope is that we will all uphold the original objective of this legislation, and that is to affirm the inherent equal value of every person's life to avoid encouraging negative perceptions of the quality of life of persons who are elderly, ill or disabled. This bill does not do that, and for that reason I will be voting against it.

Criminal CodeGovernment Orders

October 21st, 2020 / 6 p.m.


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Parkdale—High Park Ontario

Liberal

Arif Virani LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Calgary Nose Hill for her analysis and for her very pointed and personal remarks today.

I am going to put a question to her that has been raised by some of her Conservative colleagues and was, in fact, raised in her speech.

When the member canvassed some of the pros and cons and related what she was hearing from constituents, she mentioned conscience rights. I find that criticism a little confusing, and am trying to understand it, because conscience rights are protected in the preamble of the old Bill C-14, in the text of Bill C-14, in section 2 of the Canadian Charter and even in the Carter decision, which is what got us all here. The Carter decision states, in paragraph 132, that, “In our view, nothing in the declaration of invalidity which we propose to issue would compel physicians to provide assistance in dying.”

I am wondering if the member for Calgary Nose Hill could flesh out what she understands to be the conscience rights concerns, because I believe that they are fully protected in the jurisprudence and in the statute.

Criminal CodeGovernment Orders

October 21st, 2020 / 5:30 p.m.


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NDP

Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC

Mr. Speaker, this is absolutely a very important issue for many Canadians.

When the House of Commons debated Bill C-14, I, too, along with my NDP colleagues, voted against that bill because there were many flaws within it. From there, many constituents wrote to me with heartbreaking stories. In fact, one constituent talked about how his mother had to end her life early because she was very worried that if she waited she might lose the faculty to provide informed consent. Those are the kinds of stories that absolutely move us.

To that end, with respect to advance requests as stipulated in the bill before us today, I wonder what the member's thoughts are. Does the member support advance requests?

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October 21st, 2020 / 5 p.m.


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Liberal

Hedy Fry Liberal Vancouver Centre, BC

Madam Speaker, I am really pleased to speak to this bill, Bill C-7, in its current form, mostly because I did not support the original bill, Bill C-14, from four years ago. I did not support it because I felt that it did not reflect the intent of the Supreme Court of Canada's ruling in Carter. I also felt, as a family physician who practised medicine for 20 years, that it did not act in the best interest of my patients.

As a family physician, I walked with my patients through many things: through the joys of having a baby, of giving birth and of marriage, but also through the difficult, challenging and painful times when they struggled with excruciating incurable diseases and with knowing they were going to die because of a terminal illness. They had to work with their families, who may or may not have wanted them to go through with this. I held their hand and walked with them, so this bill has a very personal meaning. That is why I am pleased to speak to it now.

I like the bill in this form in many ways, though there are a couple of things that have not happened in it that I would like to see. The first thing I am pleased with is that it removes the clause saying natural death has to be reasonably foreseeable. It was very difficult for physicians to understand what exactly that meant. If the clause meant only people who were going to die soon, it did not reflect the Carter decision by the Supreme Court, because it did not look at issues of incurable disease or intractable pain and suffering. This bill addresses that, I think, in that it is distinguishing what we mean by natural death becoming reasonably foreseeable. In other words, I think it recognizes that if a natural death, because of a disease or a terminal illness, is going to be foreseeable within maybe a week or two, then a person does not need to go through the 10-day reflection period that was asked for earlier on. However, if it is a longer period of time, maybe four months or so, a person can continue to reflect on whether this is what they really need.

I also like that it has brought back something called advance directives. It is interesting to note that long before medical assistance in dying was considered, physicians had advance directives. This is at the heart of a doctor-patient relationship. They would sit down with patients and go through all of the things patients faced and their concerns, especially if they were diagnosed with a serious and terminal illness, and they would say what they would like to do if something happened. That would be in writing, between the doctor and the patient. I was present when families of patients who were dying, in great pain and suffering and under the deep stress of this, would debate the decisions they had made earlier with their physician. Putting this back in means that we are respecting patients' desires. Regardless of their mental capacity at the time of their dying, we are respecting what they originally wanted, if they still want it, not having other people rule on their decision.

Inherent in everything I dealt with regarding patients who were terminally ill or had an intractable and incurable disease is that they wanted to die with dignity. Dying with dignity cannot be understated. Dying with dignity means that people can choose how they die, where they die and the manner in which they live with the suffering of dying and the mental anguish of leaving their loved ones. This is a deeply personal thing that patients face. It is impacted by their religion, it is impacted by their ethics and it is impacted by their family situation. It therefore has to be done on a case-by-case basis, and having an advanced directive with a physician is always a really important thing in that regard. That had been removed in the last bill and I am glad to see it back. It took the decision away from the patient and gave it to the state, at the end of the day, and now it is back with the patient.

I want to applaud the inherent compassion I see in this bill. I think it is really important. The deeply held desire of every single patient I knew, regardless of whether they chose to have medical assistance in dying or not, was the ability to die with dignity. The patient's ability to choose where they die is really important. Do they want to die at home in bed? Do they want to die in a palliative care unit, where they have become accustomed to spending their last days? Do they want to die in a hospital? Most patients do not want to die in a hospital. They want to be surrounded by their loved ones.

The government is giving $6 billion to provide home and palliative care resources to the provinces, because it is the responsibility of provinces. They can facilitate this deeply held desire to die with dignity and help patients make this choice at a time when the ability to do so is often impacted by extreme pain and suffering and the extreme mental anguish of knowing they have to leave their loved ones. It simplifies this in a great way, and that is a compassionate thing.

There are some areas that can be improved, and one of them is the singling out of mental illness and disability as a sole diagnosis. I agree with everyone who has spoken in the House today, and with the desire of a lot people, to recognize that mentally ill people should not be put away and should not be allowed to simply decide they want to pass on because the people they live with think they are a burden. It is really important to also look at this from the perspective of the disabled.

I know the minister has taken a lot of time to speak with the disability community and physicians. This government is committed to dealing with mental health and illness. My colleague from the Conservative Party told a very moving story earlier about a particular woman who was contemplating suicide. Giving people options when they are depressed or disabled that let them know there are other options for them, that there is a better life available to them, is inherent to this bill.

The minister is going to look at this aspect and consult broadly with the disability community once again as he is looking at the legislative parts of the bill and the regulations. This is really important. Remember, if we single out mental illness and disability as a sole diagnosis, we may be contravening section 15 of the charter. It assumes that, because someone has a mental illness or is disabled, they do not have the right to make a decision regarding their own life and pain and suffering, whether it be mental or not. The idea that this issue will be addressed in work with the provinces, health care providers and the disability community is really important. The safeguards will be worked out. I will be really clearly involved in making sure they are worked out so they can be put into place to protect mentally ill people and people who are disabled.

I want to quote Justice Baudouin in the Truchon decision: “The vulnerability of a person requesting medical assistance in dying must be assessed exclusively on a case-by-case basis, according to the characteristics of the person and not based on a reference group of so-called ‘vulnerable persons’.” Justice Baudouin also added that the patient’s ability to understand and consent should ultimately be the deciding factor with a physician, along with looking at all of the legal criteria.

Those safeguards must be in place, but we should not assume we can make decisions for people who, because of mental illness and disability, may wish to get medical assistance in dying. Intractable pain and suffering is not merely physical; it can also be mental. With the help of good psychiatrists and good support systems, we will be able to put those safeguards in place.

This bill has come a long way in rectifying many concerns that some medical practitioners have raised. It is important that it respects the right of a medical practitioner or a health care provider to use their own ethics and religion to decide whether they wish to perform medical assistance in dying or not. I am—

Criminal CodeGovernment Orders

October 19th, 2020 / 7 p.m.


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Conservative

Larry Maguire Conservative Brandon—Souris, MB

Mr. Speaker, that is exactly what I was referring to when I said I would work collaboratively to try to improve this legislation. I know there were ongoing opportunities for change in Bill C-14 when it came up and went to committee.

My colleague has also forgotten that there was a five-year review which the government could have done a lot more with this past summer. We could have looked at a lot of the issues such as the 10-day issue versus the 90-day issue that my colleague from Saanich—Gulf Islands spoke of earlier. There is a real opportunity for improvements to be made in the bill and that review process, which was more or less forgotten, was one of those opportunities.

Criminal CodeGovernment Orders

October 19th, 2020 / 7 p.m.


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Winnipeg North Manitoba

Liberal

Kevin Lamoureux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments and concerns expressed by the member opposite. On the reasonably foreseeable clause, because of the decision of the Superior Court of Quebec, we find ourselves having to bring forward this legislation. However, when we brought in Bill C-14, there was this expectation from parliamentarians that changes would be on the horizon, that the debate did not stop when the bill passed in June 2016. Ongoing dialogue had taken place and some of that dialogue is reflected equally in the feedback we received in January from some 300,000 Canadians.

Would the member not agree that if we are opening the door at this point in time, it only makes sense to look at other things that could be done to improve the legislation overall.

Criminal CodeGovernment Orders

October 19th, 2020 / 6:50 p.m.


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Conservative

Larry Maguire Conservative Brandon—Souris, MB

Mr. Speaker, this is the second time I have had the opportunity to speak to this legislation, Bill C-7, an act to amend the Criminal Code, medical assistance in dying, due to the Liberals proroguing Parliament. Unfortunately, my earlier concerns, such as the legislation going above and beyond the Superior Court of Quebec decision, have not been remedied. I was also on the justice committee when this was being dealt with before.

I have long believed the place for drafting legislation is in Parliament so I will not criticize the government for tabling this legislation. My critique of the government is it is using the Superior Court of Quebec decision to make other amendments to Bill C-14 instead of using the automatic five-year review to do so, which was spoken about here earlier.

No one better understands the reasons why this legislation is needed to respond to the Quebec Superior Court decision than the current Liberal Minister of Justice. In the previous Parliament, he voted against his own government's legislation because he foresaw that a court would strike down the previous provisions as he felt they were too rigid.

The member for Vancouver Granville, the then former minister of justice who drafted Bill C-14 at the time, was aware of this criticism and spoke directly to that issue in her opening remarks at the justice committee back in May 2016. She said, “In terms of eligibility, I am aware of the requirements that a person's natural death be 'reasonably foreseeable' has received some attention, including in terms of how it relates to the Carter decision. I would like to address these concerns.”

She went on to say that, “A person can be approaching a natural death based on medical circumstances that are not directly related to a serious, incurable illness. As well, eligibility does not depend on a person having a given amount of time remaining, such as a certain number of weeks or months to live, as in the United States.”

It was clear from her remarks she felt Bill C-14, the predecessor to this bill, struck the right balance.

As we are all too aware, there are always unique situations where the law cannot accurately predict every scenario. The former minister of justice understood the complexities and challenges the families, doctors and patients were going to face with this new MAID regime. She went to say at committee:

Reasonable foreseeability of death is ultimately a medical decision, and not a legal one, to be made by taking into account all of the person's medical circumstances, including the types and number of medical conditions, frailty, age, etc..... By defining the term “grievous and irremediable medical condition”, the bill would ensure that all competent adults who are in an irreversible decline while on a path toward their death would be able to choose a peaceful, medically assisted death, whether or not they suffer from a fatal or terminal condition.

The word that has caused considerable consternation with both individuals seeking MAID and their doctors is “competent”. As with many illnesses, the drugs needed to either treat or provide comfort can impede one's competencies. This will be an important issue as it relates to the legislation as the government is creating a process for advance requests for persons newly diagnosed with a condition that could affect their decision-making capacity in the future.

As Jane Philpott, the former health minister, said when drafting the original MAID legislation in 2016:

We faced similar challenges in considering the issue of advance directives. The Supreme Court did not deal with this issue in Carter, and the views of Canadians and stakeholders, as you know, are divided. I understand the hardship for those Canadians who fear that after being diagnosed with a disease such as dementia they may experience a decline that could compromise their dignity. This has led to pleas to allow people to make requests for medical assistance in dying well in advance of the time when the person is no longer competent to make or reaffirm a desire to accelerate their own death.

While I agree, I also agree that once this legislation is referred to the justice committee it would be prudent to revisit this issue with medical professionals who are experts on Alzheimer's and dementia-related illnesses.

We must bring in families and those who understand these types of illnesses so we can think through as many scenarios as possible. I would prefer Parliament get this right rather than a court striking down the legislation in the future as it could lead to the situation we find ourselves in today.

The other issue I want to touch on stems from the Truchon decision. The Superior Court of Quebec struck down Bill C-14's provision that death had to be reasonably foreseeable. One could argue the government should have appealed the superior court decision, as we have spoken about in other speeches and questions tonight. It would not be an unusual step as the Government of Canada appeals all sorts of lower court decisions.

While I was not expected to be consulted on the government's response to the Truchon case, there has been very little public discussion from the Liberals about the likelihood of prevailing at the Supreme Court. My only question would be this. If the government did appeal to the Supreme Court, could it have gotten a more limited and narrow ruling on the implications of deleting the reasonably foreseeable clause?

By completely removing this clause, even with a new set of safeguards, it will expand the list of people who might be eligible for MAID rather than just dealing with the specific concern raised in the Truchon case. The very reason the reasonably foreseeable clause was put in the original legislation was that the former ministers wanted a balance between personal autonomy and the protection of the vulnerable.

Obviously the Superior Court of Quebec did not approve of the balance the Liberals sought in Bill C-14. However, in response, we must be mindful of the unintended consequences of this legislation. I know every member of Parliament has been contacted by their constituents about the implications of removing reasonably foreseeable criteria.

There are varying degrees of concern, ranging from moral and ethical grounds to concerns about the role of the state in sanctioning MAID for individuals who are doing so out of the lack of proper palliative care services. The government has decided in this bill to continue to allow doctors and individuals to decide what constitutes a grievous and irremediable medical condition rather than provide a prescriptive list of eligibility criteria. As someone who believes in individual rights and in the judgment of medical experts, I agree with this approach. My only concern is that we have left it too vague.

The government could have eliminated the reasonably foreseeable clause and replaced the original criteria with something that would be deemed constitutional rather than what we have before us today. There are those with apprehensions that proceeding this way will lead to situations where individuals will seek MAID and even be able to proceed for reasons no one in Parliament intended it to. I, for one, would like to see the law as written and intended by the drafters be carried out accordingly.

That is one of my concerns that must be answered fully before we pass the legislation and send it to the Senate. While the legislation explicitly states that having a mental illness is not a serious and incurable illness, disease or disability, we must be prepared to withstand that court challenge.

To refer back to the 2016 debate on MAID, Jane Philpott, at the justice committee, said, “There is no denying that mental illness can cause profound suffering. However, illnesses such as chronic depression, cognitive disorders and schizophrenia raise particular concerns with respect to the matter of informed decision making.”

It goes without saying that there are deep divisions on the overall issue of MAID. What we find in this bill goes much further than deleting and replacing the phrase “reasonably foreseeable” in order to be compliant with the recent court decision. For example, the government is using safeguards which, I might add, is the actual language found within the presentation with which department officials briefed MPs. As it stands, patients must make a written request for MAID that is witnessed by two independent witnesses. In Bill C-7, this would be changed to one independent witness. I believe it is incumbent on the government to justify this change and outline the rationale why it needed to be amended.

Last, the government is also be removing the mandatory 10-day period after the written request is signed. Once again, this is a significant change that goes above and beyond what was required to be in compliance with the Superior Court of Quebec decision.

I have listened closely to the concerns of constituents about the bill, I support it going to committee for scrutiny and clarity. I want government to know I am committed to working with them constructively on the legislation.

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October 19th, 2020 / 6:50 p.m.


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Green

Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC

Mr. Speaker, in my analysis of Bill C-14, which may be right or wrong, it seemed to me the country's doctors were in a discussion and dispute with the country's lawyers. The lawyers were looking at it from the point of view of what the courts require of us and the doctors were saying they were not sure how they wanted to administer it. At that point, I think we let down individual human beings across Canada. I do not think we should do it again. I think the 90-day period is an arbitrary bureaucratic response to trying to find the balance points between those competing interests. What we should always be thinking about and what should be paramount is respecting the rights of individual Canadians at the point they are in irremediable suffering as confirmed by their physicians.

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October 19th, 2020 / 6:50 p.m.


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NDP

Richard Cannings NDP South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC

Mr. Speaker, I am glad my colleague brought up the history of Bill C-14 in the previous Parliament and the concerns that she and all of us in the NDP share. This bill did not match the findings of the court decision that brought us to deal with that.

The member did mention the 90-day period and I am wondering if she can expand on that. What does she think this is for? People are in intolerable suffering and asking them to wait another three months seems to be not right.

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October 19th, 2020 / 6:35 p.m.


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Green

Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC

Mr. Speaker, it is interesting that the last question has brought us to the issue of urgency and why this is pressing.

We had this bill before us in the spring, before we adjourned and before COVID-19 took over our parliamentary process. We now have the process, for which I am grateful to all parties, that allows us to debate controversial legislation, to have votes at a distance, to respect the threat of COVID-19 and to protect public health.

When debating this bill before we adjourned, I was getting emails in the House from one of my best friends, who was dying of ALS. She asked me if there was any chance we would make changes to the bill for advance directives in time to help her. I deeply regret that we were unable to get this bill passed last spring, when my friend, Angela Rickman, could have benefited from access to medical assistance in dying. She died in a situation of suffering that would have been her wish to avoid. Now, as we debate this, a member of my own family is wondering whether we can get this bill through quickly enough so that they are not put in the impossible situation that Audrey Parker found herself in. I will reflect further on Audrey Parker later.

There is urgency, whether driven by courts or by compassion. We know as legislators, as our friend from Beaches—East York just commented a few speeches ago, that we have, at this point, repeatedly passed legislation that did not meet the judicial thresholds and frameworks that have been set before us in order to ensure that the legislation we pass on medical assistance in dying meets previous court decisions. I know everybody is deeply affected by their own constituents, their own personal experiences and their frameworks of religious traditions or lack thereof, but I hope we all come to this with open hearts, recognizing that this is a crucially important issue, one that I hope our Parliament will handle better than we have in the past. Let us make sure we pass legislation that does meet the constitutional requirements that have been put before us, if for no other reason than making sure we do not have to continually return to improve our legislation. Ensuring it meets the bar that was set for us by our courts has to be paramount.

I happen to come from a constituency where, overwhelmingly, constituents have wanted to see medical assistance in dying legalized for many years. My colleagues in the chamber and watching remotely will remember the name Sue Rodriguez. Sue Rodriguez was a resident in my constituency, in North Saanich. Her first effort, which was, of course, the case she brought forward, was the first time the Supreme Court of Canada ruled, by a very narrow margin, that medical assistance in dying would not be allowed in Canada. That was back in 1993, and it was by a vote of five to four that the Supreme Court denied her final wish. She was able to access illegal assistance from a doctor who remains unknown, but God bless him, and she achieved medical assistance in her own death in February 1994. It was not a situation we would want any of our loved ones to find themselves in, unable to find the help legally and choosing to find someone willing to help otherwise.

The next set of cases, of course, bring us to more recent cases, the ones we talk about in Parliament today, and particularly the one that brought us to Bill C-14 in the previous Parliament, brought forward after the 2015 election. The names of the ministers who were involved have been referenced several times: the hon. member for Vancouver Granville and, of course, the former minister of health, Jane Philpott.

I lamented then, in this place, that the Carter decision of the Supreme Court of Canada was not being respected fully in the legislation that we were debating. I was able, in clause by clause consideration at committee, to bring forward amendments, which were rejected there, to do away with the requirement that someone be capable and competent on the day of the procedure to confirm their desire for medical assistance in dying.

It is that requirement that drove Audrey Parker to have to get medical assistance in dying before the moment she really wanted to, for fear that she would be unable to provide that consent through the vagaries of the disease or the pain-killing drugs. We know Audrey Parker's story. It was related to us today earlier by the current member for Markham—Stouffville and by the member for Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, who knows the Audrey Parker story well.

She died November 1, 2018, nearly two years ago, saying that this Parliament had let her down through the requirement that she be competent the day of the procedure to confirm that it was, indeed, her wish. This was impractical. Even as we worked in Parliament on Bill C-14, we knew from the language in the Carter decision of the Supreme Court of Canada that this was a violation of patients' constitutional rights.

When the bill got to the Senate, I was very pleased that the amendments I put forward in clause by clause, which had been rejected in the House, were taken up and approved by the Senate. However, as we will recall, when the bill came back from the Senate, the government rejected the amendments to deal with ensuring that people would have access to medical assistance in dying and to deny patients access to an advance directive. Predictably, here we are.

As many of us argued in Parliament in the first round of debates on Bill C-14 on medical assistance in dying, we were not, as a Parliament, passing legislation that was likely to survive a court challenge. There was not much prescience or crystal ball-gazing to know it. We knew it if we read our legislation and compared it to the reasoning in the Carter decision. Here we are now with a new decision, the Truchon decision from the Quebec Superior Court, and we are going back to amend the legislation.

What we are doing, of course, is making sure that people in a situation where they do face a terminal illness and their doctors know that they cannot survive this illness will be able to access an advance directive. Again this was the Carter decision. The Carter decision was full square about facing irremediable suffering and accessing medical assistance in dying. Clearly in this legislation, we have said mental illness is not going to be covered, that mental health issues will not be considered an illness that can be considered irremediable in the context of this legislation. We will very likely have to come back and revisit that.

Certainly, as this legislation goes forward from this vote at second reading to committee, I hope we will find a way to amend the legislation to remove the 90-day timeline around assessing someone's irremediable state of suffering. I support what the member for Beaches—East York has said on this. It does not appear at all to be a humane decision or within what the courts have already told us to insist on that 90-day period.

There are some things that have been argued today in this House that I want to draw attention to because I would hate for Canadians to think that this bill was as cavalier as some would have us believe. Some have said that this bill would allow for “death on demand”. That was one phrase used by one hon. colleague. It's important to know that the bill says quite the contrary.

One of my friends in the House said this bill does not make any effort to allow someone to change their mind the day of the procedure. I urge colleagues to look at subclause (3.1)(d). It is very clear. They should also look at subclauses (3.2), (3.4) and (3.5). Throughout the bill, there are many points at which it is very clear that people have the ability to say, and doctors have the requirement to verify that people have the ability, even on an advance directive, to subsequently change their minds. That is a very clear set of provisions in the legislation, as I said, particularly under subclause (3). To clarify again, in subclause (3.1)(d), it is very clear that one has to ensure that people have been informed that they may, at any time and in any manner, withdraw their request. That is the context throughout this bill.

I know my time is at an end. I just want to say that I support this bill and I hope we pass it as quickly as possible. People are suffering and they want us to act.

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October 19th, 2020 / 6:35 p.m.


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Conservative

Pat Kelly Conservative Calgary Rocky Ridge, AB

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for Bow River makes a great point, and I did touch on the review in my speech.

The committee hearing on the bill is not a substitute for the fulsome review that was promised in Bill C-14. I am concerned about the rushed timeline, and I identified in my remarks that for the bill to be fully supported at third reading, things must be done properly. It has to be drafted and worded carefully and thoughtfully, following a proper and robust consultation by the appropriate parliamentary committee.

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October 19th, 2020 / 6:35 p.m.


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Conservative

Martin Shields Conservative Bow River, AB

Mr. Speaker, I think this has to do with the sense of a court deadline. Our Parliament is constructing legislation. We are working on it. I refuse to accept the idea of being blackmailed into not doing a full and thorough review. We did not do one with Bill C-14. I think the courts would fully understand.

Would my colleague respond to this deadline, which is really blackmailing us into a rush?

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October 19th, 2020 / 6:20 p.m.


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Conservative

Pat Kelly Conservative Calgary Rocky Ridge, AB

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join the debate. The last several speakers raised some excellent points. It is good to see members bring different perspectives to this debate, and I hope to achieve that as well tonight.

I would like to say broadly at the outset that, in a binary world where one must say they are either in favour or not in favour of the availability of medical assistance in dying for people who are adults, mentally competent, grievously and irremediably ill and suffering cruelly from intolerable pain and anguish, I support the availability of assistance in dying for those people.

However, this bill and few bills we would consider in the House are as simple as a binary choice between two poles. Although we have had all kinds of different perspectives on this, the nuances and the details of this bill, as well as the bill that preceded it, Bill C-14, are very important. I enjoy these types of debates where we hear these points of view and can hopefully improve a bill before it is passed, if it is indeed the will of this Parliament to pass the bill.

I have ordinarily been highly critical of the government on a host of issues. I will take advantage of this moment to say that although there was much consternation to get to the final vote that occurred on Bill C-14 in the previous Parliament, there was something in that process that brought out what is good in Parliament. At that time, we had a lot of different perspectives on that bill. We had a bill that was tabled and amended. It was amended in this chamber. It had committee amendments, many of them, that were brought back and voted on by different parties, and we saw members of the Liberals' side who did not agree with their government for a variety of reasons. There were members, including me, who ultimately at third reading did vote with the government to support it.

That is what Parliament should do. It should bring out vigorous debate that really gets to the heart of an issue in order to have good legislation. I thought Bill C-14, at the time, was a reasonable, limited change to criminal law in Canada to both comply with the Carter decision and establish the availability of medical assistance in dying. Credit also should go to members who are no longer a part of the government: the member for Vancouver Granville, who was the minister of justice at the time; and Jane Philpott, who was the minister of health and who showed leadership at that time in debating Bill C-14.

The bill before us today was introduced ostensibly to deal with the Truchon decision and the Quebec superior court's striking down of the reasonable foreseeability phrase from Bill C-14. In this bill, the government has chosen to address other issues at this time. As has been pointed out, there was to be a five-year review, per the previous bill, that should have occurred this summer. I understand the crisis we are in, but let us also not forget we have a government that prorogued the House and prevented the House from examining critical legislation and issues that face Canadians.

The timing of the bill puts us up against something of a deadline looming in December over the Truchon decision, and here we are. December is not very far away when we talk about all the different stages a bill must go through to do it right, to allow all voices to be heard and to allow all members of Parliament to represent their constituents on this.

The bill introduces a few changes beyond addressing the reasonable foreseeability. I am not going to get into the details of that, because time is pressing. However, like most MPs, I have received a lot of correspondence and phone calls from the disability community and concerned citizens who have real reservations about any expansion of medical assistance in dying.

Some have argued from the point of view of a slippery slope and are concerned: Once changes are adopted, what comes after them? I understand the sincerity of these concerns. However, we have to examine the bill for what it says and what it does rather than what people might project into it.

Prior to the adoption of Bill C-14, I had four major concerns regarding medical assistance in dying: first, the assurance that quality palliative care be available to persons considering medical assistance in dying; second, strong safeguards for vulnerable Canadians, such as minors, the mentally ill and the disabled; third, the conscience protection for medical practitioners; and fourth, any changes that would expand the availability of medical assistance in dying be well considered, well thought out, carefully drafted and not rushed.

I share many of the concerns raised by members of the disability community, but we have to deal with this issue and not forget the broader purpose of ensuring the availability of medical assistance in dying. It is not merely to comply with court rulings. We must do this out of a sense of compassion for adults who are grievously ill, intolerably suffering and are of sound mind, and who, of their own free will and volition, wish to obtain medical assistance in dying.

I would not support the bill if I thought it was a clear threat to disabled Canadians or if the bill would lead us into a path where medical assistance in dying is offered as an alternative to palliative care or an alternative to treatment. I do not see that in the bill as is. Recalling the experience of Bill C-14, I assume that the bill will be thoroughly studied and that the committee, after it hears testimony from experts and concerned Canadians, will bring amendments back to the House that may offer better assurance to the disabled community and others.

I am inclined to see the bill go forward as far as committee so that we can have a robust, thorough examination of the bill, and so that as parliamentarians, we can do our legislative jobs to ensure that the best bill possible is brought back to Parliament. I look forward to that and assume that we will have this debate.

I am still a little concerned, though. My colleague from Hull—Aylmer mentioned the five-year review and that a committee hearing would constitute that review. This is what it sounded like he was saying, and this does not seem to be in the spirit of what was passed by the House in Bill C-14. However, there is clearly much work to do in this area, and I hope we will have time for a robust, full and proper hearing of the bill at committee so that when the bill comes back to the chamber at third reading, it will give assurances to those who have raised concerns about medical assistance in dying, in particular to the disabled community.

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October 19th, 2020 / 6 p.m.


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Winnipeg North Manitoba

Liberal

Kevin Lamoureux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, I remember quite well the former member for Winnipeg Centre and his speech on Bill C-14. One of the things I can recall from the Bill C-14 debate was there were a lot of examples, real-life stories. I say that because it is important for us to recognize the seriousness of the legislation we are debating. Ultimately it will go to committee, where there will be opportunities to have that dialogue and who knows what it will eventually come back as.

Does the member believe the bill is moving us in the right direction?

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October 19th, 2020 / 5:45 p.m.


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Conservative

Ted Falk Conservative Provencher, MB

Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to have this opportunity to rise and speak on Bill C-7, an act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying).

Not long ago, we in the House debated the merits of Bill C-14. I was a member of the justice committee when the committee was seized with doing that. That opened the door to physician-assisted death in Canada.

I want to begin my speech today with the same words that I used to open my speech on that bill:

I believe in the sanctity of life, and I believe that all life, from conception right through to natural death, has value, has worth, and has purpose.

A pastor friend of mine told me a story that had happened just prior to the passing of Bill C-14 in 2016. A woman the pastor knew who had battled stage four cancer for 10 years, savouring every moment of that time with her grandbabies and family, was told by one of her care workers, “I bet you cannot wait for the assisted-suicide bill to pass.” The pastor recalled the desperation in her tears when she called to recount her story, asking, “Has my life only become a burden to society?”

After the legislation was in effect, another woman was reunited with her childhood sweetheart and engaged to get married when her fiancé discovered that he had stage four cancer. Together they mustered up every possible hope for a future together, only to have their hopes dimmed by repeated offers for medical assistance in dying.

As the House now considers an expansion of MAID, I think it remains vitally important that the worth of every person is reaffirmed and underscored. It must be our priority in this place to remind every Canadian that they have value regardless of their age. They have value regardless of their ability. Their dignity is not determined by their suffering or their autonomy. It is intrinsic. It is inherent. Their lives are worth living.

I think these statements are important, because the reality is that every time we talk about expanding access to MAID, we send a troubling message to those who may be vulnerable: the idea that, if certain conditions or factors are present, somehow a person's life has less worth; the idea that ending a person's life is a mere medical decision among any number of medical decisions.

Expanding eligibility cannot be about removing safeguards and fundamentally redefining the nature and role of assisted death. This bill intends to offer assisted dying to individuals who are not dying, whose lives are still viable. This is a contentious issue that has been raised by multiple legal voices because assisted death was previously sold as an option only when death was imminent, or reasonably foreseeable.

In just four short years, we have embarked beyond that final stage of suffering. The whole health care system is feeling the pressure for acceptance of MAID, says Nicole Scheidl. Doctors and medical staff are feeling this pressure. Scheidl adds that the most terrifying thing about MAID is how it will impact the future of medicine, as only doctors comfortable with MAID will go into medicine, unless perhaps some provision is made for conscience rights.

Cardus executive vice-president Ray Pennings warns us that Bill C-7 does not take the protection of conscience rights seriously. He writes:

Conscience rights are Charter rights...including the rights of medical professionals not to participate in MAID in any way and the rights of hospices and other institutions not to cause the deaths of people in their care.

There are other valid concerns as well: psychological suffering in combination with other permanent injuries potentially justified under MAID, the elimination of the 10-day waiting period, the requirement for only one independent witness as opposed to two, the waiving of final consent, and also that a witness cannot be a primary caregiver.

Even in its current form internationally, MAID raises flags. When the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities visited Canada in 2019, she noted that she was extremely concerned about the implementation of MAID from a disability perspective. She flagged that:

there is no protocol in place to demonstrate that persons with disabilities have been provided with viable alternatives when eligible for assistive dying.

She highlighted:

...claims about persons with disabilities in institutions being pressured to seek medical assistance in dying, and practitioners not formally reporting cases involving persons with disabilities.

Her advice was to:

put into place adequate safeguards to ensure that persons with disabilities do not request assistive dying simply because of the absence of community-based alternatives and palliative care.

Instead, Bill C-7 goes the opposite direction in order to expand eligibility.

Let us not forget that every choice we make has a ripple effect of different magnitudes. Mother Teresa once said, “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” The world can be changed for better or worse. When vulnerable people start feeling like they are only a burden to society because of our actions, we need to consider what kind of culture we are creating.

Kory Earle, the president of People First of Canada, a national organization representing people with intellectual disabilities, expresses his concern that everything is already more difficult for people with intellectual disabilities, including exclusion, isolation, housing, resources when abused, education, securing jobs, social lives and finding friends. He further adds that even their word in court is not considered credible. Mr. Earle explains, “everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, is more difficult for people with intellectual disabilities. Many, many other things should be made easier. This [assisted death] is not one of them.”

Passing Bill C-7 is sending a message that individuals with disabilities are no longer safe. This concern is echoed in a joint statement by over 140 lawyers who fear the perception this bill gives, if even unintentional, the perception that life with a disability is inferior and if ratified by law, we diminish the choice to live with dignity and exasperates systemic discrimination.

On top of this, Canada has tragic statistics around suicide. An average of 10 people die by suicide every day. Statistics reveal that nine of those 10 individuals faced a mental health problem or illness. I know and appreciate that those suffering solely from mental illnesses are not eligible for MAID under Bill C-7, but we are nonetheless sending a devastatingly mixed message.

The former Liberal member for Winnipeg Centre raised these concerns when we were first considering Bill C-14. As he observed the rash of suicides in several first nations communities at that time, he expressed concern that, “we haven't thought out the complete ramifications that a decision like this might have on indigenous communities that seem to be suffering greatly.”

In his speech, he shared one of his memories as a six-year-old child. His family was facing serious financial hardship, forcing his mother to go off in search of work. He and his younger brother were to stay with their father, who he described as “a residential school survivor, an alcoholic, and a member of gangs” with a “terrible temper”.

The rest I will quote directly from the former member. He said:

I remember climbing a tree in the back yard and wrapping a rope around my neck at the age of six... I wrapped that rope around my neck and thought, “Should I jump off into this universe, which is before me?” It was in that back yard that somehow I made the decision to climb down out of that tree and unwind that rope from around my neck.

If in my life I had seen, or I had known, that my grandmother had somehow used physician-assisted dying or physician-assisted suicide, or others in my family had completed the irreparable act, then it would have made it much more difficult for me to continue.

We must be mindful of the messages we send through this debate and always affirm life, but we must also do more than just offer words. We need to ensure that individuals facing end of life have access to the end-of-life care they deserve.

There are important questions we need to be asking to ensure those who are suffering truly have a choice between living well and pursuing MAID. For example, how do we better love those who live in unbearable pain, whatever form that pain takes? Feeling loved gives inherent strength to those losing hope. How do we show people how their lives teach us? How do their contributions strengthen us as individuals and a society? How do we instill in all people that they are not a bother, a financial burden or a disruption to deal with, but that their life is treasured? We must foster this type of society that affirms life and the pursuit of well-being.

As four physicians suggested in the National Post in response to the proposed legislation, increasing health care personnel, improving our quality of care, enhancing our palliative care options and ensure quicker access to psychiatric care would all be more advisable. Instead, we are “fast-tracking death on demand and dismantling the...[earlier] safeguards that were put in place to protect the vulnerable.”

We have all heard that only 30% of Canadians have access to palliative care and disability supports, which is possibly why there were 50 religious leaders who wrote an open letter urging us to consider that. It states:

Palliative care administered with unwavering compassion, generosity and skill expresses the best of who we are. Rather than withdrawing from those who are not far from leaving us, we must embrace them even more tightly, helping them to find meaning up to the last moments of life. This is how we build compassionate communities.

Furthermore, the joint statement by 140 lawyers explains that singling out non-life-threatening illness and disability as eligibility criteria for assisted death—