Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Dr. Gaind, every problem we've had with this particular issue of mental disorder as the sole underlying medical condition you can trace all the way back to that eleventh-hour Senate amendment to Bill C-7. I was here during the 43rd Parliament. I was here in the 42nd Parliament for the first debate on MAID. I remember when the charter statement was first issued for Bill C-7, which I think reasonably explained the government's original position for excluding mental disorders as qualifying for MAID. They recognized the inherent risks and complexities that would be present for individuals. They noted that the evidence suggests that screening for decision-making capacity is particularly difficult. They noted that mental illness is generally less predictable than physical illness. However, inexplicably they accepted a very consequential Senate amendment.
It seems that we've just been constantly kicking the can down the road. The first delay was for two years. Bill C-39 delayed it by a further year. Here we now are, with Bill C-62, looking at another three years.
I'm just wondering, first of all, what your reaction was at the time when the government did that 180° turn in their decision. Also, I think you sort of answered this, but I'd like you to expand on it a bit more. Can we actually ever be ready for this, or are we just setting ourselves up for failure in 2027?