Just to respond very quickly to the honourable member, Canada is a big and complicated country. There is no federation in the world that has taken on medical assistance in dying from a federal perspective in the way that Canada has. One of the choices that the government has made is not to require that it only be available through a doctor administering it. That was a choice in which Quebec, after long debate, decided the government was entering into a more complex area by allowing both, admittedly—but it is respecting the autonomous choices of Canadians. One of the choices that has not been made in the legislation is to require a doctor or a nurse practitioner, just before the person administers the substance, to be available. As has been explained, the “immediately” must be read in the totality of the context. However, it's also in recognition that this is to respect people's autonomy in making choices. I think it's fair to expect, based on other countries' experiences, that some people who seek medical assistance from a doctor and others who would like to self-administer, at the end of the day, will decide not to go ahead. In both circumstances, respecting their autonomy is something that the legislative framework is trying to achieve.
On May 2nd, 2016. See this statement in context.