Thank you for your comments.
It is quite confusing. The reason I mentioned the suicides is exactly that. When we have incredible rates of suicide right now, it is the last thing people are thinking about when I talk to them about medically assisted dying, physician-assisted suicide. They are thinking about all the suicides they are trying to prevent in their communities, and it is a difficult topic to even think about in many cases.
Having said that, it is the case that we have extremely high chronic diseases and lots of palliative care issues. I have worked in palliative care for 10 years, and we see more and more young people in palliative care. We have a crisis on our hands.
It is very confusing. In terms of what can be done, there are a few things. I think the communication around medically assisted dying in communities is really important. One thing that I think is difficult for you to do—because the bill is already going through—is to open up those lines of communication with first nations communities around medically assisted dying: how it could be beneficial in communities, and what that might look like for different communities.
I think that sometimes first nations communities are brought in at the end of things, and that is frustrating for them because it is not a chance to really engage communities at that point. I think communication is one thing.
The other thing is that cultural safety training is real, and it is important. At this time, I think we are experiencing first nations people feeling unsafe in many respects, or else not having access to care.
This is a worry for me and for many people. If people are ever going to engage with this, understand what it is, if they were to access it, who is going to be engaging with them? Are they trained? Are they going to understand their communities? Are they going to be culturally competent and safe clinicians working with them? That is a real issue.
Also, think about investing in the communities themselves, about aboriginal navigators in communities where there are these exacerbated suicide rates.
I think those are some things that could be considered by the committee.