Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Under the bill, for medical assistance in dying to be provided, it must be shown that an individual is in an advanced state of irreversible decline in capability and that their natural death has become reasonably foreseeable in all of his or her medical circumstances, without requiring a specific prognosis in terms of their life expectancy. The lawyer who argued that issue before the Supreme Court, Mr. Arvay, as well as the Carter family lawyer and the Barreau du Québec have told us that those criteria are not part of the Carter decision rendered by the Supreme Court of Canada.
Moreover, the reasonably foreseeable death criterion poses interpretation issues, even taking into account other criteria that can affect patients' exercise of their right to assistance in dying, as it leads to a legal uncertainty. As we know, the devil is in the details. That is why the Barreau du Québec told us it would be better to limit ourselves to the definition set out in the Carter decision. Through this amendment, we are making a connection between the eligibility criteria part and a few elements that define grievous and irremediable health conditions.
I will read the amendment:
(c) they have a grievous and irremediable medical condition, whether an illness, a disease or a disability, that causes them enduring and intolerable suffering given their medical circumstances; (b) by adding after line 19 on page 5 the following: (1.1) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(c), the person need not submit to treatment that is not acceptable to them in order for their condition to be considered irremediable.
So we feel that, by doing this—and we will propose another amendment later on that will consist in completely eliminating definitions of grievous and irremediable medical conditions—we touch on all the eligible elements under the charter and under the Carter decision.