I want to put the government's position on the record.
This amendment is well intentioned, but because the amendment is drafted in the conditional, it's incompatible with acceptable language for Criminal Code provisions. You may want to get the view of the officials on this.
The criminal law sets minimal standards for acceptable behaviour in society. Conditional circumstances are typically better addressed by medical practice regulation.
Also, uncertainty would be created. It's unclear if it places an obligation on the medical or the nurse practitioner to determine whether the person has difficulty communicating or what degree of difficulty would trigger the provision. If there's a desire to require additional communication technologies or resources for certain classes of persons, it should be left as a matter of medical practices to be determined by the provinces and medical regulators.
Bill C-14 already requires medical and nurse practitioners to provide medical assistance in dying with reasonable care and skill, according to any applicable provincial standards. This is sufficient to address the concern raised by the amendment, which is unnecessary in the government's view. Existing informed consent procedures require that a person understands the medical options available to them.