Thank you very much.
The preamble of Bill C-14 did speak to conscience protection, but that is not an enforceable part of the bill. Unfortunately, in Ontario the CPS still has a policy whereby doctors have to arrange for and facilitate medical aid in dying, and what will now be an assisted death, for those who are not dying.
At that time, Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, Jewish and Christian groups, which are part of this submission, all reached out to the government saying that they needed further conscience protection for their adherent physicians.
Regardless of that, everybody has a line, and this is something people feel very strongly about, which I understand. I hear Dr. Daws express how this is, for her, something through which she feels she is being very merciful and compassionate.
I, who take care of very vulnerable people, have come to the opposite conclusion. I feel that they come to me and I try to offer them safety and protection, and when they are in a safe space and express their death wishes, I can try to work on creative solutions for them. I will not deny them information. I will not obstruct them, but my job is to be in their corner and fight for them to want to live again. That's because I've had many patients who have done just that.
It would be very good in Bill C-7 if we had an amendment that spoke to conscience protection, not just in the preamble.