Madam Chair, if I may speak to the question of your member, yes, absolutely, MAID should be an intervention of last resort, but only when a person's natural death is reasonably foreseeable.
Absolutely, I agree, and I think all of the evidence points to the reality that there are far, far too many Canadians with disabilities and disabling conditions who have no access not only to palliative care, but to an array of in-home supports that would permit us to continue to live autonomously, to be the captains of our own ships, as it were, and to be included and participating in the communities in which we are able to thrive.
All of these are things that disabled Canadians are being deprived of. As a result, I think we have begun to see a real trend towards seeking MAID—yes, as a choice of last resort, but a choice among two choices: either to continue to live in deprivation or to die. I think that is the essence of what members of the disability community are trying to convey here, that it's an insufficient choice to support a robust account of autonomy.