Thank you. I'm glad I could be here.
Just a few days ago, my wife gave birth to our daughter. During her pretty long labour, doctors presented her with different options that were new to me—misoprostol or oxytocin—to move things along. They needed to move things along faster: an epidural, forceps or vacuum. Also, a C-section was discussed at one point. In our vulnerable state, we trusted that the options the doctors presented were good options. We also wanted to know what the doctor thought was the best option and, frankly, we went with that every time.
Medical assistance in dying—or assisted suicide, or consensual homicide, or whatever you want to call it—is not health care. At least, it is fundamentally distinct from any other medical service. Advising somebody to have a C-section or chemotherapy or pain medication is not a crime, but encouraging or inducing someone to end their life is a crime.
If MAID were simply another health care service, we wouldn't be here today discussing substantial amendments to the Criminal Code. Medical services are not regulated by the Criminal Code. We are wrestling here with when we as a society will permit some people to kill others. That's why this is before Parliament.
The fundamental problem with this bill, as we see it, is that it fails to take this seriously enough. It's almost flippant in its treatment of the—