Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
I'd just like to draw committee members' attention to the brief that was submitted by the Association of MAiD Assessors and Providers. They've talked about the real-life experience of applying MAID, and what they found was that in certain circumstances, sometimes especially in rural and remote communities, the requirement to have two independent witnesses raised privacy concerns and raised concerns about involving people from outside the narrow circle around the patient who was requesting medical assistance in dying. Their opinion was that, because the function of witnesses is not to assess but simply to verify identity, there was very little added in terms of protection by having a second witness.
I think we should listen to them when it comes to this narrow question of what might constitute an obstacle or what might create privacy concerns for those requesting medical assistance in dying. That is the testimony that we received from MAiD Assessors and Providers. I will not be supporting this amendment.
Thank you.