Sure. I hadn't planned to actually speak again, but Mr. Thériault made some points that I don't think are on point with what's being proposed here.
He mentions a scenario where someone has hours or weeks to live. Just by the discussion around his own amendment, around reasonable foreseeability of death, we already know that under the previous bill, Bill C-14, individuals with a prognosis of living for well over a year have received assisted dying. We're not being overly prescriptive here, but we have to recognize that some of the individuals who may, depending on the assessment, fall under reasonable foreseeability of death may still have quite a bit of time to live naturally.
What we're saying is, in the wisdom of what the government has put in place under individuals whose death is not reasonably foreseeable, there are going to be people who fall in the margins on both sides of that issue, of that line, that ill-defined line. We've chosen today not to even attempt to define what “reasonable foreseeability” is.
In light of that, I think it's abundantly clear that in the consultation with the physicians one of them should have an expertise in the person's ailment. Whatever that ailment is, we're asking that one physician have that consultation with the patient.
This is not about people who have days to live. This is about people who could have years to live. This requirement has been adopted by the government on their other track. Based on the testimony that we've heard, I think it's abundantly clear that it's important and relevant for those throughout the MAID regime, not just on one track but throughout, that there should be a requirement that they have a consultation with a physician who knows something about their ailment. The risk otherwise is just too great, in my view, for abuse of this system.
I'll leave it at that. Thanks, everyone, for your consideration of the amendment.