Thank you Mr. Chair, and thank you, Minister, for being here today, as well as your officials.
I have a few questions.
We're seeing...kind of ripped from the headlines as of late. You were here before at this committee on Bill C-7, discussing medical assistance in dying. As you know, the bill that you had brought forward before was amended by the Senate to include those suffering with mental illness. As of March 17, 2023, those individuals will be eligible for MAID.
The amendment for that, quite frankly, surprised us at this committee—I think on all sides—because this was considered under Bill C-7. When you, yourself, spoke in the House in February 2021, you said that you “do not believe that we are fully prepared to safely proceed with the provision of MAID on the ground of mental illness alone”.
Now, we see in the headlines multiple instances—very disturbing ones—of individuals who have served our country, the Canadian Armed Forces veterans, being offered medical assistance in dying when they reach out for help, perhaps with post-traumatic stress disorder or some other challenge they're facing. Canadians are shocked and alarmed by this.
My question for you, Minister, is the following. We know that the RCMP is getting involved in this. Clearly, under our current system, vulnerable Canadians are not being sufficiently protected when it comes to medical assistance in dying. In light of this looming deadline of March 17, 2023, when MAID will be further expanded, are you willing to put the brakes on that expansion until we get some guidelines in place that clearly protect vulnerable Canadians—not only members of the Canadian Armed Forces and veterans, but all vulnerable Canadians suffering with mental illness?