Bill C‑14 was a terrible bill, a bad copy of the Quebec bill and because of it, people like Ms. Gladu and Mr. Truchon were forced for a time to plead their case before the courts. These are people who had lived full lives, even if they were in a wheelchair, and who refused to be infantilized and considered as vulnerable people. They had put up with enough discrimination during the lives. They went all the way to the Supreme Court, whereas other people were obliged to stop eating and drinking in order to meet the criteria of a predictable natural death. That is horrible. A state cannot allow that.
That said, Bill C‑7 did rectify the problem and in order to get that bill passed, a compromise was made to include mental disorders. Senators said that the bill, which didn't include people suffering from mental disorders, contravened the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The prudent approach consisted of asking people who know what they are talking about, that is to say professionals and experts in the field of mental health and mental illness. Actually, the experts asked us to stop talking about “mental illness” and use the term “mental disorders”. Moreover, they presented us with 19 recommendations for providing access. I encourage you to read them.
Two years ago, I was one of those people who were sceptical about the inclusion. I read the report 20 times. I asked questions and I think that indeed, the prudent approach would be to pass Bill C‑39. That way, for example, a person who has been suffering from schizophrenia for 30 years and who, at certain times, has become a shell of a human being due to his or her medication, could have access to MAID upon request. However, we're not saying that this would apply to a young person, a minor even, who had tried to commit suicide. The report indicates that it would take decades before such a person would have access to MAID. The person's condition would have to be irreversible and all therapies would have to have been tried.
At some point, we will have to put things into perspective. I will be watching you, Minister, and I will be watching people who are telling us that we are ready. We are not ready right now. You stated that we will be ready to go forward in March. I don't think that will be the case. I don't know who was saying that it will be possible, but it was certainly not the members of the Canadian Association of MAiD, Assessors and Providers, CAMAP, who are putting together seven training modules.
That requires trainers, not assessors. People have to be ready on the ground so as not to make any mistakes. To avoid mistakes, we will have to implement two key recommendations of the report, recommendations 10 and 16. They will become safeguarding measures that go beyond what is being done currently in terms of MAID.
I do not have any more questions, but I am sick of hearing nonsense.