Thank you, Co-Chair.
Mr. Potter, you have clearly illustrated the challenges that are before us if Parliament decides to approve advanced directives for medical assistance in dying. The practitioner is going to have to have confidence that the directive was done in a sound manner. An incredible length of time could have passed between when the directive was first made and when MAID is administered. It could have been made in a different provincial jurisdiction, etc.
My specific question to you is—and my time is limited—what kinds of challenges specifically do you see the criminal law having with an evolved understanding of diseases? Our medical understanding of living with various mental illnesses has evolved over the decades, and how do you think the Criminal Code could appropriately take that into account? With our evolved understanding, in maybe 10, 20 or 30 years from now there may be different ways of helping people cope through various mental illnesses that under our current regime may qualify them for medical assistance in dying. How would an advanced directive take that into account through the Criminal Code, or is that something the provinces are going to have to take into account?