These are all questions that need to be looked at. At the end of the day, even though both MAID and palliative care may be provided to the same patient, I think it is important that a person who is seeking MAID continues to be offered palliative care. That's absolutely crucial. We shouldn't look at it as a binary where either you choose palliative care or you choose MAID, and if you choose MAID there's no palliative care available to you. I think Dr. Zan's testimony on that point—that this is still emphasized—is really important. Yes, there is a legal distinction, but that doesn't mean someone seeking MAID should not be offered all of these palliative care supports.
I think the challenge though—even in the example you provided—is that often palliative care is only being provided at a very late stage, even after a point that a person is seeking MAID or in the final two weeks of their life. As we've seen in some of the Health Canada reports, the evidence that's been heard is that it's not soon enough. Giving only two weeks of palliative care is not going to begin to address some of these deeper issues.
Even before we get to the dilemma you've just identified, it's important that there be early interventions, early referrals and early awareness of palliative care so that it's being provided over a long term. Then we don't get to this point where someone is in the possible dilemma of feeling like they only have a couple weeks of palliative care and then have to be transferred.
I think it's really something that requires a proactive, pre-emptive approach. It has to take place at a very high societal level for us to be prioritizing it.