Thank you very much, and thank you for inviting me to this hearing.
In addition to being the director of the David Asper Centre, I am a practising lawyer. I have spent many years representing young people at the legal clinic, Justice for Children and Youth, including as an intervenor in the seminal case from the Supreme Court of Canada, A.C. v. Manitoba, so my background includes some knowledge in terms of how the law works with respect to medical decision-making for children.
The Supreme Court of Canada said that a mature young person should be able to make these kinds of decisions, even if the decision has grave consequences, if they have the capacity to do so.
For example, there is legislation across the country that varies in terms of how the young person can make these kinds of decisions. In legislation that articulates a best-interest standard, for example, which occurs in some provinces, that standard should be interpreted so that the choice of an independent minor capable of making decisions must be respected.
In addition to the Supreme Court of Canada, that decision was based upon the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, section 7.
The court also based the decision on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The articles that are relevant are primarily article 12, which requires Canada to give due weight to a child's views in accordance with the age of maturity of the child, and article 5, which requires Canada to respect the responsibilities, rights and duties of parents to provide appropriate direction and guidance in the exercise of the child's rights in a manner that is consistent with the evolving capacities of the child.
There are also other articles that add complexity and nuance to those decisions. Article 2 deals with non-discrimination; article 6 is around the survival and development of the child, and article 24 is about access to health care and health services. These are all relevant when looking at the provision of MAID for young people under the age of 18.
In respect of safeguards, article 23 also requires the recognition that children with disabilities enjoy a full and decent life in conditions that ensure dignity, promote self-reliance and facilitate the child's active participation in the community.
One of my primary recommendations—and I think you've heard it before from other witnesses who have come before me—is the need to really address or listen to the voices of children and youth in these circumstances. I know other organizations have recommended something that's called a CRIA, a child rights impact assessment. A CRIA involves both consultation with experts, which we are doing this evening and which you have done up to this time, and also consultation with young people who are directly affected.
I won't go on. My speaking notes talk about different vulnerable groups that you need to specifically address.
I also want to say that in addition to talking to children and youth as a group and consulting with them, we have to remember that we can't really drag this out too long because, in the meantime, there are individual young people under the age of 18 who are potentially suffering and who are being denied this particular treatment so that their individual views and preferences are, right now, not necessarily being considered. While I think consultation with children and youth more generally is essential, we also need to think about the individual young people.
I'll leave it there, and hopefully I can answer more detailed questions for you.