Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you to all our witnesses.
This is a very difficult subject for members of the committee. That's why I'm very pleased to have you, the witnesses, here with us to help us think things through.
I will begin with the Duncan sisters. In your case, it's an extremely cruel circumstance and you're experiencing a lot of frustration.
From the outset, I understood that you were not opposed to medical assistance in dying, but that your situation was a specific one. You explained that your mother was a brilliant person who had worked in this field. As a result of her professional experience she was able to say exactly what someone analyzing her request for medical assistance in dying needed to hear.
I don't want to be rude. I hope the interpreter will be able to accurately summarize what I'm about to say. If I have properly understood what you told us, she had the same family doctor for 20 years. He refused to give her medical assistance in dying and your mother did some successful "shopping around", meaning that she went to seek assistance elsewhere. Is that right?
You mentioned all kinds of safety measures or safeguards and I'd like to thank you for that. However, for someone like me who comes from a rural area, safeguards ought not to impede anyone who appropriately asks for medical assistance in dying. In fact, overly rigorous or strict safeguards more suitable to urban areas could mean that someone in a remote region would be unable to obtain medical assistance in dying.
Am I right to suggest that one of the first safeguards for someone requesting medical assistance in dying should be for the team to consult the family doctor first?
Either one of you can answer.