Thank you, Mr. Chair, and members of the committee, for the opportunity to speak to you tonight.
I have reflected many times on the process surrounding Bill C-7. The failure to appeal the Truchon decision was shocking given the significance and scope of its impact.
As Bill C-7 worked its way through Parliament, some 200 disability organizations, including all of the major national bodies, were clear and united in their opposition, warning the government of the threat it posed to disabled people and other vulnerable populations. Numerous witnesses shared their concerns, often with compelling personal narratives. In addition, serious concerns were raised by three UN human rights experts. Not only were all of these concerns ignored, but the bill was massively expanded by a Senate amendment to require the inclusion of mental illness within two years—a significant expansion on the original intent of Bill C-7—without study or review.
Despite this, on March 17, 2021, Bill C-7 received royal assent after the government invoked closure to cut off debate.
It's hard to imagine a similar overwhelming dismissal if we were discussing any other equity group, were they were to voice unified concerns over a bill and were backed by UN human rights experts. Why this was the case can only be explained by recognizing a deep, pervasive and often unconscious ableism that pervades Canadian society.
Canada’s euthanasia and assisted suicide laws have always been about balancing individual autonomy to decide when to end one’s life and the protection of the vulnerable. Subsequent to the passage of Bill C-14, it would seem that protection of the vulnerable has largely been ignored in favour of an increasingly atomistic interpretation of autonomy.
It is somewhat ironic that as we come out of an unprecedented era of COVID-19 where we were all asked to make sacrifices of some of our personal autonomy in favour of broad protection for the whole of society, in the debate on euthanasia and assisted suicide we persist in privileging a view of autonomy more akin to one used by those who railed against the vaccine mandate as an infringement on their individual liberty.
John Stuart Mill, one of the fiercest defenders of individual liberty, provided an analogy for when interference with individual autonomy was permissible. He wrote that if a man is trying to cross a bridge that is unsafe, it is permissible to impede his progress as he does not wish to fall into the river, but rather his will is to cross the bridge.
This committee will be aware of the numerous reports of disabled persons who do not desire to end their lives, but feel they no longer have tenable options given the crushing demands of poverty, forced institutionalization and the lack of necessary services and supports. They are our bridge crossers. They do not wish to fall into the abyss, but without the repairs to the bridge—ending poverty, ending unwanted institutionalization and improving our disability and mental health supports—they feel they have no other option. Rather than restraining them, as Mill suggests, we are shepherding them to the edge and over through MAID.
I'm also concerned as to where this all ends, given the rapid and ill-considered expansion that will be making Canada the world leader in cases of assisted suicide and euthanasia in a mere six years. I worry that we will soon see calls for legalizing the killing of disabled people who are unable to formally consent at the request of their parents or guardians.
Sadly, we know from public reaction to things like the murder of Tracy Latimer and many other cases that so-called “mercy killing” has widespread public support.
If we continue to weaken the need for direct consent through permitting advance directives and allowing children to be euthanized, it is a very small step to involuntary euthanasia of disabled people who are considered unable to consent.
I have a son with an intellectual disability. He cannot directly tell you the value of his life, but he shows us every day in his accomplishments, his laughter, his smile, and those he touches, yet I know that most people who see him in passing assume his life is one of tragedy, suffering and dependency. These people would see an end to his life as a mercy. The Canada I want to believe we live in would value, support and celebrate his life. I increasingly fear it is becoming one that seeks only to end it.
Thank you.