There's no evidence that people with those characteristics are actually requesting and receiving MAID in a higher proportion in Canada. We actually have evidence to the contrary.
The increased data that's being collected right now by Health Canada, since January 2023, will be reported in 2024, and it will give us a more fulsome picture of the people who are requesting and receiving MAID. I think that would be helpful.
As with other jurisdictions around the world, we absolutely do not see those drivers for MAID and we don't expect them to be in Canada. We know very clearly, from the very clear eligibility criteria, that socio-economic vulnerabilities on their own do not allow someone to become eligible for MAID.
Obviously, as Ms. Campbell mentioned, people are quite complicated and it's hard sometimes to discern which factors are involved. It's not to say that people with those factors do not come forward and ask for MAID, but there's a difference between that and a screaming headline that says someone with a vulnerability is trying to access MAID. There's a difference between being assessed for MAID and being found eligible for MAID. It's important that this committee keep that in mind.