The data provided by Health Canada is correct. This refers only to investigative data on palliative care provided to patients prior to medical assistance in dying.
There should be a more precise definition of what palliative care is being referred to when asking if a patient has received palliative care. Is it ordinary care that can be provided by any family physician with some experience and minimal training, or is it more like second- or third-level palliative care such as that provided in hospices?
Personally, I have always answered in the affirmative when asked if the patient to whom I gave medical assistance in dying had received palliative care. Of course he always received it. He received it from his family doctor or from our palliative care team, which, incidentally, is the same team that provides medical assistance in dying. For our part, operationally, we do not differentiate between palliative care and medical assistance in dying.
My comment was mainly about the data on whether palliative care is used or not. The rest of the data is absolutely correct.