When you have lived without, it's not hard to imagine that people wouldn't want...It's getting harder and harder to live. These cases were all over the Toronto Star. People were saying, “I have really tried hard to survive, but MAID is my only way out, and I wish it wasn't. I wish I had housing, because I would have stayed on this earth.” That's a coerced choice. It's a choice made, because there was no other option available, so it's not really a choice.
We have seen in this country where forced sterilization was a thing against disabled people, including institutionalization, and the idea that many of us don't want to send our families to long-term care homes, but it's our only option, because we can't afford anything else. All these things are examples of coercion.
While it may be hard for specific committee members to imagine why someone would make that choice, it's because maybe you have not been without food, shelter, housing, or had to live in these situations. I have, so I have come all the way here to tell you that it's true.