Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I thank all the witnesses for their testimony, but I only have three minutes.
My question is for professor Vrakas.
Professor Vrakas, you talked about a crisis, someone going to the emergency room. Obviously, the intervention has to be quick. In other words, there is no time to lose. However, when we talk about accessibility of medical assistance in dying, is there not room for nuance?
Protective measures are already in the Act, including the period of at least 90 days, which is still quite long. Then there are steps. Assessments need to be done by two people, not just one. According to the working group’s recommendations, this second person should specialize in mental illness. There is also a need for those doing the assessment to have specialized training in this field and to work in conjunction with the treatment team.
Don’t you think this system is very different from the reaction to a crisis?
During an assessment, it takes several months to come to the conclusion that the patient is eligible for medical assistance in dying. In your case, you said you wanted to die, but that does not mean you would have been allowed to access medical assistance to die.