I have to say, Mr. Vice-Chair, as a greenhorn in this business, you're doing really well. For those who don't know, you were a Quebec Court of Appeal judge before you came here. You're going to hit me with the hammer next.
The question is whether we should expand MAID for mental illness. Certainly, we've heard from Professor Close about the comprehensive oversight available in Canada. Dr. Green talked about the robust professional oversight. Dr. Grant talked about being ready. There would be professional oversight.
It's hard for me to believe this, given the kind of oversight of MAID we've currently been seeing and the lack of cases that have come before the colleges of physicians and surgeons across Canada. For example, Professor Close talked about a coroner's MAID review team. According to them, there have been 14 cases referred by the Ontario coroner's office to the CPSO. To my knowledge, there has been no disciplinary action.
I've been a member of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario for 40 years. I know the College of Physicians and Surgeons. If they got a medical complaint about my practice, there would certainly be a review. It would be sent to all members of the College of Physicians and Surgeons. This doesn't seem to be the case with MAID.
Similarly, a freedom of information request in B.C., in 2023, found that there were two dozen cases referred to police, colleges of physicians and surgeons or colleges of nurses regarding MAID practitioners. Again, there are seemingly no cases, yet there have been some egregious cases. One example is the case involving Dr. Wiebe, which is currently in the courts. There was a patient hospitalized for suicidal ideation. While out on leave, they saw a MAID practitioner and received MAID.
Dr. Maher, an ACT team doctor in southern Ontario, talked about a patient of his with chronic schizophrenia. I might add that he was asked to appear here but has so far said no. He didn't want to appear. Both he and the family physician said that this patient clearly did not meet any of the requirements to get MAID, but he'd seen two doctors and had been approved. When Dr. Maher went to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, they said, “Well, you'll have to wait until he has actually died before you can....”
I know, Dr. Grant. You're looking.... That's the way I feel.