Mr. Belanger, the Health Canada report published in December 2025, entitled “Indigenous perspectives on end-of-life care, including medical assistance in dying: What we heard”, reported hearing the following from elders of first nations, Inuit and Métis people:
We need to reclaim our death and end-of-life processes.
When our loved ones die, we should have the right to bring them home.
I fear losing the ability to decide for myself.
It is concerning that there is a lot of misinformation about MAID.
Mr. Belanger, I agree that colonialism in Canada's systemic exclusion of indigenous people has led to unacceptable rates of suicide in indigenous communities. If this is what we're hearing, what I quoted to you from the Government of Canada from indigenous people themselves, how should we then balance these points of view with the removal of MAID track 2 that you suggested here today?