Evidence of meeting #7 for Medical Assistance in Dying in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was euthanasia.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
The Joint Chair Liberal Marcus Powlowski
Thank you, Ms. Long.
Senator Moodie, go ahead for two minutes.
Senator, Ontario, ISG
My question is for Ms. Long.
As a committee and in this current process, I believe we have failed to give voice to individuals with lived experience, such as Ms. Brosseau, who you mentioned earlier in your testimony. By the way, many of us put her name forward to be a potential witness.
Conservative
Tamara Jansen Conservative Cloverdale—Langley City, BC
I have a point of order. We've had quite a few people with lived experience. We've mentioned it before. Let's set the record straight.
Conservative
Tamara Jansen Conservative Cloverdale—Langley City, BC
On a point of order, I'm setting the record straight. We've had plenty of lived experience. We have one woman here as we speak.
Senator, Ontario, ISG
I was about to explain why her lived experience was distinctly different.
Senator, Ontario, ISG
Thank you.
Ms. Brosseau is a person who has publicly spoken about her illness, about the intervention she has had in her life, and about her readiness to seek MAID.
The question I have for Ms. Long is, as a person who interacts with individuals such as Ms. Brosseau, how is she feeling and how are others like her feeling when we are not listening to their voices when, in fact, we are listening to voices of parents and siblings and other individuals in this committee?
Chief Executive Officer, Dying with Dignity Canada
I would first clarify that the people with lived experience who have been missing from these hearings are those who but for the exclusion criteria would be eligible and approved for MAID. Ms. Brosseau has actually gone through two MAID assessments in order to proceed with her lawsuit, so we know that she is someone who may be considered eligible.
This is actually a note Claire gave me yesterday. It says:
I am deeply disappointed and I must admit, somewhat shocked about what is happening at the...committee. [I know that] “there are only so many hours in a day” to hear testimony but I would have thought they would want to listen to a few minutes from someone with lived experience in addition to the...people they have heard from who are opposed. I have offered to appear before the committee to provide my perspective as a person with lived experience of mental illness who is prevented from accessing MAID. We so often hear the expression “nothing about us without us” and yet they have refused to hear from any people who are harmed from the exclusion—
Conservative
Tamara Jansen Conservative Cloverdale—Langley City, BC
Can I raise another point of order?
We had every opportunity—senators, everybody—to see the witness list, and now we're suggesting that we didn't.
Liberal
The Joint Chair Liberal Marcus Powlowski
I don't think it's a point of order.
Mr. Cooper, go ahead with a point of order that may or may not be a point of order.
Conservative
Michael Cooper Conservative St. Albert—Sturgeon River, AB
On the same point of order, these senators have repeatedly asserted that somehow the witness list was unrepresentative.
I would remind Senator Moodie that as of the last meeting, 13 of the 38 witnesses that were heard at this committee came from those senators.
Liberal
The Joint Chair Liberal Marcus Powlowski
Thank you. It wasn't a point of order.
Senator Moodie, you only have three seconds left.
Senator, Ontario, ISG
[Inaudible—Editor] look at the media reports on this.
Liberal
The Joint Chair Liberal Marcus Powlowski
Thank you, Senator Moodie.
Lastly, we go to Senator Wells for three minutes.
Senator, Alberta, PSG
Ms. Long, you mentioned earlier three academics and some of the research, particularly Dr. James Downar, who's here in Ottawa and who's done empirical research on social vulnerabilities. I'm hoping that, to support your testimony, you would send in those research articles so they can be part of the official record here for our deliberations.
Senator, Alberta, PSG
Thank you.
Our committee has heard very alarming testimony from multiple witnesses, primarily from witnesses who oppose MAID for MI-SUMC, of individual cases of unlawful MAID requests that were approved. These were cases such as an individual seeking MAID because of a broken heart or shopping around for a physician who would give them MAID, although none of these witnesses were able to follow up with any action they took to bring these cases to appropriate authorities and prosecute these cases.
Based on your experience with people going through the process of requesting MAID, do you feel as though the current safeguards that are in place to protect against unlawful access to MAID are working?
Chief Executive Officer, Dying with Dignity Canada
Yes, I do. We hear from people on their journey and from families following the journey. Honestly, the biggest challenges we hear about are those where there are barriers in terms of information, access, referrals and that type of thing.
Liberal
The Joint Chair Liberal Marcus Powlowski
Thank you, Senator Wells.
We will briefly suspend to go in camera.
[Proceedings continue in camera]