Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for his efforts in bringing this important issue to the floor of the House.
The Parliament of Canada is in fact the proper place for a debate of this magnitude. I was pleased to see that the late Mr. Justice Sopinka recognized that judge-made laws in areas such as this are frequently flawed and do not necessarily represent the consensus values of Canadians. The late justice recognized that the proper role of Parliament and its members is one of debate and deliberation.
In matters such as euthanasia it is very difficult for justices, no matter how learned, to properly deal with such an issue as they are frequently confined to a narrow set of facts and are limited by the laws of evidence on materiality and relevance. As a consequence, by definition they are not able to look at the big picture and are frequently in danger of making charter law which is not consistent with Canadian values.
It is a sad day when legislators yield the legislative floor to jurists. The effect is that we give up our democratic rights in order to replace them with a jurocracy.
The issue that we are dealing with today is more than merely a set of facts on individuals or a subset of individuals as compelling as those facts may be.
Members, from their own personal experience, can relate to a set of circumstances in which an individual appeared to live a prolonged life in great pain and a life of no apparent merit, meaning or purpose within our understanding. I can relate to that as immediately before the death of my father he found himself in such circumstances.
The legislation appears to be merciful. Who can be against mercy? It is called mercy killing by some. In reality, being merciful is far more difficult than merely terminating another's life. Mercy can be just as easily an act to relieve pain which may in some manner prolong life.
For the purposes of debate I will define euthanasia as a act which intentionally hastens another's life for the purpose of relieving suffering with or without the person's consent. While this topic opens up large moral questions, I will limit myself to four main points.
First, consent is almost always problematic. Second, systemic flaws inevitably result in abuse. Third, the state can never sanction the taking of life. Fourth, the relief of pain and suffering is the only appropriate response for limited resources.
The issue of consent is a troublesome one. Consent in law is very complex and vexes the medical community on a daily basis. The giving of consent must be voluntary and free of coercion. It can be revoked at any time. All circumstances are examined at the time of the giving of the consent, including those present and those not present.
In the area of health care on matters of much lesser magnitude than life or death, consent continues to be a problem of great vexation for the medical community. It is a matter of daily litigation in our courts. In my view there is no system mature enough to recognize the granting of final, irrevocable consent to terminate life. Therefore I am of the view that it is beyond the wisdom of human beings to impute consent and that the ability of the patient is impaired in some manner.
Frequently those in pain will say almost anything to be relieved of pain, including an apparent consent to terminate their lives. At best consent is temporal; at worst it is meaningless. Any person purporting to act on such a consent is imputing an intention which may or may not exist. In my view there is no form of consent that can be given or drafted on which any other person can rely.
This brings me to my next point, the use and abuse to which consent could be put. I have operated in the justice system in Ontario for the past 22 years. It has its flaws and it certainly is underfunded. I would argue that it is among the best justice systems in the world.
In spite of their heroic efforts and equally heroic efforts of legislators to draft procedurally sound laws, it has been shown to have a number of obvious weaknesses. These weaknesses have manifested themselves in a number of ways. Victims have felt it necessary to organize themselves so that their story does not get lost. Caveat, MADD and such organizations exemplify flaws in the justice system. Evidence disappears with disturbing regularity. Witnesses contradict themselves and each other. This is as good as the system gets in the world. It is far from perfect in matters of criminality, let alone matters of life and death.
A few years ago parliament saw fit to abolish capital punishment. As a consequence Messrs. Marshall, Morin and Millgard are with us today. The state chose not to participate in the taking of life because it recognized its own limitations and flaws. It is my submission that no system can ever be devised that could possibly prevent the wrongful taking of life.
A simple example is our health care system which continues to be underfunded and under tremendous strain. We are under continuous pressure to free up resources. It is quite clear that one can talk oneself into a position that one is merciful by ending Mrs. Jones' life. My submission is that that will make the difficulties of 1997-98 look like child's play.
My final point is to address the root motivation that brings forth the legislation. It is very difficult for decent human beings to watch people suffer, especially the ones we love.
I am told by competent health care professionals that a great deal of pain related suffering can be alleviated by proper pain therapies. In my view it would be the proper direction of this legislature to encourage the medical profession to explore areas of pain alleviation.
In summary, Mr. Justice Sopinka was right. This is a matter for the House, not a matter for supreme court justices. We should not be driven by a particularly egregious set of facts because bad facts make bad law.
Consent in matters of life and death is almost impossible to give and notoriously unreliable. No system, no matter how carefully devised, will be free of abuse and misuse. The state should not be involved in the sanctioning of the taking of life. Relief of pain and suffering needs to be better researched and better practised.