Mr. Speaker, this is a very difficult subject. The end of life is difficult for us all.
The essential core of this legislation is that it would engage society in the ending of a life. It would engage the doctor and it would engage us as a society.
I will give a small but imperfect analogy.
Many years ago our Canadian society decided that we would not have capital punishment. We had found over time that in capital crimes our justice system had made mistakes. We have one of the best justice systems in the world but we make mistakes. Had we had capital punishment in this society, Mr. Marshall would have been executed. Mr. Milgaard would have been executed, and a number of other people would have been executed.
It does not much matter what systems the hon. member proposes in her bill, mistakes will be made. It is inevitable. People's lives will be ended prematurely and they will be ended without full and informed consent. Inevitably, we as a society will bear that shame and that guilt.
I would request that the hon. member respond to the inevitable, the absolute certainty that errors will be made and that therefore she and I and all the rest of us will bear that guilt.