Mr. Speaker, Canada has an aging population that will present intense challenges to our health care system in years to come.
At the front line of these challenges are those who need palliative or compassionate care, those who are depressed, those who cannot speak for themselves and Canadians living with disabilities, in other words, our most vulnerable Canadians.
Members across party lines have come together to address this challenge with a message of hope.
Margaret Sommerville of McGill University noted that, “Hope is the oxygen of the human spirit; without it our spirit dies, with it we can overcome even seemingly insurmountable obstacles”, including our last great act of living, dying.
These are issues of life and death. These are issues of basic human dignity.
I invite all members of Parliament to join the parliamentary committee on palliative and compassionate care.