Madam Speaker, I have been listening with great interest, and this is a profound discussion that we are having tonight. The issue in terms of what people are able to access at end of life has been put before this House, not simply because of the Carter decision and not because of, as some colleagues have said, a narrow rewriting of the legislation. However, if we are going to rewrite this legislation, we have to deal with the huge shortfalls in end-of-life care for those who are wanting to live—the palliative-care needs of the sick and their families. Yet only 16% to 30% of Canadians are able to access quality palliative care. Only four provinces even have a palliative-care framework. It is the responsibility of the federal government to work with the provinces, and also to put the money on the table to say that palliative end-of-life choices are going to be available. However, we saw zero money in the budget from the current government.
If this bill is going to be in place in June, we are going to be in a situation in Canada where people will have technically the right to end their life if they are facing intolerable suffering, but they will not also share the same right to access quality health care for their family if they are living in under-serviced areas and patchwork areas. I am asking why the current government has not stepped forward in advance of this legislation to start dealing with the huge shortfalls we are facing in palliative care.