Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for her service on the joint parliamentary committee that studied physician-assisted dying.
My colleague referred many times to my former colleague, Steven Fletcher, who appeared before the committee. I have had many conversations with him, and I understand his position. However, my concern is that had Mr. Fletcher had access to physician assisted suicide years ago when his accident first occurred, he very well may have followed through. That would have been a huge loss for Canada and for his family.
My concern is that when we implement these kinds of decisions, there is always the risk of one person inadvertently terminating his or her life, which would be a huge loss. We no longer practice capital punishment in Canada. One of the reasons is that it is too great a risk that one innocent person might die.
How would my colleague ensure that someone like Mr. Fletcher, who in a time of deep depression and deep physical suffering, may have taken the choice that would have hurt him and all of Canada because of the loss of his life and his contribution to our country?