Mr. Speaker, I have the privilege of presenting 19 petitions calling on Parliament to establish a national strategy on palliative care to ensure that every Canadian has access to high-quality palliative care at end of life.
In Carter v. Canada (Attorney General), the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that competent and consenting adults who have a grievous and irremediable medical condition that causes enduring and intolerable suffering should be allowed to access physician-assisted dying mechanisms, and that it is impossible for a person to give informed consent to assisted suicide or euthanasia if appropriate palliative care is unavailable to them.
The petitioners call upon Parliament to establish a national strategy on palliative care.