Madam Speaker, this is a particularly meaningful day to talk about this sensitive issue. Yesterday, October 18, marked the first anniversary of the passing of my aunt Claire, who chose to access medical assistance in dying. She was not looking to end her life, but she simply wanted to choose how she would put an end to her suffering and to do so with dignity. I think that the word “dignity” is important, because that is what we are talking about here.
I heard the speech by my colleague from Richmond—Arthabaska, and I appreciated the considerable sensitivity he showed in expressing his concerns. The topic of palliative care is a very important one.
If every patient across the country had fair and equal access to palliative care, would my colleague agree to remove the element of final consent, so that people with degenerative diseases could make a decision several weeks or months in advance, or even years, before their unforeseeable, yet inevitable, death?
Could my colleague speak to that?