Mr. Speaker, the member's question is one that many people ask. My response is that a lot of people would make different choices if they had access to better palliative care. We know 70% of people across Canada do not have access to the palliative care they deserve. Even people with very uncomfortable and some would say intolerable diseases and situations, with the proper amount of palliative care, would have a different opinion than when confronted with the option of medical assistance in dying.
In fact, I spoke to a doctor at a function not that long ago. He said that when it came to MAID, they already had the technology to make people comfortable so they would not experience pain. They also could give them drugs. They had access to drugs that would also take away any psychological anxiety people may experience with their intolerable diseases. He said that there was no need for MAID.