Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for sharing her experiences. I have a lot of respect for her and her experience as a physician. I have sat at committee with her over the years.
I remember that when we debated the original bill, I talked to a physician in Oshawa. Her name is Dr. Gillian Gilchrist. She is very well-known in the field of palliative care, and she opened the first palliative care clinic in Oshawa, in 1981. Originally, she said that she was very much against this bill because in her experience over the years, she had never had one patient ask her for an assisted death. Not one needed it if they were controlled properly with proper medication and palliative care.
Although we passed a private members' bill from the member for Sarnia—Lambton requesting that the government come up with a national strategy for palliative care, in Canada today, about 70% of people cannot get proper palliative care. I wonder if my colleague supports a more vigorous strategy for Canadians. As 70% of people are not getting proper palliative care, does the lack of care factor into their decision to choose an assisted death? Perhaps they would not choose it if they had proper palliative care.