Mr. Speaker, I also want to thank the member for North Okanagan—Shuswap for his moving commentary on this bill. I want to reflect on what the member for Cypress Hills—Grasslands said, which is that all members of Parliament have sincerely held beliefs on the issues before us in this bill. What I would urge here is for us to make the distinction between the need for the larger review of medical assistance in dying, which was provided for in the original legislation, and that review unfortunately has not started, and what is actually in Bill C-7. While the member for North Okanagan—Shuswap was not really as guilty as some of his colleagues have been of doing this, I think there are some people who by using “death on demand” and “same-day dying” are distorting what is actually in Bill C-7. I think it behooves all of us, in order to have a respectful debate, that we talk about what is actually there. The bill still requires that someone be suffering from an incurable illness, intolerable suffering and irreversible decline, so I would urge all members, including this member, to keep in mind what is actually in the bill.
In the House of Commons on October 28th, 2020. See this statement in context.