Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his participation and concern, over the last four years, with respect to this issue.
As the hon. member has pointed out, we are responding primarily to the Truchon decision, but we used the opportunity to make a certain number of other modifications where there was a clear consensus among Canadians. We consulted widely with MAID service providers and with families who had gone through the process. There was a universal conclusion that the 10-day waiting period was only a source of suffering, that people who decided to have MAID had made the decision and the 10 days only prolonged suffering. I continue to hear that. The witness requirement was actually becoming an impediment for people in regions and in long-term care facilities to access MAID, so we decided to change that now.