Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Abbotsford who I know shares the passion, as I do, that life is important and that we need to value life right from conception to natural death. That is an important fundamental principle that needs to be enshrined here in Canada.
I recently sat with local doctor Curtis Krahn and his wife at an event, and we talked about end-of-life and dying. Shortly after I was elected, a few years back, my mother was very ill with cancer. Dr. Krahn's wife, who is a registered nurse, was one of the chief palliative care providers in our community. She was very gracious with my mother. At the event, Dr. Krahn told me clearly that we have the resources, the tools and the medications to make people comfortable in end-of-life situations and when people are suffering. Often people become quite anxious as they are approaching their final days. He said, “We can even take away their anxiousness. We have medication that can do that as well.”
I know that the government made some very lofty promises when it came to palliative care, and it failed miserably to deliver on those promises. Seventy per cent of people, when given the option of being provided with palliative care, would choose to live rather than to accept MAID.