Madam Speaker, I find this debate very emotional. These are life-and-death circumstances that we are talking about, and there is a finality to this. When somebody dies, they have died. They are not coming back.
I believe that we need to balance personal autonomy with the protection of vulnerable people. A concern that I have is in regard to palliative care, and even its advocates. If somebody is a vulnerable person, maybe they have no family and maybe they have no friends. Maybe they have a disability and have been admitted to a hospital or are living in a long-term care facility. It is very troubling to me that MAID could be offered and nobody would be there to advocate for them. It is very concerning to me that it could be proposed.
Could the member talk about palliative care, and how we need more access? There was no five-year review from the previous legislation. Could the member comment on the need for more palliative care across Canada, and especially in rural and remote regions?