Mr. Speaker, advanced consent is a very important concept. Under the current regime, people who are approved for MAID have to give consent on the day they are meant to be provided MAID. What we now are proposing is that when that date arrives, if people do not have the capacity to provide an oral consent, they could do it in writing in advance. That is advanced consent.
What is not being proposed in the bill is an advance directive. If 30 years from now, I have a malady which I find intolerable in terms of my own suffering and I want to apply for and be given MAID, that would not be permitted under this law.
What is being proposed is that people who have already applied for MAID, have been granted eligibility and for whom the date has not yet arrived on which it is scheduled, on that date if they have lost capacity, they can provide it in writing.