Mr. Speaker, the next petition I have to present comes from Canadians from across the country who are concerned about the MAID regime in this country.
Choosing medical assistance in dying because of a lack of available services or treatments is not a real choice. That is what the petitioners are pointing out. They also point out that allowing medical assistance in dying for those with disabilities or chronic illness, but who are not dying, devalues their life and tacitly endorses the notion that life with a disability is optional and, by extension, dispensable. They are concerned that offering medical assistance in dying as a solution for a disability or chronic illness reduces the incentives to improve treatment and care for people with these conditions.
These Canadians do not want an ableist health care system where the lives of those with disabilities are not seen as worth living. Many disability advocates from across the country have expressed concern and are opposed to track 2 of the MAID regime.
Therefore, the folks who have signed this petition are calling on the Government of Canada to protect all Canadians whose natural death is not reasonably foreseeable by prohibiting medical assistance in dying to those whose death is not foreseen in the next six months.