Mr. Speaker, I served on the Standing Committee on Health with my colleague. I am very familiar with, and deeply appreciative of, his personal commitment and all the efforts he makes to support suicide prevention. I think it is very generous of him to share these personal stories during tonight's debate. I wanted to reassure him.
As for eligibility and MAID for mental illness, I do not know what makes him say that he would have been eligible. I do not think he would have been. The proof is that he is here and that suicidality is reversible. It is only in a situation of irreversibility that we begin to assess the issue.
Suicidality is reversible and is not inevitable. The experts' report helped establish guidelines, as did the standards of practice established by the Canadian association of providers. I urge my colleague to review these guidelines. He will see that we are not allowing people who are suicidal to access MAID.