House of Commons photoWon her last election, in 2015, with 45% of the vote.
Criminal Code May 2nd, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I do respect the fact that there are jurisdictional boundaries with respect to what we can and cannot legislate. The provinces and territories have jurisdiction over this particular aspect and the government will continue to work with the provinces and territories to ensure that the conscience rights of our medical professionals are taken into consideration with respect to this bill.
Criminal Code May 2nd, 2016
Mr. Speaker, as the Minister of Health has stated many times in this House, she is in constant dialogue with the provinces and territories to renew the health accord. There is a commitment of $3 billion in the budget to look at end-of-life care, including home care and palliative care.
Criminal Code May 2nd, 2016
Mr. Speaker, with respect to the right of a physician not to refer, as I said in my comments, this is for the provinces and territories to determine, with the help of the government, to respect the conscience rights of physicians.
The question about referrals did come up in my riding. Many were concerned about that. I hope that consideration is part of an ongoing conversation with the provinces and territories and medical professionals.
Criminal Code May 2nd, 2016
Mr. Speaker, before I begin, I would like to acknowledge the Minister of Justice, the Minister of Health, and the parliamentary secretaries and their teams for their work on this important legislation, and to thank them for their efforts. I would also like to thank the chair and members of the Special Joint Committee on Physician-Assisted Dying, the witnesses they heard from, and the countless Canadians who took part in consultations right across the country. This is not an easy topic for discussion, and I commend all involved for their thoughtful, compassionate, and thorough work.
The Carter decision set out a clear objective for parliamentarians to come up with a legislative framework that allows Canadians who are suffering intolerably the right to request assistance to end their suffering. Bill C-14 is the government's answer to this critical objective, and I stand here today, proud to support this important legislation.
I have heard from constituents on both sides of the issue, some who flatly oppose allowing any access to medical assistance in death, and others who believe the legislation does not go far enough. I have also heard from people who applaud the thoughtful work on this bill and have reached out to me to express their gratitude.
In this regard, it is important to note and to reiterate what has been mentioned many times in this chamber. With this legislation, our task was not to determine if physician-assisted dying was necessary, but to determine how best to move it forward. This is an important consideration and one that is worth repeating.
Of paramount importance to me in reviewing this bill was to determine if it properly considers different interests, including balancing the right to personal autonomy at the end of life with the need to ensure robust protection for the most vulnerable in our society. I believe that this legislation achieves this balance and that it rightly takes the necessary steps to ensure that the rights of all are respected.
With respect to personal autonomy, this legislation responds to the objective mentioned earlier that was provided to us by the Supreme Court of Canada, that Canadians who are suffering intolerably have the right to request assistance to end their suffering.
I am not a lawyer, and as such will not speak to the legal ramifications of this bill. As well, I cannot speak with authority on the constitutional nuances of this bill. However, as a person of faith, it was critically important to me that subsection 2(a) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which grants Canadians the freedom of conscience and religion, was considered and protected.
A couple of weeks ago, I had a meeting in my office with members from the St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Whitby. While they understood that the objective for us in this chamber was to come up with a legislative framework for medical assistance in dying, they were gravely concerned about protecting the conscience of medical professionals. They wanted some assurance that the conscience of the health care provider was protected.
Balancing the rights of medical providers and those of the patient is generally a matter of provincial and territorial concern. However, our government is committed to working with the provinces and territories to explore options to facilitate access and care coordination while recognizing the personal convictions of health care providers.
Having worked in health care based research for the bulk of my professional life, I have had the opportunity to work closely with health care professionals in a variety of capacities. It is very important to me that any legislation put forward respected the rights and personal convictions of care providers. I am very pleased to see that this legislation makes mention of this while acknowledging that safeguarding those convictions requires an ongoing conversation with the provinces and territories.
The robust considerations and protections for the most vulnerable in our society inherent in this legislation are also of particular importance. This legislation sets out the criteria for the determination by medical professionals as to whether or not a patient suffers from a grievous or irremediable medical condition. These criteria include that they have a serious and incurable illness, disease or disability; are in an advanced state of irreversible decline in capability; the state of decline causes them enduring physical or psychological suffering that is intolerable to them and that cannot be relieved under conditions that they consider acceptable; and that their natural death has become reasonably foreseeable.
As a mother of three children and MP for the bedroom communities in my riding of Whitby, I was pleased that the legislation also includes strict eligibility requirements that protect minors. Careful thought and consideration are required to understand and assess a minor's ability to make a decision involving the termination of his or her life. I applaud the decision to further study this aspect of the legislation and look forward to being actively involved at that time.
Additionally, this legislation would ensure that those who make a request for assisted dying do so without coercion, having provided informed consent, and given the opportunity to, at any time and in any manner, withdraw their consent. These safeguards are fundamental to Bill C-14. The bill provides safeguards to ensure that individuals can remove consent. The requirements that the request be voluntary and that the person must decide for himself or herself that he or she wants medical assistance in dying is as equally important as the requirement to have the ability to remove consent.
I am proud that this government has listened to stakeholders from across the country and has committed to ensuring that all Canadians have access to quality end-of-life care, including palliative care. Our $3-billion commitment to improving and expanding access to home care is another critically important step and I look forward to seeing continued progress on this vital portfolio in the months ahead.
Finally, I would like to thank and acknowledge my colleagues in the chamber for the thoughtful, measured, and respectful tone struck during this debate. This is not an easy topic of discussion. It is one that challenges us to examine our fundamental beliefs about life and death. I commend all for their work on this file.
Criminal Code May 2nd, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for her impassioned speech on this topic, and especially the examples of her father and friend. I thank her for sharing that with us.
I would ask my colleague to comment further on the importance of this legislation, in particular for other members of communities who are contemplating this important decision in their lives.
Criminal Code May 2nd, 2016
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Health have really gone to lengths to ensure that this legislation strikes a balance between the complexities of medical assistance in dying. The Minister of Health has often stood in the House and talked about the fact that we need to improve our palliative care system as well as our home care system to ensure that people are having the best quality of life up until their time of death.
We now have a situation where we need to have this legislation go through, and I am wondering if my colleague could tell me why the previous government did not act and take charge on this particular issue when they were in power and are questioning our motives now.
Business of Supply April 19th, 2016
Madam Speaker, I want to be very clear in the House that the Minister of Justice, as well as members of this caucus, place a premium on honesty, openness, transparency, and accountability. As a member, a minister, or as a parliamentary secretary, the concerns of the people of our riding are in fact the concerns shared by many Canadians.
There are other important issues to the people of Canada. In my riding of Whitby in particular are the issues of jobs, particularly for youth; climate change; and, mental health issues. These are all issues we could be discussing today.
I want to ask the member opposite this. Why are we continuing to make an issue where there is no issue?
Business of Supply April 19th, 2016
Madam Speaker, I would like to take a step back and look at the facts here.
The Minister of Justice was proactive in seeking the advice of the Ethics Commissioner before she attended the event, and the minister was advised that it was okay for her attend.
Second, the minister stated in this chamber that, at this fundraiser, she discussed the future of Canada.
Third, the information the member is seeking with regard to who, how much, and all that other information is available online, and he can clearly have access to that information, at his will.
Fourth, the member for St. Albert—Edmonton has received a three-page response from the Ethics Commissioner outlining her response to his questions.
Therefore, I would ask the member this. What part of that three-page response from the commissioner did you not understand?
Questions on the Order Paper April 19th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.
Questions on the Order Paper April 18th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.