House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2015, with 72% of the vote.
Petitions May 13th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, it is impossible for people to give informed consent to assisted suicide/euthanasia if appropriate palliative care is unavailable to them.
Therefore, I am pleased to present two petitions calling upon Parliament to create a national strategy on palliative care to ensure that every Canadian has access to high-quality palliative care at the end of life.
Public Service Labour Relations Act May 11th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, does the member think it is appropriate that members from all sides of the House were only given two days, after the release of the report, to go back and maybe talk to some of the RCMP members in their ridings to get feedback from them, since it was so important to the Liberal government to get that information initially?
Public Service Labour Relations Act May 11th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I have a question for my hon. friend.
He mentioned earlier, and so did some of his colleagues, concern for RCMP members. Less than one-third responded to this survey and a very small percentage, actually, went to the town hall meetings. Do you think it's fair in your assumption that you did not give members of Parliament, whether it is your side—
Petitions May 9th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, in the current federal criminal law, a preborn child is not recognized as a victim with respect to violent crime. Therefore, I am pleased to present a petition calling on Parliament to pass legislation that would recognize preborn children as separate victims when they are injured or killed in the commission of an offence against their mothers, allowing two charges to be laid against the offender instead of one.
Criminal Code May 3rd, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I do not believe in this particular case I would have. No.
Criminal Code May 3rd, 2016
Mr. Speaker, that did not come through on my earpiece. I did not hear what the hon. member said.
Criminal Code May 3rd, 2016
Mr. Speaker, it is very sad when we look at that report. Besides the 77,000 physicians he talked about, I believe there are only about 123 other general practitioners across Canada who specialize in palliative care. That is less than 200 across the country out of 77,000 doctors. That is unacceptable.
That is why we need a national palliative care strategy. We need specialized funding to deal with palliative care, to help train more physicians, more medical professionals to deal with people in a palliative situation.
We need to look at hospices. We need to spend money. We talk about infrastructure. Let us take that money and build facilities that house the dying. Let us look after the dying and let them die with dignity and respect.
Criminal Code May 3rd, 2016
Mr. Speaker, the question comes right back to where one takes the stand. I take the stand that we fight for life. As I said earlier, I respect individuals' decisions, but I believe that we were put on this earth as creatures to fight for life and to live. That is my stand.
Criminal Code May 3rd, 2016
Mr. Speaker, just before I begin my speech, I would like to say to the people of Fort McMurray tonight that my heart and thoughts go to them. They are fleeing their community tonight. Eighty thousand people have to evacuate. They are fighting for their lives tonight. We are thinking of them.
I rise in this House today to speak to Bill C-14, an act to amend the Criminal Code and to make related amendments to other acts (medical assistance in dying). The issue of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide has been debated in Canada for a number of years. However, a resolution for this sensitive issue became critical since the decision of Carter v. Canada, which unanimously struck down the Criminal Code ban on assisted dying, and gave Parliament a year to come up with new legislation.
This legislation must apply to competent adults with grievous and irreversible medical conditions that cause enduring suffering and who clearly consent to ending their lives. Bill C-14 seeks to fulfill section 7 of the charter, namely the right to life, liberty, and security. The bill proposes a wide and detailed range of legislated objectives, legal notions, patient eligibility criteria, exemptions from the criminal liability, and safeguards. However, as experience shows, the question of life and death is very vague. An absolute prohibition of assisted dying forces Canadians who have grievous and irreversible medical conditions to suffer and look for medical assistance abroad to end their lives.
There have been two cases in Canada: Rodriguez, and Carter v. Canada. As well, there have been approximately six private member's bills between 1991 and 2010 that sought to decriminalize assisted suicide. None of these were successful. In Carter v. Canada, the Supreme Court stated:
While opponents to legalization emphasized the inadequacy of safeguards and the potential to devalue human life, a vocal minority spoke in favour of reform, highlighting the importance of dignity and autonomy and the limits of palliative care in addressing suffering. The Senate considered the matter as well, issuing a report on assisted suicide and euthanasia in 1995. The majority expressed concerns about the risk of abuse under a permissive regime and the need for respect for life. A minority supported an exemption to the prohibition in some circumstances.
It is evident by the quote that physician-assisted dying is highly divisive; people are separated across this country. Bill C-14 is a very difficult bill for me personally to wrap my mind around. I feel, like many Canadians, that we are put here on earth for a reason. The reason could be debated for days, but like all living things we strive to live by adapting to our environment. From bugs to humans, we adapt to survive, to live. All creatures eventually die—some as prey to others, some to the environment, some to the weather, some to sickness, and some to age. Most will fight for life if threatened. As humans, it is our nature to fight to live.
Our nation has experienced two world wars where our veterans fought to give us freedom and better lives. How many of them would have laid down their lives if they had known that later people would be able to take their own lives as outlined in this Bill C-14. A number of World War II veterans have told me that this is wrong. Is it wrong? This is where I personally have difficulty in finding an answer to this extremely moral question. I am honestly confused and my emotions are mixed. Allow me to explain.
Both of my parents died of cancer, as did both of my in-laws. I watched my father's weight decline from 190 pounds to 75 pounds when he passed. He suffered immensely, as did my mother and my in-laws, but they fought for life until the bitter end. It hurt me to watch them go that way, but they made me realize the need to fight for life. That is what I first thought: never give up the fight until the end.
Fifteen years ago, I lost my life partner of 30 years to cancer. I hate the word “cancer“. My wife, like myself, believed in fighting to the bitter end. I watched my wife battle cancer for two years. If any treatment, from radiation to chemotherapy, could go wrong, it did with her, compounding the pain and agony she suffered. I watched and assisted her as her body weakened and she lost control over its functions.
I was with her when she took her last breath. I am a strong person emotionally, but by the end, I was emotionally broken as I watched her suffer so much. I wanted to end her suffering. She was hanging on to life day after day after day, and I asked, why the suffering?
We had agreed to fight as a couple only filling out a do-not-resuscitate order. At the end, I would have done anything to put her out of her suffering and pain. Morphine finally did the same. Now I ask myself if Bill C-14 is wrong or right. During my wife's last week of living, I would have welcomed the bill to stop her pain and suffering. That was 15 years ago. I still hurt when I think of my wife suffering, yet I am so proud of her fight to live. That fight gave us an extra year together, which I am so grateful for. Do I vote yes for Bill C-14, or do I vote no? I am so personally torn on this issue.
I respect the rights of individuals and the rights that Bill C-14 may give them, but my heart says we have to fight for life. I am glad that this is a free vote. I have weighed the pros and cons and it is a difficult decision, but I cannot support this bill. There are too many grey areas. Betty Unger, an Alberta senator, said, “There is something terribly wrong when a government does more to guarantee that the living can die, than to ensure that the dying can live”.
That being said, I believe the government must emphasize palliative care over physician-assisted dying. I praise those who have chosen to work in the environment and I understand that we have much to do to make palliative care better. Because of lack of staff, families often provide the primary care.
Physician-assisted dying is a difficult issue for me and it is for many sitting in the House. If Bill C-14 is passed, I ask that it include stringent safeguards to protect vulnerable populations and protect the conscience rights of workers in institutions in the health care sector. Members on all sides of the House have a variety of positions on physician-assisted dying. I appreciate our party's recognition that this is a moral issue and allowing members a free vote on this very difficult matter of conscience.
I thank all the presenters on Bill C-14 for helping me decide to say no.
Criminal Code May 2nd, 2016
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member mentioned quite a bit about the vacuum that may come about if this does not happen. I would like his opinion on what would happen if this House votes the bill down.