Physician-Assisted Dying committee  With regard to the latter part of the statement, about whether it is common practice, yes, I would say it's common practice in many areas. The primary care physician, the family physician, does play a key role in mental health provision. However, in evaluating the thought processes that are going into a request like PAD, if there's a mental illness present, it's essential that people who have the required training be the ones who make that assessment.

Physician-Assisted Dying committee  Okay. Both lead to the patient's death. That's true. However, one way of looking at it would be that suicide, in our suicide prevention initiatives, occurs when somebody has a desire to die. In physician-assisted death, the patient is suffering with some sort of illness, and they have a wish to stop living with suffering.

Physician-Assisted Dying committee  I want to make sure I understand the question properly. Are you asking at what point in the evaluative process should a psychiatrist start getting involved?

Physician-Assisted Dying committee  If there is a mental illness present, then this would apply whether the person is applying for PAD on the grounds of mental illness or whether they're applying on the grounds of a physical illness when they also have a mental illness. We feel that the psychiatrist needs to be involved to do a proper assessment as soon as the request is made.

Physician-Assisted Dying committee  I think your question actually speaks as well to the idea of patients having access to necessary treatment options even prior to making or requesting this decision. We know that is a huge problem with mental illness. The Canadian Mental Health Commission tells us that only about one in three Canadians who have mental illness or mental health-related problems get help for them, and for children and adolescents it's closer to one in four.

Physician-Assisted Dying committee  Thank you for your very considered question. You know, it is a challenging issue to differentiate, when we're talking about the death of a person, what leads to that death. When we're talking about physician-assisted death or suicide prevention initiatives, it can seem that they're at odds with each other.

Physician-Assisted Dying committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'll start for us. On behalf of the Canadian Psychiatric Association, we'd like to thank the co-chairs and committee members for this opportunity to present to you on this important issue. My name is Karandeep Sonu Gaind, and I'm president of the CPA. The CPA is the national voice for Canada's 4,700 psychiatrists and more than 900 psychiatric residents.