Medical Assistance in Dying committee  That's a difficult question. On the one hand, I think we have to have very rational, evidence-based conversations with everybody and every perspective on an issue like this, which is of real societal importance. I will refer here to Dr. Macdonald's research around getting at the

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  Sure. In my experience, it's every single one.

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  In practice, it's exactly what I said in my initial answer. It's an incredibly specific thing. It's specific to the procedure, treatment or whatever else that's being offered. It can be as simple as taking antibiotics for an infection, versus consenting to a surgical procedure. I

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  I agree. I think you make an important distinction between different types of conditions and different situations. I think the case that you describe of someone with a cancer that is causing incredible pain and suffering who makes a request for MAID is different entirely from tha

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  In jurisdictions where mature minors can access MAID, it is actually quite rare. It's not a commonly requested procedure. The vast majority of cases—I would say all, but I cannot be certain—are really around track one, so the process of dying has already started and there is a te

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  The nature of kids is that they bounce back. Generally speaking, when kids are ill, even when they're really ill, they get better. The number of kids in my practice who have been so ill in a life-limiting or life-ending way has actually been fairly small. Even in the hospital, I

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  I think it's something that, again, is really case-specific. There will be cases, I would argue, where it's pretty obvious that a 17-and-a-half-year-old, to use an example, would be fully able to understand and have the capacity to consent to a MAID procedure. At the same time,

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  This is unexpected, but thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee, for the opportunity to speak today. I'm grateful to join you from Mi'kma'ki, the unceded territory of the L'nu. I'm going to start with what I'm not. I'm not a lawyer. I'm not a bioethicist. I'm not a MA