Medical Assistance in Dying committee  No.

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  I would say the practitioners couldn't go forward without the regulators being ready. The regulators will have built on the working group's work. We've all developed the documents. The regulators will all have direction in place, so that the practitioners—the physicians—will know what's expected of them.

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  I can say that the model practice standard that we've developed has been shared with all of the colleges. They've all welcomed it. I've spoken with each of the registrars, who will all use this document in one way or another to have their provincial standard in place.

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  They will be using this document either to inform their standard or to build their standard upon. I realize I'm speaking on behalf of everyone. I know that in Nova Scotia we're adopting this standard as a whole.

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  I was invited here as the Federation of Medical Regulatory Authorities of Canada representative on the Health Canada working group.

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  Actually, the invitation said I was a co-chair and I wasn't, so I don't want to.... I was just a member of the group.

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  Your question is how the model standard put forward by the working group differ from what's in practice right now.

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  It contemplates the inclusion of people whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental disorder. It also unpacks—and I think Dr. Gupta was getting into that—some of the more difficult cases. It gives guidance on some of the more difficult cases in what are track two cases, where one's natural death is not reasonably foreseeable.

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  After the Carter decision.... I think most people who work in my space interpret Carter as not excluding people whose sole underlying medical condition was mental illness, who could be eligible. We were then responding to a number of changes in the law and changes in direction from Parliament.

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  Thank you. It's a privilege to speak to the committee. I'm Dr. Douglas Grant. I'm a registrar of the college of physicians in Nova Scotia. I'm a family doc and a lawyer, and I represented the Federation of Medical Regulatory Authorities of Canada at the Health Canada working group.