44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 15, 2023 02:00PM
- Feb/15/23 2:46:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Prime Minister, Canadians have never struggled more with paying for groceries, paying for rent and paying to put gas in their cars. Everything is more expensive, and the government still plans to increase its ideological carbon tax. This tax has done nothing to reduce emissions and has made everything more expensive. When will the Liberals abandon their cruel carbon tax, and let Conservatives fix what they broke?
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- Feb/15/23 2:47:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, taxing Canadians to death is not going to fix the climate. Statistics Canada is reporting that a quarter of Canadians would not be able to afford a sudden expense of $500, yet the government still plans to triple the carbon tax on April 1. If the government would only cancel its plans to increase the carbon tax this year, Canadians would be able to afford to pay their bills once again.
When will the Prime Minister take responsibility for overtaxing Canadians into poverty and let Conservatives fix what Liberals broke?
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Madam Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I rise today to speak to this extremely important bill, Bill C-39, an act to amend an act to amend the Criminal Code on medical assistance in dying. Bill C-39 would delay by one year the inclusion of mental illness as a sole underlying condition for eligibility to access medical assistance in dying.
I am truly disturbed by where we find ourselves as a country today. We were once a beacon of light to the world, offering hope, opportunity, community and compassion to all. However, we are quickly becoming a place where the darkness of death threatens the light of our nation. We are offering death as a solution to despair and taking the easier, cheaper way out instead of the narrow, harder path. The narrow, compassionate path requires courage and hard work to create support for those who are struggling and desperate for hope.
When the government first introduced the medical assistance in dying regime in 2016, many sounded the alarm. They said it was a slippery slope that would open the door to abuse, and the vulnerable in society would pay the price with their lives. The government assured Canadians that this would never happen; there would be safeguards put in place with strict criteria, and the most vulnerable would always be protected. However, here we are today deliberating on extending assisted dying to those whose sole illness is one of mental health.
This is sadly ironic because during the last election campaign, the Liberals promised $4.5 billion in mental health funding, which we have yet to see. Our society has invested billions in embarking on awareness campaigns to bring dignity to those suffering from mental health issues. We have entire days dedicated to mental health. We have worked tirelessly in society to destigmatize mental health issues. We voted unanimously in this House for a mental health hotline, yet here we are contemplating how the government can legalize taking the life of a person who is lost in the depths of a mental illness.
I believe deep down inside that we are all disturbed by the idea that MAID can be extended to the mentally ill. I believe that members of this House and the government know in their hearts that it is wrong for a government to abandon the most vulnerable among us in their time of need. They know it is wrong to promise mental health supports and then offer assisted dying instead.
What is so sad is that they try to justify it by saying that it is only for those individuals whose mental health is incurable. However, drug addiction, alcohol addiction, the loss of a loved one, broken families, broken relationships, the loss of a job and the inability to support oneself are all real situations that many Canadians are now facing. They could all propel an individual to the darkest depths of their soul. When people find themselves in the depths of despair, lacking the support of friends and family, this precise moment is when it is important for governments to be the beacon of hope and provide support.
The Minister of Justice assures us that individuals who suffer from mental health issues and are suicidal will not be considered for MAID. That statement is a tautological paradox. A person who is in the depths of mental illness and wants to end their life is, by definition, suicidal. When a person cannot cope mentally, their government has abandoned them and they have no prospect of obtaining help, and they decide to take their life, they are not of sound mind.
They do not have the mental capacity to give meaningful consent to ending their life. They are in desperate need of help.
I say it another way: It is near impossible to separate those with suicidal ideations from those with irremediable mental health conditions. Ninety per cent of people who commit suicide today, in fact, have diagnosable mental disorders. That is why it is utterly unconscionable that, one year from now, we could offer death as treatment to those who are suffering from mental health issues.
This option will be abused in the future. MAID has already been abused, with few safeguards currently in place. There have been countless stories of abuse, including stories of elderly, disabled, marginalized and mentally ill Canadians, even veterans, who have fallen through the cracks of care and have become victims of Canada's permissive MAID regime. Here are some of the headlines across our country and across the world that comment on the MAID regime:
“‘Hunger Games style social Darwinism’: Why disability advocates are worried about new assisted suicide laws” is from Niagara This Week.
“Former paralympian tells MPs veterans department offered her assisted death” is from CBC News.
“Homeless, hopeless man to seek medically assisted death” is from Barrie Today.
“Normalizing Death as ‘treatment’ in Canada: Whose Suicides Do We Prevent, and Whose Do We Abet?” is from the World Medical Journal.
“What Euthanasia Has Done to Canada” is from the New York Times.
“‘Disturbing’: Experts troubled by Canada’s euthanasia laws” is from the Associated Press.
“Why is Canada euthanising the poor?” is from The Spectator in the U.K.
The government needs to read those headlines and generally consider the totality of the evidence. It is clear that there is no way to safely expand MAID to mental illness.
The government heard the evidence presented at the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying. Experts said that it is “difficult, if not impossible” to determine whether someone is suffering from a mental illness and whether they will get better.
Our country is in a mental health crisis. Record numbers of Canadians are struggling with mental health issues that have been exacerbated by COVID.
To push forward with expansion at all is an abdication by this government of its responsibility to provide sufficient social, financial, mental health and suicide prevention supports to our most vulnerable. It is to abandon anyone who is suffering from mental illness.
The darkest hour is just before the dawn. To those suffering with mental illness, we must be the hope of the dawn in the dark night of despair.
We have the resources to wrap our arms around every person in Canada suffering from mental health issues and to embrace and enfold them in the promise of a brighter future, investing in life and dignity for all Canadians.
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Madam Speaker, I hope my hon. friend is aware of the simple fact that those who are suffering from mental illness, those who are in the darkest part of their life and whose government has abandoned them, do not have the capacity to choose MAID, because they are in desperate need of help that their government needs to provide. Those individuals need life and help over assisted dying.
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Madam Speaker, I did not speak today about individuals who are on artificial means and at the end of life. I did not speak about individuals who had living will directives. What I spoke about was the extension of MAID to those who are mentally incapable and the abdication of the government in providing the necessary supports to help those who are most vulnerable make the decision to continue a life in dignity.
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Madam Speaker, Conservatives support supporting our most vulnerable, and we believe that among those are individuals who are suffering from mental health issues. They deserve all of the supports needed to help them get through this dark time in their lives.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his concern and compassion over the most vulnerable. The most pressing thing right now in order to make sure MAID is not extended to those with mental health issues is to make sure the Liberals live up to their promise of caring for those with mental health issues, and that is not through providing assisted dying.
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