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Context: House Hansard - 281 - Feb/13/24

Mr. Richard Bragdon (Tobique—Mactaquac, CPC)

Feb/13/24 10:32:40 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it has been said that the character of a nation is revealed in how it treats its most vulnerable. I cannot think of a higher obligation for the House that houses the representatives of the people to take up than this very discussion. It is a matter of debate that should not be rushed. It should not be shut down and should not be in any way pushed through in expeditious fashion. We should take all of the time required to make sure we get it right, because we are literally dealing with matters of life and death. The sensitivity surrounding the issue cannot be overstated. The impact on families that are going to be and are being affected by the issue cannot be overstated. I would ask the minister to reconsider the direction he has taken with this and allow Canadians to have their voices expressed, for their concerns and desires for proper safeguards to be fully expressed in the House during the debate for as long as it takes to get it right. Would the minister care to comment on that?

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Context: House Hansard - 281 - Feb/13/24

Mr. Richard Bragdon (Tobique—Mactaquac, CPC)

Feb/13/24 3:48:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I always consider it an honour to rise in the people's House to speak in regard to matters of great importance and consequence for the nation of Canada. I rise with mixed emotions today as, obviously, many Canadians have been grappling and dealing with this issue and have been considering and discussing the issue for years and months. Even more recently, with the expansion of MAID, which has been happening at an unbelievably rapid rate, more Canadians are growing more concerned. Therefore, today, I hope to add my voice to the calls for absolutely increasing the implementation of safeguards and for putting in place the safeguards necessary to prevent this absolute augmentation in access to MAID by more and more vulnerable Canadians. Canada has historically been known as a nation of great hope, where the dreams and aspirations of individuals could be fulfilled, for them and their families. We have had a great reputation on the world stage for many years as a peaceful people and a hopeful people, but disturbingly, we are hearing more voices, not only within our own country but also internationally, raising the alarm bells at the direction our nation has taken, especially as it pertains to it becoming more available to more Canadians who are at high risk to be able to access MAID and to make a decision of such finality in times of great vulnerability. It has been said, and I have said it in the House before, in regard to this debate, that the character of a nation is revealed in how it treats its most vulnerable. Those battling with mental illness and having bouts of anxiety, depression, fear and despair are definitely among our most vulnerable. It would behoove the House and the current government to ensure every safeguard possible is put in place to provide a pathway of hope that would foster and encourage life, even in the midst of uncertainty, in the midst of overwhelming odds and in the midst of some huge obstacles that come across a person's pathway. The last thing we should be doing in the House is expediting and making it easier for more Canadians to access MAID. It is troubling, not just for many members on this side of the House; we have heard testimony at committee from many reputable organizations whose representatives are speaking out with grave concerns at the direction this country is going. I want to add a few quotes into the record as it relates to this. There are a couple here from the Society of Canadian Psychiatry. It states, “it is impossible to predict in any legitimate way that mental illness in individual cases is irremediable. A significant number of individuals receiving MAID for sole mental illness would have improved and recovered.” This is another quote from the Society of Canadian Psychiatry: “Evidence shows that individuals with suicidal ideation symptomatic of mental illness cannot be differentiated or identified as distinct from those seeking MAID for sole mental illness. Suicidal individuals who could benefit from suicide prevention will receive psychiatric MAID instead.” This again is not coming from a partisan perspective. This is coming from the Society of Canadian Psychiatry. We are fostering a culture that encourages giving up in the face of grave adversity, when Canadians historically have been the types who have faced great challenges, have overcome huge obstacles, have come through adversity, have come out the other side and have become stellar examples of what it is to overcome great challenges in life. I want that to be our continued reputation, not easy access to a decision that has such finality and such a dire consequence. Another quote from the Society of Canadian Psychiatry says, “the political process leading to the planned expansion of MAID for mental illness has not followed a robust and fulsome process, has not reflected the range of opinions and evidence-based concerns on the issue, and has been selectively guided by expansion activists.” Those are huge statements of fact. If they are to be considered, they should give direction, and clear direction, to this House, on how we should proceed going from here. This time I will quote from what would not be known as a far right extreme voice. I am quoting from a Washington Post article that reads, “empowering a mentally ill person to invoke a physician’s aid in ending his or her suffering — by ending life itself — inverts the most basic goal of psychiatry, which is to prevent suicide rather than to facilitate it”. Dr. Madeline Li, a professor in the department of psychiatry at the University Health Network, told the BBC, “Making death too ready a solution disadvantages the most vulnerable people, and actually lets society off the hook”, and she went on to say, “I don't think death should be society's solution for its own failures”. These are professionals at the top of their professions, speaking to the grave direction that we are heading in as a country, as it relates to medical assistance in dying. Of those who advocate for the most vulnerable among us here in Canada, the CEO and the executive vice-president for Inclusion Canada said, “MAiD for people with disabilities who are not terminally ill is a discriminatory disaster”. Again, these are the chief advocates for the most vulnerable among us. We should listen to their voices as we consider this and bring to the House the voices of the many concerned Canadians who have risen up, written my office, made phone calls and contacted colleagues, I am sure, on numerous occasions to say that this is not the direction that they would have ever anticipated Canada to go, and this is not the direction that we should go. In closing, I am drawn to a story of a gentleman I got to know, a dear friend of mine. I share this story with his permission. Robert McCoy is a gentleman from my riding of Tobique—Mactaquac who had a huge challenge in his life. He is a young man with a young family, who began to lose sight in one of his eyes. It quickly spread to his other eye, and he became completely blind. He did not know how he would provide for his family since he had worked in the woods and was a skidder operator. He was not sure how he could make provisions for his family. It seemed overwhelming. He spoke about this publicly as part of his story. He told me he was so desperate in those times that he seriously considered taking his own life. He even planned it out. He thought maybe if he could somehow step inadvertently in front of a truck or a vehicle, because he was blind, that his family and other people would think it was an accident, and they may be able to at least continue on the insurance and make ends meet. It was a very low point, but he told me that in his desperation, he cried out. Yes, faith was important to him, but he felt like he heard at that moment a very clarion voice inside that said, “You will survive”. That one moment became enough for him, along with the encouragement of his wife and family, to start over again. A woods worker put himself through learning how to live with blindness, went to university and got a degree. He now has a Master of Sociology and is a professor at St. Thomas University in Fredericton. I am glad to say that Robert McCoy is doing very well; I spoke to him today. I am glad that during that time he did not have ready access to voices who would encourage him to go down this particular path as a potential solution to his problem. I am glad he chose the pathway of hope, of recovery and of overcoming obstacles. As parliamentarians, we should be doing everything we can to foster a culture of life and hope, rather than a culture of death and despair. I hope we make the right decision at this time.

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Context: House Hansard - 281 - Feb/13/24

Mr. Richard Bragdon

Feb/13/24 3:58:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague is from a neighbouring riding of Fredericton, and it is always good to have good debate and discussion with her. I want to assure her that the concerns we are hearing are that this pathway is being opened up and people do perceive that when someone is struggling in a season of difficulty, they may want to access, through the avenue of MAID, medical assistance in dying, for the sole purpose of mental illness. We have to close that door. Obviously, I am glad our position is to make sure that door is closed completely and with finality, so that that access point is no longer available. Without those safeguards in place, I am afraid that more Canadians would choose that route as an avenue of coping with such devastating circumstances in their lives. I will conclude with this point. I want to give honour to a colleague in the House, the member for Cariboo—Prince George, who fought very hard to get 988 established, to bring in a suicide crisis hotline in this country. To tell of the need for this kind of hope to be offered to Canadians, right now, the stats are upwards of 1,500 contacts a day, of people utilizing and calling or texting 988. That tells us there is a cry for hope in Canada. People want options, and the last option they should ever be given is to access MAID.

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Context: House Hansard - 281 - Feb/13/24

Mr. Richard Bragdon

Feb/13/24 4:01:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for sharing his thoughts. However, I will take exception to where he is taking that thought. We cannot expect any parliamentarian who enters the House to separate what informs their decision-making process and the values they hold dear when it comes to debates in the House. If this is indeed the people's House, the House of Commons that represents the voices of the common people, no voice, world view, value set or concept should be dismissed out of hand. They should be welcomed and embraced. We should have wholesome discussions on these matters, especially a matter pertaining to life and death. No, I will not separate my values nor my world view from that discussion. They help inform the discussion.

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Context: House Hansard - 281 - Feb/13/24

Mr. Richard Bragdon

Feb/13/24 4:03:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I quoted the CEO, Krista Carr of Inclusion Canada. They are raising alarm bells on this matter and this issue at this point. If we do not get this right, we will never get to the other access points. It is absolutely critical that what we do in the House is the most fundamental basic thing, which is to make sure they have access to recovery and to hope. If we do not start there, we will never get to the other very important issues that need to be discussed and debated. Let us start with the fact that they need to make sure we are doing everything, as the people's representatives, to ensure their access to hope and to life.

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Context: House Hansard - 281 - Feb/13/24

Mr. Richard Bragdon

Feb/13/24 10:08:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we request a recorded division.

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