44th Parl. 1st Sess.

February 13, 2024 10:00AM

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

Feb/13/24 1:04:18 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I must say, I was very disappointed that the hon. leader of the official opposition was not rising to ask me a question. It would have been a first, and I was so looking forward to my response to him. The hon. member for Châteauguay—Lacolle has asked me a very important question. I am a person of faith. I struggled with this. My constituents convinced me. I spent a lot of time talking to people in Saanich—Gulf Islands, who begged me to support legalizing, removing criminal sanctions for, medical assistance in dying. My view is very personal and a matter of conscience; I do not expect others to agree with me, when they passionately and firmly believe otherwise. I believe all life is sacred, of course. I believe that taking a life, including one's own life, is also a profound matter of deep moral conflict. However, I have no doubt at all that the Christian impulse to compassion is not to allow people to suffer needlessly. Medical science is now allowing us to extend our lives beyond what my grandparents and their peer groups would have experienced. As we extend our—

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House Hansard - 281