SoVote

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

Mr. Gérard Deltell (Louis-Saint-Laurent, CPC)

Feb/13/24 10:40:05 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to thank the minister and congratulate him on the quality of his French. I knew him when he arrived in 2015, and I have seen his progress, step by step. I would like to sincerely congratulate him on his French. That is where my congratulations end. It is never a victory when a time allocation motion is introduced in a debate on an issue as sensitive as medical assistance in dying. This topic should be free from partisanship, because there is no right or wrong position. There are only the positions with which we are at ease as legislators. Opposing opinions should always be respected. Some of our friends, family members and loved ones may take the exact opposite view, and they are right. That is what a non-partisan debate is. That is what a debate about personal quality of life is. As my colleague from Montcalm illustrated so well, the minister had a year to take action, but he did nothing. We realize that the Prime Minister decided to change justice ministers, as is his right and privilege, and we also realize that the predecessor to this Minister of Justice had a different approach. However, in the face of such a delicate issue, why act so quickly when we need to make room for every possible opinion? This is not a partisan issue, let us not make it one.

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

Mr. Gérard Deltell

Feb/13/24 12:20:34 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, for starters, yes, the work took place over a period of six years under three different governments. There were two elections during that time. That is exactly what I said earlier. This is not meant to be a partisan issue. It took years for the debate to come before the House. We know that, but we also know that it would not have been a good idea to start a debate on this issue, which is supposed to be non-partisan, on the eve of an election campaign. I think my colleague would agree, especially since, as we know, there was a lot of opposition on all sides regarding many issues at the time, and the people spoke. On the issue of prior consent, personally, I agree, as my colleague said.

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

Mrs. Jenica Atwin (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Services, Lib.)

Feb/13/24 3:26:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the member whether he could speak more specifically to the work of the special committee and how important it was for us to be non-partisan in approach. Medical assistance in dying is such an important and deeply personal issue. It was really the work of the committee that helped us arrive at the decision.

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

Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)

Feb/13/24 3:27:00 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-62

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the fact that the member emphasized how this is a deeply personal issue, to use her words. That is why, at the beginning of my comments earlier today before question period, I tried to amplify why it is so important that the House reflect on what brought us here today. I reflect on the debates that took place in early 2016, which were conducted in more of a non-partisan approach where members of all political parties talked about what is a very important issue. Nothing has changed in the sense of the importance of the issue. We are talking about an issue of death, and we see that Conservatives are putting a twist on it in an attempt to politicize the issue to the degree that there is some silliness as to what is being implied. I like to think that anyone who is even entertaining the idea of accessing MAID takes it very seriously. That is the reason why, in good part, I believe that every member of the House, party politics aside, should be looking at what the Supreme Court of Canada right back to 2015, and the Charter of Rights, said our responsibility is as legislators: to come forward with good, sound public policy. I believe that over the years, including today with Bill C-62, we have been addressing a very important issue and that the three-year extension is needed because of the response we are getting from stakeholders, in particular our provinces.

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