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House Hansard - 281

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 13, 2024 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 281 - Feb/13/24
Mr. Michael Cooper (St. Albert—Edmonton, CPC)
  • Feb/13/24 5:01:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think it is absolutely disgusting that the parliamentary secretary to the government House leader would stick his head in the sand and deny well-documented cases of abuse and non-compliance with respect to so-called safeguards that are supposedly in place and are to be enforced. It is just disgusting, when speaking of some of the most vulnerable persons in Canadian society. With respect to the member and her speech, she talked about Conservative obstruction. I would remind her that every member of Parliament, from all recognized parties, on the committee, which I served in, said to put a pause on this expansion, so did chairs of psychiatry, and so did the Province of Quebec in the national assembly, when the committee determined that mental illness as a sole underlying condition was not appropriate in the context of MAID. I will tell members that when I hear evidence that clinicians could get it wrong 50% of the time, in other words like the flip of a coin, I will obstruct that expansion.
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Context: House Hansard - 281 - Feb/13/24
Ms. Marie-Hélène Gaudreau (Laurentides—Labelle, BQ)
  • Feb/13/24 9:34:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am going to try to recover from that. It is a good thing I wrote down a few words, because I have a lot to say tonight. My goal is for those who do not want to listen to me to leave the chamber. They can listen to my speech again tomorrow morning when they are feeling good and ready to hear about the beauty of life and something that is part of life. I will start with this. As we have said many times this evening, Quebec is ahead of the curve when it comes to these matters. It has been 10 years since the Quebec National Assembly passed medical assistance in dying, based on the work of the Select Committee on Dying with Dignity. Dignity is about respect for the individual. Dignity is the foundation of the issue we are talking about. Neither partisanship nor any creation dictates who we are. We are talking about human dignity. I hope that my colleague who just left and who had another point of view on the issue will have the opportunity to listen to the interpretation of my speech. This is a very sensitive issue. It is a social issue with serious consequences. That is why it is important. That is why the work that my colleague did and that the entire special joint committee did is important. They realized that there was a little something missing to ensure that there are no flaws in the process concerning the choice of our lives. We are talking about dying, but it is our life. Who can make decisions about our life? It is vital to understand that society as it is today is moving forward much more quickly than legislators are. That is a fact, so we have to have the courage to act. We took an extra year. What concerns me is that we cannot know where we will be in three years. Can we get a guarantee on that promise? When my constituents talk to me about promises, they say that they will believe it when they see it. People are suffering now. We need to act now. I am addressing all of my colleagues. Let us get this straight. I am sorry to bother my colleagues, but what I am saying is very important. It is late and we are all going to bed soon. I am sorry, but this issue affects me deeply. An hon. member: It is a matter of respect. Ms. Marie‑Hélène Gaudreau: Yes, Mr. Speaker, it is a matter of dignity and respect. The role of the government is not to claim to know better than an individual what is good for that individual concerning something as personal as their own death. We are talking about people enduring intolerable suffering, sometimes for decades. I am not talking about a headache. Who are we to know what is good for them? If we could agree on that at least, we could probably make a lot of progress. Maybe partisanship would be set aside for once. Dying is part of life. The only thing a human being knows when they are born is that they are going to die. Am I telling my colleagues anything new? The answer is no. Having the right to choose for oneself, based on one's values and level of suffering, is that possible in a free country, or in any case a very free Quebec? It is essential. In Quebec, we have a consensus. Quebec society is ready. Quebeckers have been looking at this for decades. Just because other provinces want to intervene on this issue does not mean we have to infringe on the rights of people who are ceaselessly crying out to us for help. My father said, “I can't live in this coffin any longer”. He had ALS. I think MPs are familiar with this disease, as one of the members suffered from it a few years ago. “My body can't take it anymore. I want to live, but I can't stand the suffering anymore.” That is the crux of the issue. There are still certain pieces missing, particularly when it comes to expertise. There are still pieces missing when it comes to ensuring there is no bias when the choice is made. In 2015, when my father requested MAID, he was not eligible. ALS is a death sentence, but no one knows when the disease will progress to the terminal stage. His death was a long, drawn-out process. My father always said that human beings must be respected throughout their journey. How does it feel to see someone suffer? We want to help and support them, but when we know there is no way out, no treatment, no hope, what do we do? Some will say that these people must continue to suffer and simply wait for death to come. My father used to say that he was living in his coffin. My father's illness changed my life because I witnessed it for 20 years. I agree that we need to address the process. What is left to do? We need a few more meetings. That is what we have been hearing for the past few days. I invite members of the House to reach out to someone who has experienced this process first-hand with a loved one. That is what I went through with my father. Above all, we must avoid talking drivel. I often hear remarks that I will not repeat. Who are they to say such unbelievable things? I will conclude my speech with the following. When people are suffering unbearably, when science does not allow them to have any hope, they must have a choice. It is a matter of solidarity, humanity, altruism and compassion. That is why, this evening, in light of everything I have just said, I move the following amendment: That the motion be amended by deleting all the words after the word “That” and substituting the following: “the House decline to give second reading to Bill C-62, An Act to amend An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying), No. 2, as no clause addresses the call for the Government of Canada, adopted unanimously by the Quebec National Assembly, to amend the Criminal Code to align with the Quebec legislation on end-of-life care by allowing advance consent requests.”.
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