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House Hansard - 283

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 15, 2024 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 283 - Feb/15/24
Mr. Yasir Naqvi
  • Feb/15/24 10:44:08 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the hon. member and I were both at the committee last night, which heard from quite a few experts on MAID. I think it was fairly clear that there was a difference of opinion as to the readiness of the system. There were some experts who believe that MAID for people with mental illness could be provided as early as March 17, 2024. However, the member is right. There is a letter from seven provinces and three territories that have asked for an extension to the period. The government feels that a three-year period is the right amount of time for the medical profession and the provinces and territories to be ready to be able to provide MAID to people with mental illness, with appropriate safeguards.
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Context: House Hansard - 283 - Feb/15/24
Mrs. Tracy Gray (Kelowna—Lake Country, CPC)
  • Feb/15/24 1:10:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have heard from a lot of people in the disability community, advocacy groups, who advocate for persons with disabilities. They have come out very strongly against expanding MAID for people where the sole underlying condition is mental illness. I wonder if the member can speak to that, if he has heard that as well, and also to the concept that it should not be easier to get MAID than it is to access mental health and addiction treatment.
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Context: House Hansard - 283 - Feb/15/24
Mr. Brad Vis
  • Feb/15/24 1:24:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Nepean for a very fair question and for some of the points he made. Are we simply catching up in Canada as it relates to the availability of MAID? Perhaps in some cases, but under the current legislation, there has to be a foreseeable death. I believe that the way information is exchanged, access to MAID, and the access to information that people have, has led to a rapid increase, yes. However, I will also note that there was an individual in my community of Abbotsford who accessed MAID because she did not feel she had a place to live. That story was well documented in Canada. She did not believe that she had the support she needed to live a life that was respectable. I believe that with the normalization of MAID, for people who do not feel they have a lot of hope in life, it has become a more readily available option. My message today is that all people should have hope.
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Context: House Hansard - 283 - Feb/15/24
Mrs. Cheryl Gallant (Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, CPC)
  • Feb/15/24 4:44:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it was not that long ago that “made in Canada” was a phrase we were proud of. We have teenagers who, sometimes for the very first time in their lives, are encountering adversity. It is a psychological crisis to them. They react in such a way that they are actually trying to commit suicide. It is often said that an attempt at suicide is a cry for help. They end up in the hospital for a time. We have seen, with veterans, how some of them who seem to be near the end of life have been encouraged to use MAID. Is there anything in this legislation that would explicitly prevent medical workers from suggesting MAID to people who attempt suicide but thankfully are not deceased as a consequence of it?
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