Hon. Renée Dupuis: Would Senator Kutcher agree to take a question?

[English]

Senator Kutcher: Certainly.

[Translation]

Senator Dupuis: Thank you for your speech, Senator Kutcher; I found it to be very thorough.

I’d like to go back to the very last part of your speech, and the fourth point in particular. You were explaining that procedures have been put in place and training programs are being developed.

However, there is one aspect that bothers me, and that is the fourth point that you brought up. You said that the government will also have time to look at the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying report, which was tabled in February 2023.

However, the issue on the agenda was actually mental illness and how it relates to part of the legislation that was going to come into effect a few days later and allow access to medical assistance in dying.

The government is saying that it wants to push back the implementation of this access to medical assistance in dying by one year. You’re right to point out that many people are very disappointed, if not confused, by this proposed delay.

Are you saying that the part of the report by the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying that the government would like to examine covers only mental disorder or did the special joint committee examine all the issues? If we open the door to other considerations in the upcoming year and agree to delay the coming into force of this part of the legislation, we can very well imagine that one year from now the government will come back to us and say that it hasn’t had the time to consider the issue of mature minors or the other issues that were included in the committee’s report.

What guarantees do you have from the government that, if we delay for one more year, the government will only consider the issue of mental disorders?

[English]

Senator Kutcher: Thank you, senator. That is an excellent question.

There are four members, including our esteemed co-chair, who have sat on this joint committee, and it has been a challenge that we have all taken on. It did cover much ground, as you have said. It addressed mental illness as a sole condition. It looked at advance requests. It looked at mature minors and a number of other topics.

My understanding is that this legislation is specifically focusing on extending the issue around MAID for mental illness as a sole underlying medical condition and the government’s analysis of the joint committee’s report related to this particular topic. This particular bill will focus on that.

My understanding is that the other aspects that the joint committee looked at will also be considered by the government, but are not part of the considerations related to this specific topic.

However, we’ll have two ministers here tomorrow. I think it would be much better for them to speak on behalf of the government than for me to do it because I don’t speak on behalf of the government.

Thank you for your question, and hopefully you can raise that again with them tomorrow.

[Translation]