Hon. Patrick Brazeau: Honourable senators, I rise today on the topic of Bill C-62, to make a few brief points and to add another dimension to the debate.

As we know, the government proposes a three-year pause on MAID for those with mental illness. Passions run high on this issue from every angle. It is possible — not only that, it is actually the case — that compassionate, thoughtful and loving people will study the same facts and come to opposite conclusions on this legislation.

As noted in the final report of the expert panel on MAID and mental illness, comprehensive and meaningful engagement with Indigenous people has yet to occur. The expert panel says that compared to the non-Indigenous Canadian population, a disproportionate number of Indigenous people live in poverty, have inadequate housing, a lack of clean drinking water and have limited access to education and health care. Let’s add all the mental illnesses that were created because of residential schools over generations, even to this day.

Most alarmingly, as we consider Bill C-62, the report notes that Indigenous leaders have said that in their communities, it is easier to access a way to die than to access the resources they need to live well. As this chamber knows, I have personally spoken on the issue of suicide prevention quite often, but before I go on, I am fully aware that when I mention suicide prevention efforts, some will object that MAID and suicide are different things. Others will feel that there is no ultimate or meaningful difference between the two. I will briefly share my own personal view on the distinction, although I hope that even if you disagree, you will appreciate my perspective.

Quite bluntly, suicide is death caused by injuring oneself with the intent to die. MAID is a procedure in which a patient is given medications to intentionally and safely end their life. The result of both those actions could be the same thing: death. I think this is what causes people to have such strong emotions on the subject matter.

The major and most notable difference between both actions is that people contemplating receiving MAID will likely get the time to think deeply about it — we hope so — and discuss it with family members and other loved ones. It would also include having numerous amounts of discussions with health experts to come to a determination to receive MAID. Unfortunately, oftentimes this is not the case with suicide.

I’m not here to try to convince you of my position on this matter. We do not need to agree on whether the distinction is meaningful or not for the purposes of today’s debate.

[Translation]

If we can provide the help that is so desperately needed, the demand for MAID for people with mental illness will go down. We may never be able to stop it completely, but shouldn’t we do our due diligence to help those who are in crisis?

When I talk about due diligence, I have a simple question: Have we done enough for the men and women suffering from mental illness? What community supports are in place to help people with serious mental illness?

When we closed asylums and opted for community outpatient care instead, did we fund these alternative measures properly? Or did we instead turn a blind eye as the patients from the psychiatric hospitals ended up in the street and in prison?

Desperate families are calling on the governments for help for their loved ones, Your Honour. I have witnessed this several times within my immediate and extended family. For example, my youngest son’s grandmother has had Alzheimer’s for about 15 years. It is really not a good quality of life. That being said, Ms. Violette is turning 100 next week.

When a loved one goes off their meds and poses a danger to themselves or others, family members are often left to face obstacles alone.

Medical assistance in dying exists now.

We’re being asked to wait three years to ensure that the provinces and territories have time to prepare. As the Minister of Health told us directly, “They are not ready.”

I think we need to ask ourselves whether the provinces and territories are ready to care for patients suffering from mental illness today, right now, before we talk about medical assistance in dying.

[English]

I suffer from mental illness. I know what it is to feel alone, broken and hopeless. I know what it is to suffer inside. Physical pain is physical pain. Mental health pain goes to the very core of one’s existence. We all know somebody who suffers from mental illness, but if you’ve never experienced mental health pain, how can you know what pain they are in or what they are suffering? However, I’m not asking you to understand people’s pain. I’m asking you, from this day forward, to be aware of it and — most of all — to be compassionate, non-judgmental and understanding of those suffering from mental illness. They have enough to deal with, and here we are collectively trying to make the best decision for all those people concerned.

I think the best way to deal with this issue is to put our minds, knowledge and expertise — and, most of all, our care and compassion — into focusing on effective ways and new solutions for those suffering from mental illness. Are we really providing a shortcut for people to end their lives because we are not collectively doing what is necessary to help those who are suffering? When will mental health be treated equally to physical health in Canada? We have international days, national days, municipal days and regional days of mental health awareness, but people suffering from mental health live with this every single day of the year.

Regardless of our personal views, MAID exists, and, in 2027, it will be available for those having a mental illness as their sole condition. My hope is that the committee will focus on three areas. These are mostly provincial jurisdictions, but here is where the Senate could be a leader in focusing on better mental health care for Canadians.

First, we need to provide more mental health resources. People who need help need places to go.

Second, we need to investigate the reopening of mental health institutions or mental health centres. I don’t know about you, colleagues, but when I look at the news and see homeless people flooding our streets, well, I’m not an expert, but a whole lot of those people should be in mental health institutions receiving the proper help and care they deserve. Unfortunately, they end up abusing other substances and becoming homeless, and here we are trying to politicize the very problems that are going on in their lives.

Third, I’ll talk about a procedure in Quebec that is called Law P-38. It would put more power into the hands of family members so they could intervene when a loved one has prescribed medication, but decides to stop that medication one day. I know many families like this — one is a distant family where it’s a constant revolving door. A person has been diagnosed with a mental illness and has medication to take. This person takes their medication, but along the way, during the year, decides to stop it. What happens? Well, the family cannot intervene whatsoever because the danger has to be clear, imminent and immediate. Therefore, families are helpless and hopeless. What do you do if somebody who needs to take their medication to, at least, function doesn’t take it? Sometimes they become menaces to society.

Like I said, these are all issues of provincial jurisdiction, and we are talking about MAID. We are talking about Bill C-62, but we have to continue the discussion on providing proper mental health resources to people who need them.

In closing, what protections do we owe those struggling with their mental health? What assistance can we give to desperate family members who feel abandoned by medical authorities as they seek help for their loved one? I’m asking that this chamber consider not putting the cart before the horse. Let’s accept the Minister of Health’s word that more time is needed before extending MAID, but insist that those three years are dedicated to providing mental health care to all who need it.

I thank you for your time.