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QUESTION PERIOD — Justice

Medical Assistance in Dying

May 10, 2022


Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition)

Honourable senators, my question today is for the government leader in the Senate.

Leader, in April, CTV News reported that:

A 51-year-old Ontario woman with severe sensitivities to chemicals chose medically-assisted death after her desperate search for affordable housing free of cigarette smoke and chemical cleaners failed . . . .

CTV also reported last month that a 61-year-old woman suffering from mental and physical problems following a car accident chose a medically assisted death last October. As well, a 31-year-old woman is nearing final approval for medically assisted death to escape what she described as abject poverty.

Leader, a few years ago when you spoke to Bill C-7 in this place, you said:

Bill C-7 strikes a reasonable balance between the rights of individuals to seek access to MAID and the safeguards necessary to protect the most vulnerable in society. . . .

Leader, do you still believe that? If so, can you explain how those safeguards have failed these three women?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate) [ + ]

Thank you for your question, colleague. The stories you told are tragic and our hearts go out to the families who have suffered.

I still believe that the bill we passed did strike a reasonable balance. I am encouraged as well by the work of the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying to seek improvements to the law. I’m confident that we in the Senate and our colleagues in the other place will continue to work to ensure that the law continues to strike the appropriate balance.

Leader, in November of 2020, Krista Carr of Inclusion Canada warned us that, “Our biggest fear has always been that having a disability would become an acceptable reason for state-provided suicide.”

Sadly, Senator Gold, one of you is right. One of the women I mentioned earlier suffered from chemical sensitivities that research shows could have been addressed. Another couldn’t find affordable housing and received little to no help, so she has opted for medically assisted death.

Senator Gold, do you recognize that helping these women to live was proving difficult, so helping them to die was easier? Will you admit that the so-called safeguards in MAID that you argued would protect the most vulnerable in society are, in fact, doing nothing of the sort?

Senator Gold [ + ]

Thank you for your question. The short answer — and I will be brief, as I’ve been recommended to be — is no, I do not agree, senator.

Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition) [ + ]

Honourable senators, my question for the government leader also concerns medical assistance in dying.

On April 13, when testifying before the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying, Ms. Abby Hoffman, Executive Advisor to the Deputy Minister of Health, admitted that the government has not really begun consultations with Indigenous communities on the changes to the MAID regime in Canada. Bill C-7 received Royal Assent on March 17, 2021 — more than a year ago.

Senator Gold, why has your government once again failed to consult Indigenous communities regarding its planned changes to the MAID regime?

Senator Gold [ + ]

Thank you for your question. I will certainly make inquiries to better understand the substance of your question.

The changes that may occur to the MAID regime will be a function of the work of the special joint parliamentary committee and whatever legislation is introduced — legislation which, of course, we will have a role to review and oversee.

Senator Martin [ + ]

Leader, in accordance with Bill C-7, your government has set up a panel of experts to recommend protocols, guidance and safeguards for requests for medical assistance in dying by persons who have a mental illness. These individuals will be eligible for MAID in March of 2023, as you know.

Ms. Hoffman told the committee that the expert panel’s recommendations would be made public sometime later this month.

Senator Gold, how do you explain that the expert panel will make its recommendations on MAID for persons with a mental illness without any input from Indigenous communities?

Senator Gold [ + ]

Again, thank you for your question. I repeat that I will make inquiries to understand the sources that fed into the expert opinion. I have every assurance that I’ll have answers that I can provide in a timely fashion.

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