Life or Death

Canadians will have access to medical assistance in dying (MAiD) when their only condition is mental illness.  The only question is when.

In the past, I supported MAiD legislation because we need to have a legal framework around life and death choices and decisions.

This is a complex issue with strong opinions on both sides. It was important that my constituents were heard and so I quoted from the many letters I received during my House of Commons speech.

I am a big proponent of hospice and palliative care which must always be a viable and available option to someone contemplating MAiD. As a member of the House of Commons on Health, I worked on these palliative care issues across Canada. I strongly feel that Canadians should have access to the support and care that they need during the toughest times in one’s life.

Advanced requests for MAID is definitely something the federal government needs to consider.  I look forward to a debate on this particular issue and am interested to know what safeguards are proposed to ensure the any legislation would work as intended.

However, I do not support the expansion of MAiD to those where mental illness as the sole eligibility reason. I spoke about this at length in the House of Commons and shared the very personal story of Anton and how he helped me come to this decision.  You can read the speech here.

As I said in my speech, “We need to put vulnerable Canadians back in control of their lives. We want to see them get the help they need and provide them with the social and mental health supports they need. We must never give up on them and allow them to prematurely choose MAID over access to mental health care.”