Criminal Code
Excerpt from Debates of the Senate (Hansard)
Criminal Code
Bill to Amend—Third Reading—Debate
On the Order:
Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Petitclerc, seconded by the Honourable Senator Gold, P.C., for the third reading of Bill C-7, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying).
In conclusion, I thank Senator Kutcher for bringing this amendment forward, and I invite all senators to join me in supporting it. Thank you.
Hon. Marty Deacon: Honourable senators, I rise on debate in support of Senator Kutcher’s worthy amendment, a needed sunset clause on the exclusion of those with a mental illness from being able to access MAID.
Before I elaborate, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those who have worked hard to ensure witnesses and submissions were well received by the Legal Affairs Committee. A special thanks to the chair, Senator Jaffer, and deputy chair, Senator Batters; this has been incredible, informative and a privilege to virtually observe each day. Words cannot do justice.
I also wish to thank the many Canadians who have emailed with passion their concerns on all aspects of Bill C-7. I also wish to acknowledge the organizations that I’ve had the honour to meet with virtually, that continued to inform my thinking.
This exclusion is just one of a long list of examples of how Canadians with a mental illness have for some time been dismissed, as if their suffering is not understood or somehow is not real. I believe this stems from an inability to empathize with what they are going though. We can understand some of the apparent and visible physiological conditions that would lead someone to consider an assisted death, and though many of us are uncomfortable with it, we are able to put ourselves in their shoes. For me, this bill is all about putting ourselves in someone’s shoes.
However, this is often not the case for mental illness. Unless you have suffered or are suffering or know someone who has suffered or is suffering, it is difficult to identify with what they are going through. It’s why for so long those suffering from mental illness were told to suck it up, regroup, get a grip or get over it. Society dismissed their real struggles because we could not see or empathize with their conditions. So many suffering from mental illness fight every hour of every day to stay alive, to try to manage their symptoms and to develop strategies that help them move through their day. Like many of you, I observe this on a daily basis.
We have come far in some ways in how we approach and treat mental illness. That is why it is disheartening to see this legislation as written. It suggests that their suffering doesn’t warrant every possible option in our health care system; better options and support, including the option to end their life with peace and dignity through MAID.
With this amendment, I believe Senator Kutcher has found a compromise on the issue. The sunset clause strikes an appropriate balance, saying that on the one hand, Canadians suffering from chronic, untreatable mental illness should not be excluded from the right of having access to MAID, and on the other hand, giving some runway to develop the safeguards needed for those with mental illness considering MAID. These safeguards must be developed in consultation with those who suffer the most. This requires time, listening, diverse expertise, respect, the collection of relevant data and the development of accessible training.
This amendment also addresses my fear that while we are at the moment wringing our hands over how to best protect the segment of our population who suffer from these types of afflictions, we will quickly move on to other things if and when this legislation is passed. With the time afforded to us by a sunset clause, we need to rethink on how to best help and treat those suffering from these kinds of ailments.
I would remind my colleagues that roughly one quarter of Canada’s homeless population suffers from mental illness. These are individuals who have been abandoned by society with little to no access to appropriate care and treatment. If we are serious about protecting this segment of the Canadian population so that MAID is an option of last resort, well, let’s make sure they have the options. Let’s work to ensure that all individuals have access to the kinds of support and resources needed to live healthy, dignified lives; that only once every avenue has been exhausted and they still find they are living through inalienable suffering, only then can MAID be considered a viable option.
Lastly, colleagues, I think it’s important that we remind ourselves of the distinction that medical assistance in dying is not suicide. Twice, I alone have come upon someone who had just committed suicide. It is not peaceful. It is not a choice. By excluding those with a mental illness, we are dismissing their very real and valid concerns, and in some rare cases, could lead them to consider taking their lives by their own hand.
With Senator Kutcher’s amendment, we can help them. We can do our best. We can take time to be diligent from coast to coast to coast, but if at the end of the day their suffering is just too unbearable and they have satisfied the many safeguards in place, MAID is their choice. To deny them this right, in my mind, is cruel, and I would ask that you support this amendment before us today. Thank you, meegwetch.