Madam Speaker, it is always an honour to rise on behalf of the residents of Kelowna—Lake Country. I will be splitting my time.

I rise to speak in a concurrence debate that was put forth today regarding the report of the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying, MAID. Conservatives have put forth a dissenting report on this. I will speak from the perspective of the shadow minister for disability inclusion and will speak to the impending Liberal government law on MAID eligibility, coming into effect after the next election, which will include mental illness as a sole underlying condition.

The Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying heard from a range of experts regarding MAID, including clinicians, psychiatrists, disability advocates and mental health experts. Many expressed the same concern regarding including mental health as the sole underlying condition for MAID eligibility. Many experts are saying it is impossible to clinically determine if a patient will be able to recover from a mental health challenge. Dr. John Maher, a clinical psychologist and medical ethicist, told the committee, “Psychiatrists don't know and can't know who will get better and live decades of good life. Brain diseases are not liver diseases.”

Abandoning people with mental illness to turn instead to medical assistance in dying is wrong, and experts in the field agree. The Ontario Medical Association surveyed Ontario psychiatrists in 2021 and found that 91% of respondents opposed the expansion of MAID for mental illness. Only 2% of respondents supported it. This speaks volumes to how wrong the Liberal government is on this issue.

Disability groups are now sounding the alarm over the drastic negative effects MAID can have on those with disabilities and concerns over looking after the most vulnerable. Recently, the Disability Rights Coalition put out a release detailing how those with disabilities are affected by MAID. This coalition includes major disability advocacy organizations, including the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, Inclusion Canada, Indigenous Disability Canada and DAWN Canada, among others. These are organizations whose missions are to support the vulnerable, and we need to consider their concerns.

In a release, the Disability Rights Coalition stated, “MAID has resulted in premature deaths and an increase in discrimination and stigma towards people with disabilities across the country.” Krista Carr, the executive vice president of Inclusion Canada, stated, “We are witnessing an alarming trend where people with disabilities are seeking assisted suicide due to social deprivation, poverty, and lack of essential supports”. Heather Walkus, the national chairperson of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, stated, “Instead of providing the support and resources we need to live, our government is offering death.”

This release comes after a letter was sent to the justice minister in 2022, signed by 50 disability organizations that called for the expansion of MAID for mental illness to be stopped. In this letter, the signatory stated, “To legalize MAiD for mental illness would pour gas on a fire that is already out of control.”

How can we trust the Liberal government with expanding MAID to include those with the sole underlying condition of mental illness when its record on this issue has been so troubling? There have been numerous reports detailing the increasing prevalence of Canadians seeking MAID for circumstances for which it was never intended. Multiple Canadian military veterans who fought for our country and were seeking help from Veterans Affairs were pressured by Veterans Affairs staff to consider medically assisted dying. One veteran, a Paralympian trying to get a wheelchair ramp, testified that a Veterans Affairs employee offered her assisted dying instead of addressing her concerns. A food bank manager from Mississauga reported that clients asked about assisted suicide without a special physical illness. We also heard testimony at the human resources committee from witnesses who were talking about persons with disabilities considering MAID due to the cost of living.

Most recently, CTV reported on a woman who has health conditions making her unable to work, and she applied for MAID for financial reasons. The editorial states:

“I'm very happy to be alive. I still enjoy life. Birds chirping, small things that make up a day are still pleasant to me, they're still enjoyable. I still enjoy my friends,” she said.

“There's a lot to enjoy in life, even if it's small.”

This is where we are in Canada after nine years of the Liberal government. We have all these issues, yet the government continues, undeterred, in proceeding with expanding MAID for those whose sole underlying condition is mental illness. Experts in mental illness and those who support and advocate for persons with disabilities have come out against this, citing concerns for abuse and concerns over protecting the most vulnerable.

I have been very touched by some of the correspondence from residents in Kelowna—Lake Country who have shared their concerns with me. Judith, from my community, wrote to me with her concerns after hearing about the delay in the planned expansion of MAID for those with mental illness as the sole underlying cause. She acknowledged that many people have brought forth many concerns to the government, and she was surprised that the Liberals were now delaying the expansion and not stopping it altogether.

Not every community has the same mental health services, especially in rural and remote areas. I previously spoke to a young woman who was movably shaken by the thought of medical assistance in dying being made available to individuals whose sole underlying condition is mental illness. His deceased mother had struggled with mental illness, and he was extremely angry to hear that the Liberal government had not cancelled outright the option for people to seek MAID under these parameters.

People were rightly concerned about protecting the most vulnerable in our society. It is because of this that the reckless expansion was paused, but it was not halted and stopped altogether. The public outcry and concern are what forced the government to take the first step on the MAID delay for people with the single underlying cause of mental illness. Unfortunately, the pause in this expansion is only that, a pause.

Parliament would be better served in our responsibility to Canadians, particularly vulnerable Canadians, to altogether abandon the expansion of MAID to those with mental illness as the sole underlying condition. We cannot give up on people experiencing mental illness. We must ensure that support is there for help and treatment.

I do not want to give up on people. There are so many people in my riding of Kelowna—Lake Country who suffer from a mental health issue, and it is heartbreaking to think that the government's solution to these issues is offering assisted death. It is the government giving up on those experiencing mental illness.

We must focus on giving people help and hope. We must focus on treatment for mental illness rather than assisted death. The Conservatives do not want to give up on people. Medical assistance in dying cannot be the most accessible solution for individuals with mental illness or for those seeking palliative care that may either not exist or be very limited in the community where someone lives. There are multiple recommendations with respect to palliative care and persons with disabilities in the joint committee's report we are discussing today.

Also, instead of bringing forth changes to expand MAID to persons with mental illness, the Liberals should be focusing on proposals to bolster mental health support for Canadians, many of whom are facing challenges given the last nine years of the Liberal government, which has made life so hard for so many. We have to remember that it was the Conservative member for Cariboo—Prince George who spearheaded the three-digit suicide prevention hotline, 988, in Canada.

As I mentioned, the Liberals did not bring in legislation to cancel the implementation of MAID for those with the sole underlying condition of mental illness; they just delayed it. Instead of these misplaced Liberal policies, building the mental health support systems that Canadians need to live full, fulfilling lives should be the top priority. This is a top priority for the Conservatives in this Parliament and in a future Conservative government.

People suffering from mental health issues need resources to help them. Recovery is possible, and we must never give up hope on anyone. The Conservatives will always stand on the side of the most vulnerable, their loved ones and those who support them.

Tracy Gray

$552,931.00