44th Parl. 1st Sess.

February 13, 2024 10:00AM

Context: House Hansard - 281 - Feb/13/24

Mr. Branden Leslie (Portage—Lisgar, CPC)

Feb/13/24 1:23:43 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-7

Madam Speaker, before I give my speech on this very important topic, I would like to quickly comment on the horrific incident we faced in southern Manitoba over the weekend with the tragic loss of life of two young women and three children. As a father, it is tough to fathom the loss of a child and the impacts it would have on that family's loved ones and friends. It would impact everyone in their lives and, frankly, the broader community. My heart goes out to those of Carman and the surrounding area, and to the friends, families and loved ones of the victims of this horrific incident. It is devastating news for a small community like that, where folks know their neighbours and look out for each other, so I pray for strength during a very dark and incredibly difficult time for our community. To the issue at hand, we are more than a month away from the Liberal government implementing medical assistance in dying for those who suffer from a mental illness. I believe this is heartless, reckless and immoral. Every Canadian has worth, and I, for one, will never give up on those who need help. Never have I seen a government mismanage an issue as critical as this, and while it may be unpleasant for my Liberal colleagues to hear, I believe they must be held to account. Due to the incredibly serious nature of this issue, there is a lot to be answered for. How could the Prime Minister let this happen and let it get to this point? How could the government be so irresponsible and negligent? From day one, our Conservative team in Parliament has been sounding the alarm bell, but we were ignored, and we now find ourselves in an emergency. I believe it is ludicrous that it took the outcry of countless medical professionals to get the Liberals to reverse course on this matter. Witness after witness testified to the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying about the dangers of pressing ahead with this plan. Why did the Prime Minister accept the last-minute amendments put forward by the Senate that dramatically changed the legislative framework for MAID? There was no parliamentary study. There was no consultation with experts or affected groups and no evidence that MAID for mental illness could be implemented safely and appropriately. When the Liberals' original bill, Bill C-7, was put before MPs, at no time did it contain any language about creating a pathway for MAID for those with mental illnesses. In fact, it explicitly ruled that out in its entirety. The original proposed amendment to the Criminal Code specified that “persons whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness are not eligible for medical assistance in dying”. The then Minister of Justice said, “there is no consensus among experts on whether and how to proceed with MAID on the basis of mental illness alone.” The minister then did a 180° and became a proponent of this disastrous course. Due to his actions, and the Prime Minister's rubber-stamping of the those Senate amendments, we are where we are today. This is now the second time the Liberals have had to delay the implementation of their reckless legislation. There will never be a consensus from mental health experts that the government should implement MAID for those who are suffering from a mental illness, and if the Liberals will not listen to me, I implore them to listen to their own expert panel on MAID and mental illness, when it said it is implausible to determine whether a mental disorder is incurable. The panel's report said, “There is limited knowledge about the long-term prognosis for many conditions, and it is difficult, if not impossible, for clinicians to make accurate predictions about the future for an individual patient.” That was echoed by the heads of psychiatry departments of all 17 medical schools, who called on the Liberals to stop this plan from being implemented on March 17. I completely agree with these experts, but not only should we pause this law from being implemented, we need to permanently end it once and for all. Let me be perfectly clear. Instead of delaying, the government needs to introduce a bill to ensure that it never happens. When I ran to become a member of Parliament, this was a key plank of my platform. I pledged to do everything I could to stop the Liberals from ever implementing this dangerous idea, and the sad reality is that the Prime Minister—

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House Hansard - 281