Senator Gold: Thank you for the question. The challenges that Indigenous communities face with inadequate access to health care and the high rates of despair and suicide are tragically well known. Therefore, I have been advised that the subject of MAID is one, frankly, that many communities don’t even want to talk about; consultation and engagement are a two-way street. It’s not something that one can insist on or enforce.

I’ve been advised that it has taken time to bring people to the table and to explore the fact that Parliament has passed a law that says, subject to the sunset clause, access to MAID — where mental illness is the sole underlying condition — will be in effect in three years, and is working with and funding Indigenous communities to better understand. Also, it’s important to listen to and hear from Indigenous communities about what their needs are because their needs are enormous in order to provide care and support for people who find themselves in desperate circumstances, and for whom the resources to support, treat and heal them are inadequate.

The government is doing what it can at the pace that the communities are willing to engage in, and will be reporting on a regular basis to Parliament on the progress of that as well.