Marie-Hélène Gaudreau

Mr. Speaker, Procedure · 49 wordsI am deeply moved by the topic of our discussion. Allow me to explain why. I will start by asking those present and those watching at home to raise their hand if they have cared for someone at the end of their life who sought medical assistance in dying.Procedure Aside · 30 wordsWe are not alone. We can ask people who have lived through the experience and people who are as afraid of this word as they are of the name “Voldemort”.Aside Claims · 7 wordsSome people are afraid of discussing death, Reasoning · 28 wordsbut death is part of life. This evening, we are talking about a change to the Criminal Code and a serious offence because it involves talking about death. Procedure · 14 wordsThat is exactly the issue. I would like to look back over Quebec’s experience.Procedure Claims · 14 wordsThe Parti Québécois opened the debate on medical assistance in dying back in 2012, ¹Procedure · 5 wordsas my colleagues will remember.Procedure Claims · 16 wordsNot only was it a human-centred process, it involved a highly collegial approach to human dignity. Thanks · 10 wordsI want to commend Véronique Hivon for setting partisanship aside.Thanks Claims · 40 wordsToday, that approach is paying off. In 2014, three years before my father passed away, the minister of health and social services, Gaétan Barrette, was spearheading this file with Ms. Hivon.² All parties in the National Assembly reached an agreement, ³Reasoning · 21 wordsbecause they showed a willingness to understand. No one can understand what the individual is going through. Even I cannot understand, Claims · 46 wordsand I lived this experience for 20 years. Quebec is not alone. MAID is also available in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Colombia, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Portugal and several of the U.S. states, to name just a few.⁴ Some of those places have had it for decades. Procedure · 8 wordsI would like to share my own story.Procedure Reasoning · 18 wordsIt will make it clear that our issue is not with proposing a change to the Criminal Code. Aside · 16 wordsIn 1997, I was very, very young. I still am, but that will not last forever.Aside Claims · 134 wordsIn 1997, we received devastating news. My father was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.⁵ Those who knew Mauril Bélanger, who was a member of the House of Commons, know that it can progress very quickly.⁶ In my case, in our family’s case, it lasted 20 years.⁷ Over the course of 20 years, my father gradually lost his ability to move and take care of himself, and he had to rely on others. I had many discussions with my father. We never had an inclination to talk about the reality of what happens to all of us, that is, that we are born, we live and then we die. When the time came, when his physical and psychological suffering became unbearable, it made perfect sense to talk about it, but it was still extremely difficult. Procedure · 5 wordsHere is what I learned.Procedure Claims · 35 wordsI could not imagine losing my father, who was of sound mind but was suffering. He was the one who told me that we needed to talk about it and learn what options were available. Procedure · 14 wordsI am sorry, Mr. Speaker, but this is a very sensitive subject for me, ProcedureClaims · 7 wordsand I can hear people having conversations. Procedure · 18 wordsIf they want to discuss medical assistance in dying, we can talk about it later outside the House—Procedure