Rosemarie Falk

“Madam Speaker, my colleague spoke about suicidal crises. A suicidal crisis is reversible and does not make someone eligible for MAID. She talked about the gaps in the health care system, but that has nothing to do with eligibility for MAID. If she has read the expert panel’s report, she must know that for someone to be assessed—without necessarily getting a positive decision at the end of the process—the guidelines state that all available treatments must have been tried. The available treatments will span a number of years, if not decades. This is not a matter of whether or not health care is accessible. People cannot apply for MAID if they have not received care. If a person has not tried every possible treatment over a number of years and has refused one that could have improved their condition, they are no longer eligible for MAID. There are guidelines in the expert report. I suggest that my colleague read it.”