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Kevin Lamoureux

Replying to Tako Van Popta (Conservative)
“Madam Speaker, my colleague from Winnipeg North is suggesting that Conservatives should look at polls more, and I am suggesting that we should be debating these very deep, ethical, complex issues a whole lot more. Would he agree that we cannot just escape our duty as parliamentarians by looking at the polls, but that we need to do a deep dive and study this, like we did with MAID for mental illness? I would remind the member that, after six years, all the people on that side of the House changed their mind on that issue because of the deep debate that we had on that. Would my colleague agree with me that we need to have a similar debate on this very complex issue of advance medical directives?”

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Madam Speaker, I would not suggest that Parliament has to follow polls. I would suggest that it is imperative, when we talk about an issue like this, that we ensure that we represent the different sides. It should not be all one-sided. For example, I posed a question to one of his colleagues and the remark was that the majority of all the people who contacted that member do not like it, or something of that nature. That is the essence of it. I think we have seen an evolution. I say “evolution” because it really has not been all that fast. We are going back to the nineties. The legislation that the government has put forward is, ultimately, a reflection of today’s times. We do need to move forward, and there is still the opportunity for the provinces and territories to administer it.