Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault

“Mr. Speaker, it has been said before, and I said it in the original debate in 2016, that nothing in our lifetime prepares a member of Parliament to vote on such a consequential piece of legislation. There really is not. It truly is life or death. This legislation, as it stands today, raises serious questions about how Canada approaches medical assistance in dying, how we protect vulnerable people and what responsibilities the government has to Canadians who are suffering. From the moment I landed as a member of Parliament, I have fought every day for those who serve our country and our community and for those who are struggling and suffering silently. For over 1,000 days, I pushed the previous government to launch a national suicide hotline, 988. I believe life is so precious that we should be doing everything to fight for every breath we have in us. Since 2016, when I really struggled with that vote, I have contacted my pastor a number of times. It went against everything in my faith, in my fibre, everything that I had fought for in the 30 years leading up to my being elected as a member of Parliament. How could I vote with that? Since 2016, I have spoken with probably hundreds if not thousands of Canadians who had loved ones who suffered from cancer or ALS and chose MAID. In December 2023, my mother, from whom I was estranged, was diagnosed with acute leukemia. It was going to attack her brain. It was a painful disease. She chose MAID, and she set a death date. Whatever background we had, I put it aside and sat by her bedside for probably about four months as we marched toward that death date. I was tasked with making her a mixtape, as a matter of fact, to play on that day. Imagine my surprise and my brother’s surprise, as we had mentally prepared for that day, regardless of what our background was with our mother, when we arrived to be told by the doctors that when they were preparing her, she said no. We were frustrated because we knew what was lying ahead for my mom, but that was her choice. We met with the doctors, the medical team, the MAID team, and they said they could not in good conscience administer the final dose of the medication to end her life. That is my story, so I understand where families are. I am troubled by the number of Canadians, such as veterans, who are being offered MAID because they are struggling with PTSD or a mental illness. One in 10 Canadians knows someone who has been offered MAID. Approximately 13 Canadians die by suicide every day. Approximately 100,000 Canadians attempt suicide every year. That is 250 per day. About 20,0000 Canadians are hospitalized every year for self-harm. The MAID numbers are staggering. We are approaching 100,000 Canadians who have chosen to die by MAID. We are seeing commercials for end of life on TV and on social media. I sat with a veteran who was offered MAID. He phoned Veterans Affairs and was offered MAID. Not once, not twice, but three times he was asked if he had considered MAID. I have sat with people who have gone to their doctor for injuries that were causing them unbelievable pain. Our concern is with advance directives, and experts in the medical community have these same concerns. We are asking to split the bill to deal with mental illness and the advance directive separately to give us time to get this as close to right as possible, to put those further safeguards in place. I come at this with the purest of intentions. There was a time when I was consumed with death. It was for about five years. My best friend had died by suicide, and I did not see a way forward. My childhood had been filled with dysfunction and abuse. I was struggling, and I attempted suicide numerous times. I have thought about this, and if MAID had been available at that time, I would have taken it. Then I think about all the things I would have missed. Here I am so many years later, 38 years later, and I love life. I am so thankful I am here. I think of watching my four beautiful children grow up to be amazing adults; of my grandchildren, Ren and Meyer; and of finding the love of my life just at the end of that period of darkness. As Conservatives, we believe that we have to do everything in our power to offer opportunities for getting better, getting the supports people need. We believe in hope. We are in a mental health crisis and an addiction crisis in this country, yet time and again we hear empty promises from the other side. Tomorrow is budget day, and I hope there will be supports in place for mental health. We now spend more money in servicing our debt than we do in health care transfers. The health care transfers that go to our provinces for mental health are pennies on the dollar. We do not view mental health in parity with physical health. If we did that, as a country, we would be healthier and happier, and we would see the numbers go further down. This debate requires Parliament to think carefully about what kind of country we want to be. We must approach suffering people with compassion, respect and dignity, but compassion cannot simply mean offering another option at the end of someone’s suffering. It must mean doing everything we reasonably can to help that person live, to provide treatment, to offer support and to ensure that they are not left alone. On the question of MAID for mental illness, we are clear that we do not support it. I do not support it. We do not believe it should ever be permitted where mental illness is the sole underlying medical condition. Mental illness should be met with treatment, care and hope. Canadians deserve a health care system that gives them a genuine opportunity to recover and a government that works to make care accessible. I truly understand that there are Canadians who are suffering with unbelievable illnesses for whom MAID is perhaps the right choice for them, but as parliamentarians, we must do everything in our power to make sure those safeguards are in place as we move this legislation forward.”