Discussion · Government Orders
Sean Fraser Liberal
“Hearing personal stories shows how our laws affect real people. A man with Alzheimer's asked me to change this law so his children would not have to watch him suffer the way he watched his mother suffer. These stories show why this issue is so important.”
“Mr. Speaker, I remember very well the speech that the member gave about Audrey Parker. In fact, it was one of the first occasions I heard debate in the House on the issue of advance requests, and I remember, through tears, his ability to deliver something so impassioned that it moved me. I have had the opportunity to sit down with families who have been through experiences with medical assistance in dying and people who wished they had access to it. In one instance, I had the opportunity to sit at the kitchen table with a man, who is no longer with us, who explained to me what it was like to see his mother who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s cease to know that he was her son. He, sadly, was diagnosed with the same condition. He asked me, should I ever have the opportunity before I found myself in this position, to consider advancing changes to the laws to provide certainty for him that he would not subject his children to the same pain that he lived through. These stories change us as people. They cause us to look at issues from a perspective that we did not experience ourselves, but this places upon us the weight of the responsibility for a decision that is seriously about life and death. As such, to the member’s point, the stories are how people experienced these laws, and they are absolutely everything, as they communicate the importance of these issues.”
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Reply to a debate question
Signal 24 of 100
Much of this statement went to praise, blame, greetings, routine procedure or general stories rather than reasons, requests or specific points.
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Mr. Speaker, I remember very well the speech that the member gave about Audrey Parker. In fact, it was one of the first occasions I heard debate in the House on the issue of advance requests, and I remember, through tears, his ability to deliver something so impassioned that it moved me. I have had the opportunity to sit down with families who have been through experiences with medical assistance in dying and people who wished they had access to it. In one instance, I had the opportunity to sit at the kitchen table with a man, who is no longer with us, who explained to me what it was like to see his mother who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s cease to know that he was her son. He, sadly, was diagnosed with the same condition. He asked me, should I ever have the opportunity before I found myself in this position, to consider advancing changes to the laws to provide certainty for him that he would not subject his children to the same pain that he lived through. These stories change us as people. They cause us to look at issues from a perspective that we did not experience ourselves, but this places upon us the weight of the responsibility for a decision that is seriously about life and death. As such, to the member’s point, the stories are how people experienced these laws, and they are absolutely everything, as they communicate the importance of these issues.