Discussion · Government Orders
Marie-Hélène Gaudreau Bloc Québécois
“We are not rushing this bill. We have talked about it for five years, and Quebec already has good models for it. People should be allowed to ask for medical assistance in dying in advance, before a disease like Alzheimer's takes away their dignity.”
“Madam Speaker, the first thing I want to say is that there is no rush. We have been talking about this for five years, and Quebec has spent years working on it. Let us look at the models in place. They should not be dismissed just because they come from Quebec. I want to make an analogy. I know someone who has been in politics his entire life. Image matters. Let us imagine that he unfortunately develops Alzheimer’s. He makes a request to his loved ones in case there comes a day when he starts to behave completely differently, when they no longer recognize him, when he stops being able to feed himself and when he no longer behaves the way he did when he was in politics. I am not making a link here. When he arrives arrive at a long-term care facility, he keeps wanting to take his clothes off and starts flirting with all the women. An advance request gives a person a way to say that, if they get dementia or any other disease, they never want their loved ones to let them go through this. Is that not legitimate in terms of human dignity?”
Madam Speaker, the first thing I want to say is that there is no rush. We have been talking about this for five years, and Quebec has spent years working on it. Let us look at the models in place. They should not be dismissed just because they come from Quebec. I want to make an analogy. I know someone who has been in politics his entire life. Image matters. Let us imagine that he unfortunately develops Alzheimer’s. He makes a request to his loved ones in case there comes a day when he starts to behave completely differently, when they no longer recognize him, when he stops being able to feed himself and when he no longer behaves the way he did when he was in politics. I am not making a link here. When he arrives arrive at a long-term care facility, he keeps wanting to take his clothes off and starts flirting with all the women. An advance request gives a person a way to say that, if they get dementia or any other disease, they never want their loved ones to let them go through this. Is that not legitimate in terms of human dignity?