Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, federal pharmacare is not necessarily just around the corner. Bill C-64 talks about a principle “to consider when working towards the implementation of national universal pharmacare”. In other words, it is basically just another election promise. Frankly, the NDP got bought off cheap. If, after discussing a principle to consider when working towards implementation, Ottawa actually wer…
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Mr. Speaker, when it comes to health, Quebeckers want care, not threats. A year after forcing Quebec to accept an increase in transfers that cover only one-sixth of our needs, the federal government is threatening to steal $900 million from Quebec if it does not meet the government's conditions by March 31. The Liberals are once again playing political games at Quebeckers' expense and with Quebeck…
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Mr. Speaker, I would call for a bit more decorum in the House. First, I think it is important to say that the Bloc Québécois will be supporting this motion as a matter of principle. The leader of the Bloc Québécois was the first to call for an independent inquiry, the implementation of a reimbursement procedure and oversight of the agency. The leader of the official opposition is merely blowing sm…
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Madam Speaker, the motion before us today, which was championed by the last Conservative member who spoke, states that the government should produce all the documents, all the reports, so that we can get to the bottom of this. We think it needs to go a step further. Would she not agree, given all the allegations of misconduct at the CBSA, that it should immediately be put under administrative supe…
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Madam Speaker, the leader of the Bloc Québécois has called for an independent public inquiry. He called for the money to be returned and for the CBSA to be placed under administrative supervision. He has said that right from the start. My colleague, quite rightly, tells us that this is an outrageous scandal. We are going to vote in favour of the motion. On the other hand, if, even before the Audit…
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Madam Speaker, we just witnessed a great NDP-Conservative coalition. The member is reiterating the Conservatives' argument to the effect that the ruling in Gladu and Truchon was not challenged before the Supreme Court. However, the reason why it was not challenged before the Supreme Court is that people were suffering and Ms. Gladu and Mr. Truchon deserved to have relief. This was based on the Car…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague complains that people are accusing him of fearmongering, but he is unable to use the right technical terms to debate this issue. The Council of Canadian Academies does not refer to children. Referring to children in general shows a lack of intellectual rigour in a debate like this. The right term is “mature minors”. For example, at the age of 15, Charles Gignac was diag…
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Madam Speaker, I will start with an assertion whose veracity will become clear. With Bill C-62, the cowardly Liberal government brought forth a mouse. If we are talking about Bill C‑62 today, it is because Bill C‑7 created the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying when it passed. The committee's mandate was to review the medical assistance in dying legislation, in particular as re…
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Madam Speaker, I have said it repeatedly, the Bloc Québécois wants Bill C‑62 to include a section on advance requests for MAID. This is our main objection. We tried to introduce amendments in step with Quebec's request and that of the whole National Assembly. Where mental disorders are concerned, we start from the premise that psychiatry is unable to ease the suffering of every patient stricken by…
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Madam Speaker, I challenge anyone to find petty partisanship or political calculation in any of my speeches. I always focus on the issue at hand. Since 2015, what I have come to realize is that, unfortunately, parliamentarians here in the House are not on the same page as Quebec parliamentarians. Time for reflection is sorely lacking here. We could have had some time for reflection—since 2021, act…
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Madam Speaker, first of all, we have to start from the premise that all health care workers are basically caring and compassionate people. The premise of MAID's opponents is based on their belief that certain fundamentally malevolent and evil people want to get rid of vulnerable members of our society. It seems rather surprising that the Conservatives, as economic libertarians, believe that the st…
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Mr. Speaker, first of all, we are not talking about advance directives. That has already been settled. We are talking about advance requests. Second of all, in my speech this morning—because this is a reply to the speech I made this morning—I never said that not enough work had been done. The Bloc Québécois's position is that one year is enough and that we will see after one year, immediately afte…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague's tone was measured. I think there is space to reflect. People can start from a premise, any premise he wants. However, when I listen to him, it is as though he is saying that all mental disorders are reversible and remediable, whereas all the experts, whether they are for or against MAID, are of the opinion that irremediability is a sticking point. However, they do not d…
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Mr. Speaker, I have two comments. First, my colleague says that we could have contested Justice Baudoin's ruling. However, Justice Beaudoin was referring to the Carter decision, which demonstrated in a way that people with a degenerative disease, like Ms. Gladu and Mr. Truchon, should have ended their lives. The right to life is certainly not about allowing people to commit suicide before reaching…
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Mr. Speaker, we have heard that a lot in this debate. We all want to be on the side of the angels. We all want to improve socio-economic conditions. The expert report does take structural vulnerabilities into account, and no assessor is authorized to grant a request for medical assistance in dying if there is any possibility that the request came about because of a structural vulnerability. I paid…
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Mr. Speaker, we often hear the argument that investments must be made in mental health to prevent mental illness and severe mental disorders. I did not hear his leader say that he was going to put more on the table in terms of health transfers. Will the Conservatives propose a substantial increase in health transfers?
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Madam Speaker, I am having a hard time understanding what my colleague is saying. He knows very well that structural vulnerabilities, such as poverty, have an impact on overall health. Is he saying that we need to deal with that before we can allow people who are mentally ill to get relief from their irremediable suffering? That is what I am getting from his speech, when recommendations 5 and 6 of…
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Mr. Speaker, it is being said that we must move quickly to adopt Bill C-62 to save people. I am all in favour of implementing social programs to save people, but does the member have a different point of view from the Conservatives right now? If we invest in social programs, will people all of a sudden get relief after 30 years of suffering and inadequate treatment? The accessibility of frontline …
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Mr. Speaker, some Conservatives seem to think the Criminal Code no longer exists. We have had these debates before. When someone nefarious is working in the health care system, they simply need to be fired and reported to the police. That can happen. The provisions are there. I therefore invite my colleagues who know of cases like this, which are always very specific cases, to report these people …
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Mr. Speaker, I have two questions for the member for Sherbrooke. First, her minister acknowledged that Quebec's interdepartmental action plan for 2022-26 was excellent. We have heard a number of people here say that mental health services need to be improved. What is she waiting for to transfer the money to Quebec? Second, given what our Conservative colleagues have said, does she realize that by …
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Madam Speaker, I have high regard for my colleague. We are both members of the Standing Committee on Health. However, I am a bit shocked this evening. I say this quite honestly and without being condescending, but, if I were to return to teaching and present a speech to show how much sophistry there can be in one speech, I would take his. It is a perfect example. On one hand, he says he knows what…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague is claiming that Bill C-14 resulted in good legislation with its reasonably foreseeable natural death criterion. However, that did not even address the Carter ruling, since Ms. Carter did not have a condition that made her terminally ill. The Supreme Court ordered Parliament to regulate situations like those of Ms. Carter and Ms. Taylor. Limiting medical assistance in d…
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Madam Speaker, I have great deal of compassion for my colleague and want to thank him for so generously sharing his life experience. He says he speaks for those who have no voice, and he is living proof that suicidal ideation is reversible. I wonder if he could dig a bit deeper and acknowledge that there are people who have no voice, who have yet to find a psychiatric treatment that eases their su…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague opposite was wondering about the Carter decision. In my opinion, Carter clearly demonstrates that absolute prohibition of people with mental health issues would indeed be discriminatory and stigmatizing. That said, I would like to ask him the following question. My colleague obviously supports his government's bill, which defers application of the law by three years. Does…
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Mr. Speaker, Quebec would not have to ask for an exemption if Ottawa had implemented the majority recommendations on advance requests issued a year ago by the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying. Quebec is ready today, and patients should not have to suffer because of the government's inaction. If it does not want to condemn people to suffer needlessly, the federal government ha…
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Mr. Speaker, medical assistance in dying is about freedom of choice. The role of the state is not to decide for the person who is suffering; it is to guarantee the conditions under which people can make a free and informed choice. If someone does not want medical assistance in dying, they can simply not ask for it. The National Assembly is unanimous: Quebec is ready. It has its own legislation. Wi…
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Mr. Speaker, I request a recorded division.
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Madam Speaker, I am sure my colleague's intention is not to exploit the pain of people who have been enduring irremediable suffering for decades. However, she is repeating an argument that we have heard often in this debate and that I feel is something completely separate. The issue of access to primary mental health care has nothing to do with the decision we must make on whether to expand medica…
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Madam Speaker, that is a rather accurate summary of what happened in committee. The government decided to include in legislation the committee's main recommendation on mental disorders. My colleague sat on the committee that produced the report tabled in February 2023, which recommended allowing advance requests. Why has his government not introduced a section on advance requests after a year of w…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague gave us a history lesson. He said that his party was not able to move forward because there was an election. I would point out to him that Quebec has had two elections in those six years of work on MAID. That did indeed delay the work, as he will agree. However, I do agree with him that Quebec's approach crosses party lines and is far more thorough. Some people complain…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague participated in all three sessions on the issue. When Quebec tabled its report and when we voted on Bill C-7 in 2021, I was very reluctant to consider opening up MAID to mental disorders. However, I worked my way through the experts' report and I invite my colleague to read it again. My colleague says there is nothing in the legislation. However, it does not have to be in…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to know whether my colleague thinks that, one day, it will be possible to alleviate the suffering of people struggling with an irremediable mental disorder. I would also like to know whether he agrees that it would have been wiser for the government to implement the joint committee's leading recommendation regarding advance requests and to take advantage of the introducti…
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Mr. Speaker, the minister did not answer one aspect of my question. Why the double standard? The minister had a full year to implement the recommendation of the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying concerning advance requests. An Ipsos poll of 3,500 people showed 85% support across Canada. If the minister does not know that, he is not staying on top of his file. As far as postpon…
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Mr. Speaker, the minister's answer to the question posed by my colleague from Rivière-du-Nord is inadequate. Yes, in 2021, Quebec ruled on the issue before the report of the expert panel on mental illness was published. However, the minister had a year to implement the most widely held recommendation of the special joint committee on medical assistance in dying concerning advance requests. Even a …
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Madam Speaker, when it comes to MAID, this government is not exactly a shining example of proactivity. After the Carter decision, it took a long time for the government to table a half-decent bill. Bill C‑14 was pretty worthless. It was a poor imitation of the Quebec legislation and was far from addressing the crux of the Carter decision. That being said, the issue of proactivity is still relevant…
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Madam Speaker, with all due respect to my colleague, who sits with me at the Standing Committee on Health, I invite him to reread the expert report. Honestly, when I heard him talking in his speech about people with mental disorders being put to death by the state, I thought that was utterly outrageous. Recommendation 10 states, “The requester should be assessed by at least one assessor with exper…
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Madam Speaker, it would have been good if my colleague could have sat with us on the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying. I think she is confusing two things. Just because a person requests MAID does not mean that they will be eligible to receive it, and all of the experts, whether they are in favour of MAID or not, have said that a suicidal state is reversible. I am not sure wh…
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Madam Speaker, let us try to calm down a bit. In this debate, the government is basing itself on the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying for its amendment to Bill C‑62. The Bloc Québécois would have liked to lend its support. The problem is that we believe that we should not indefinitely delay the possibility of medical assistance in dying for people with an irremediable mental …
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Madam Speaker, perhaps the interpretation was not accurate, because what I said is that the suicidal state is reversible and that all experts agree on this, whether they are for or against expanding medical assistance in dying to cover mental disorders. It is reversible. People need to stop fearmongering. I was also saying that if we expand MAID to cover things like mental disorders, it could have…
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Madam Speaker, that is precisely why I am saying that the government lacks courage. Faced with the political rhetoric machine, the government thinks it is better to backtrack, knowing full well that, by postponing this until 2027, it is quite possible that the same government will not be deciding what to do about mental disorders. What it could do is extend it for a year, and if we are still not r…
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Madam Speaker, I have already answered my colleague's question. What I told him and I will say it again is that the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying sat for too little time. I would have liked to be able to question the people who wrote that letter to get them to support my position, which is that decisions cannot be forever. He is telling me that the NDP, which is a progress…
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Madam Speaker, since 2015, every time we have addressed medical assistance in dying in the House, it has been blocked by the Conservatives. I understand that my colleague is not happy about it. He tells me that everyone has a right to their own opinion. The Conservatives' opinion is very much based on the views of religious right-wing voters.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to talk about how the work is organized. In Quebec City, parliamentary committees are rigorously organized. Witnesses are not invited for just five minutes of speeches with three or four other panellists at a meeting where sometimes there are not even any questions because the witnesses are of no interest to the party in question. Expert witnesses appear at these hearin…
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Madam Speaker, I am not so sure about the wording of that question. It is up to the patient to make the request, but it is not the patient who ultimately decides. The decision is made by the assessors, the treatment team as well as a psychiatrist who is independent of the treatment team and independent of the person who will carry out the procedure. There will also be prospective oversight, not re…
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Mr. Speaker, it has been a year since the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying recommended allowing advance requests. That was what the vast majority of the committee members wanted. We need to allow advance requests for people who are suffering from conditions like dementia and Alzheimer's. The federal government has been dragging its feet for a year on implementing the committe…
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Mr. Speaker, medical assistance in dying is a matter of freedom of choice. The Liberals should understand that. The role of the state is to guarantee the conditions for exercising a free and informed choice. Those who do not want medical assistance in dying do not need to apply for it. It is as simple as that. The National Assembly is unanimous. Quebec is ready. It has its own legislation. Will th…
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Madam Speaker, briefly put, I would say they lack courage. In this place, courage and compassion are lacking, and action is based far too much on ideology. As I said earlier, only the individual can compare their life in one condition to their life in another condition, and this does not mean comparing two different lives. In that sense, we cannot turn a deaf ear to suffering. We have to listen an…
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Madam Speaker, that is an excellent question. In the supplementary report that I tabled, I note that, if we had had more time, we could have engaged with these people. By engaging with these people, we could have understood exactly what their concerns were. A certain number of associations did tell us that everything was ready for us to do this. The member knows that. For example, the Association …
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