Medical Assistance in Dying committee  That is very well expressed, Senator Kutcher, yes.

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  Senator, we'll see what we can do. Just as I spoke last year about the 2020 data before it was published, we'll see what we can provide you with. We just want to be sure that we are not providing you with data that has not been properly and fully verified and then you ultimately include some data that's not correct.

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  Thank you, Senator. I can respond to that question. The regulations are being written now. We expect that in the next six weeks, they will be published in what's called Canada Gazette, part I. The regulations will be in place. There will be a further consultation period, and the final regulations, we expect, will be published in the fall.

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  Senator, the implication of your question is correct. We have information about whether the individual has had palliative care, but the extent of that care is not well documented. It is the case in many parts of the country—in most parts of the country, in fact—that there are time limits on palliative care in terms of the amount of care one can get and the proximity to death one anticipates, and so on.

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  Thank you, Mr. MacGregor. I'm not an expert on dementia or specific neurodegenerative diseases writ large, but I could make a couple of general comments nonetheless. I think the discussion about dementia and the associated illnesses that have similar symptoms and manifestations is very helpful in reducing stigma.

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  Well, despite actions, whether it's the mental health transfer to provinces or other specific initiatives, the reality probably is that we all know—we read it in the papers all the time—friends, neighbours and other families who are dealing with these challenges. Particularly for people with what I would say are lower acute conditions that may, as you're suggesting, deteriorate further in the absence of care, in mental health services there is a problem of the adequacy and sufficiency of intervention services.

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  Thank you.

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  I'll only just note, if I may, Madam Chair, that there's never been absolute consensus on any aspect of MAID. I think the question is this: Is there a safe and reasonable way for cases to proceed? That's really I think the fundamental question.

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  Family physicians can be trained to be interlocutors for palliative care services as well.

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  Yes, we do. I cannot cite it off the top of my head, but a very robust study was done by the Canadian Institute for Health Information and published in 2018. I'd be happy to provide that to the committee. It was very clear that, depending on the disease, particularly chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cancer, there was a high probability of getting access to palliative care.

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  Mr. Arsenault, I apologize if what I said was a bit confusing. I have a couple of points. First of all, the overwhelming majority of individuals who make a request for MAID and who receive MAID have had palliative care—not just access to palliative care, but over 80% have had palliative care.

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  According to our data, no, but I think in reality it will arise under the new MAID legislation, particularly with the more complex cases. I think this is something that we really need to pay attention to or there will be disparities because of the complexity of the assessment process.

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  Thank you, Chair, and Mr. Thériault. In response to your comment and question, I wanted to comment about what we might learn from other countries with respect to the practice of MAID, especially in cases of mental illness. I'm reticent to comment too fully because you will hear from the expert panel later on in your process.

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  Just very quickly, Madam Chair, if I could add, just apropos of—

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  Some of you may have observed this, but I will just note, for example, that there was recently some television coverage of access to MAID on Vancouver Island. One thing that the physician who is in charge of MAID services in that part of the country said is that they are open, and they help ensure that every health care institution on Vancouver Island knows about and is prepared to accept and to deal with MAID requests.