Is Excluding People From Accessing MAID Whose Death is Not Foreseeable a Violation of Their Charter Rights?

On December 16, 2020, Senator Omidvar asked Senator Plett, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, how he would respond to people with disabilities who believe that they should have the right to access medical assistance in dying (MAID), even if they are not at the natural end of their lives.

Hon. Ratna Omidvar: Will Senator Plett take a question, please?

Senator Plett: Yes, certainly.

Senator Omidvar: Thank you, senator. I want to concentrate on your remarks related to people with disabilities. I hear what you have said, and I have read and heard the testimony of Catherine Frazee and other people with disabilities, and I have a lot of sympathy for that position. I believe, as Senator Munson said, we should give them every opportunity to live with dignity. That’s an important point.

However, I would like you to respond to the perspective of Nicole Gladu, who has a disability and was one of the two people in Quebec whose cases went before the Quebec Superior Court. The decisions in those cases have brought us to this juncture today. She stated that not all disability cases are the same. Each case must be assessed on its own merits, and a blanket exclusion of people who are not at the natural end of their lives is a violation of their Charter rights. How would you respond to her?

Senator Plett: Senator Omidvar, the first comment I would make is that I might be happy that I don’t have to respond to her. I say that very sincerely. I don’t know what these people are going through, Senator Omidvar. I am inherently opposed to a person taking his or her own life, or somebody helping somebody take his or her own life. That’s in my genetics, if you will. That’s in my beliefs. That’s in my upbringing. I want you to understand that I am coming from there.

But if I take that hat off, then I would say that maybe there cannot be a blanket rule. I am talking about the inherent misgivings and the weaknesses of this bill when people who want to live are being coerced into dying. That’s what I’m talking about. I’m not talking about the people who are of sound mind. We aren’t there yet. I’m not somebody in favour of mental disorder or mental illness being the sole underlying factor in somebody asking. If somebody is of sound mind, it’s a separate issue.

Again, I’ve had this particular discussion with my very good friend Steven Fletcher, who many people know. He went through so many horrible things, and he told me about how many years he just wished he could die. So when you talk to somebody like that personally, you would make a different decision than if you’d talked to Roger Foley.

This, senator, is why I believe we have to make a blanket decision that we cannot do something, because if we take every case individually I believe every person would have a unique case. I’m sorry, that probably doesn’t answer your question, senator, but I really think that’s about as good as I’m going to do on that question.

Senator Omidvar: Senator Plett, in my experience, limited as it is, people with disabilities who have sound minds are often extremely effective advocates for themselves because they have to negotiate their daily lives in a way that you and I can’t imagine because we are not disabled. I think that if they make their own choice based on their lives and their reality, I would say to you, who are we to stand in their way of participating in this new amended law?

Senator Plett: Let me answer that with another question. If I’m just tired of living one day, should I be able to go and take a gun and shoot myself? There are many who would maybe say, “Yes, you should be able to do that, Don,” but I hope there would be more who would say, “no.”

You are simply saying, who are we to stand in the way of somebody asking for assisted suicide, or who are we to stand in the way of them committing suicide? We need to focus on our support system, first and foremost. We need to focus on our support system before we focus on ending our lives. Let’s try to find ways of giving people a reason to live rather than giving people a reason to die.