MPs open up about personal struggles with assisted dying bill

You wouldn't think talking about death all day would be soinspiring.

But listening toMPs discuss their thoughts aboutmedicallyassisted death was just that.They had weighed a multitude of issues. Thought about what it meant to them as family members. Considered how that humanity should be brought to bear on their jobs as politicians.

They don'tall agree,but they all caredeeply.

The government has until June 6 to pass a new assisted dying law, and with MPs setto debatethe proposed legislation in its third reading inthe House of Commons thisweek, we wanted to show how politicians take on and sometimes strugglewith the complex questions around medically assisted death.

• Video: Watch all 9 full interviews with the MPs

We madea list of MPs from different parties and backgrounds and pitched them our plan: a more personal, thoughtful interview with just a few open-ended questions.

Forone day, we set up ina room just across the street from Parliament Hill and invited a couple dozenMPsto drop by. Nine took us up on the offer.

Adam Vaughan says his mother should have had access to assisted dying

8 years ago

Duration 0:42

The Liberal MP recounts his mother's struggle with health issues.

The first person to walk through the door wasAdam Vaughan, who described watching his mother, who fought cancer for 15 years, try to killherself by removing her respirator. She managed to give herself a heart attack, but she survived,spending another month and a halfsuffering, the Liberal MP said. Vaughan said hewishes his mother and the rest of his family could have been spared that pain. He believes the proposed law will help other families avoid that situation.

Robert-Falcon Ouellette says assisted dying legislation legitimizes suicide

8 years ago

Duration 0:28

The Indigenous Liberal MP from Winnipeg says he's worried what message this will legislation will send to the marginalized.

Our day of interviewsendedat the opposite end of the spectrum: Liberal MP Robert-FalconOuellettesaid he can't support the law because he believes it sends a troubling message to Indigenous communities who are already fighting a battle against suicide. All MPs will be free to vote on the bill with their conscience, not their party.

Michelle Rempel and her personal experience with death

8 years ago

Duration 0:53

Alberta Conservative MP says she'll evaluate assisted dying legislation on its merits.

Vaughan said legislation on such a difficult issuewill almost inevitably beimperfect andwill have to be revisited.Ouellettesaid if Parliament makes a mistake in crafting the law, it will bemarginalizedpopulationswho suffer.

Even in disagreement, there were recurring themesin the nine interviews.

Struggling with a taboo subject

There was consensus that Canadians don't talk enough about death. The word "taboo" came up more than once.For Conservative MP MichelleRempel,that absence of discussionposes a challenge: have the people in her riding given her a clear mandate ontheprofound questions that relate to assisted dying?

• Liberal MP RobOliphantsays he can't support assisted-dying legislation
• Early opposition amendments to assisted dying bill rejected by Liberals

Rempelcited threeissues still up for further discussion: whether those under 18 ought to have access to medicallyassisted death;whether Canadians should be allowedto draftassisted dying directives well in advance;and whether people experiencing irremediable and intolerablesuffering solely because ofmental illness ought to be able to ask a doctor or nurse practitioner to help them die.

The Liberals didn't include any of those issues in their proposedlegislation, saying that in all three cases, more study is required.

Arif Virani says assisted dying is a 'moral, ethical' dilemma

8 years ago

Duration 0:27

The Toronto Liberal MP says legislation for assisted dying goes beyond protecting a person's Charter rights.

"I think that they're newer areas, and I don't think we've had an adequate discussion on the national level on what Canadians expect,"said Rempel.

"Canadians need to speak up and be engaged on this. I think this is one of the most transformative debates that we've seen in Canada in a generation."

• Read the Supreme Court rulling on assisted dying
• Assisted dying legislation a unique window into Parliament's soul

Liberal MP Arif Viranidescribed the tension of his ownconflicting beliefs. Through education and faith, he said, we're taught that if someone is thinking of ending their life, we should stop them. The formerconstitutional lawyer for the Ontario attorney generalclearly struggles to reconcile thatwith his political convictions, namely, his support of "small 'l'liberal ideasabout empowering individuals to make choices and autonomy."

Michael Cooper says all MPs need to be objective about assisted dying

8 years ago

Duration 0:36

Alberta Conservative MP says opinions are shaped by individual experiences with death, but objectivity should rule the day.

The Supreme Court has, in many respects, resolved that contradiction. Since the courtruled unanimously in February 2015 that Canadians should have a right to medicallyassisted death, politicians only have to grapple with "the how, not the whether," Virani said.

"I think it's troubling and tough for all of us, butI think embracing these types of conversations is critically necessary," he said.

Personal vs. political

Most of the MPs had personal experiences with death. Some wanted to explain how that informed their thinking while other wanted to keep those experiences private.

But should personal experiences inform an MP's position on medicallyassisted death?

Conservative MP Michael Cooper emphasizedthe importance of objectivity.

Nathan Cullen isn't playing politics with physician-assisted dying

8 years ago

Duration 0:32

NDP MP says his issues with the bill are not based on scoring cheap political points.

"I amtrying to take the emotion outof my thought process to the greatest extent as possibleand follow the law and evidence before the [justice] committee," said Cooper.

NDP MP Nathan Cullen said this was one of the rare instances where an MP's personal experience should come into play.

"I don't want to get too West Coast about this, but there's a real vulnerability required to be completely truthful and courageous with people and say, 'These are my feelings, my best thoughts.What do you think?' And not to play politics with it, not to score points," he said.

Charlie Angus says palliative care shouldn't be forgotten

8 years ago

Duration 0:38

Parliament is focussed on physician-assisted dying, but this NDP MP says we can't forget about boosting palliative care funding.

Urgent need for palliative care

Nearly everyone brought up palliative care.

The coverage of the debatearoundmedicallyassisted death often mentionsthat it's an option that will likely be accessed by relatively few people. Palliative care, on the other hand, could be more widely used, yet there's consensus that not nearly enough Canadians have access to it.

• Court gives government 4-month extension to pass assisted-dying law
• Supreme Court approves doctor-assisted suicide

"People are dying every day in this countryin heartbreaking circumstances because of the lack of proper palliative care services," said NDP MP Charlie Angus. "What disturbs me is that we're bringing in the legislation on the right to die, but there isn't the similar action and the sense of urgency in ensuring that people have access to proper palliative care."

Angus has pushed for a nationalpalliative care strategy. The Liberals made a campaign pledge toinvest $3 billion over fouryears inhome care, an unspecifiedportion of which would includepalliative care. That money wasn't mentioned in the 2016 budget.

Angus said while medical aid in dying is a political hot-button issue, Canadian societywould be better offhaving a broad discussion about how we treat the sick and elderly and how we value life.

• Video: Watch all 9 full interviews with the MPs