Tamara Jansen

Madam Speaker, in the case of one YouTuber, Elle Palmer, she started taking testosterone at the age of 16. She struggled for many years with issues of self-hatred and, in her words, began the process of transitioning, not in order to look more masculine but in order to hide elements of her body. In her opinion, transitioning was the ultimate form of self-harm. She wanted to change everything about herself and did not see a future in which she could ever be happy in her own body. At the time, she did not realize it was possible to not hate her body.

Right now Bill C-6 would criminalize someone like Elle for sharing her transition story. Does the member suggest that we need to restrict her free, respectful and exploratory speech because her story reaches out to others who may be considering de-transition?

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to present an important petition that calls on the House to ban the misogynistic practice of sex selective abortion in Canada.

The petitioners recognize that a vast majority of Canadians believe that abortion should not be performed solely due to parents' preference for their baby's sex, that the practice is antithetical to the principle that men and women have equal value and that many Canadian health care professionals acknowledge that this is a real problem in Canada.

I am proud to support Bill C-233, presented by my colleague, the member for Yorkton—Melville, and I hope the government will work to move the bill forward. I truly believe that all members agree that no baby girl should have her life taken away because her parents want a boy.

Mr. Speaker, 2020 has been a tough year for farmer Tim Bose, from my riding. First, the new U.S. trade agreement hurt his turkey production, costing him a hundred grand. Next, the COVID-19 restrictions put salt in the wound. When he thought it could not get worse, last weekend sections of his popular corn maze were destroyed. Tim is heartbroken, like many Canadian farmers who are asking their government for the support they need to keep putting food on our tables.

When will Tim get the help he was promised?

Madam Speaker, I was surprised by the amount of talk about the wins the Liberals had, but there was no mention of gender equality issues. Before negotiations even started, the Prime Minister talked a lot about how he was going to ensure a lot of gender issues were tackled and somehow it does not seem that happened. I am shocked the member did not even mention one word about it in his speech. I wonder if he can mention why that is the case.

Madam Speaker, there is one thing I have learned since being elected, and that is that what the left says never means what people might think it means.

When Liberals talk about unity, what they really mean is “My way or the highway”. When they talk about diversity, they never mean diversity of opinion. When they talk about truth and reconciliation, they have no intention of respecting elected band councils unless it is convenient. When they talk about consultation, what they really mean is, “Let me tell you what I think.” When they say “dying with dignity”, they only mean euthanasia.

Canadians look to this House for compassion, truth and leadership. In light of this week's debate on Bill C-7, let us ensure that when we say we are committed to quality palliative care, we truly mean what we say we mean.

Madam Speaker, the hon. member asked what the trajectory is of the issue of euthanasia in this country, and I thank her for asking. It is really important that we make a concise assessment of where we are going with this legislation.

It is clear that this bill is ensuring that our country will prioritize euthanasia access, while allowing palliative care to take a back seat. As we know, a request for physician-assisted death cannot be truly voluntary if the option of proper palliative care is not available.

Is the hon. member willing to admit that palliative care in this country is abysmal, and dwindling more and more every day, due to the government's desire to push euthanasia as the preferred treatment option?

Madam Speaker, the hon. member from the opposite side has gone on in length in regard to safeguards. There are currently safeguard infractions going on across Canada, without corresponding professional discipline being in place. We can go on and on about safeguards, but if the current ones do not work, why would we put in more or less? They are not working.

Let me point to the case of Mr. Roger Foley. He has had to open a GoFundMe in order to pay for his legal bills so he can get actual home care. He is a young man dying of cerebellar ataxia. He is suffering, and the government is keeping him away from proper care. He has been dehumanized, threatened, attacked and abused and his life has been completely devalued just because he is a person with disabilities.

Greater value is placed on access to MAID than access to alternatives that could alleviate a patient's intolerable suffering. MAID is being presented to patients as a preferred treatment option, rather than the very last resort once all other avenues have been exhausted.

Could the member opposite tell me how that is happening?

Mr. Speaker, my Liberal colleagues continue to push the myth that there are only two choices here. Option one is horrific suffering and option two is euthanasia. However, there is a third option, which is the love in the form of palliative care that meets the true needs of the patients.

Why do the Liberals insist on only offering a binary solution, when our amazing health professionals want instead to offer the truly compassionate option of palliative care? Why are they pushing euthanasia ahead of palliative care?

Mr. Speaker, in this debate, we hear that the safeguards we currently have are already not working. We know that quality palliative care is a necessary solution and we all see a lack of access, even a revocation of palliative care in my province.

The third thing is, unfortunately, the inability to ensure conscience rights protection. In my province of B.C., the former program director of palliative care had to resign when Fraser Health Authority imposed MAID in hospices. He believes that palliative care does not include euthanasia since palliative care, by definition, neither hastens nor postpones death.

Why is the government not working harder to ensure proper protection for patients and health care professionals?