00:00I do not come at this from a religious point of view. I'm an atheist, I'm a humanist.
00:05So this is driven by my concerns about the practicalities of this bill, rather than any religious viewpoint.
00:15And it has been suggested, particularly when people talk about the experience they have had talking to people who have lost loved ones or who are themselves terminally ill,
00:23that if you had seen, I've had this said to me on a number of occasions, if you had seen someone suffering, you would agree with this bill.
00:32Well, Mr. Speaker, I have seen someone suffering. My closest friend, earlier this year, died painfully of esophageal cancer, and I was with him in the final weeks of his life.
00:47So I come at this not from a position of faith, nor from a position of ignorance.
00:52And I would hope the House would take those factors into consideration when I say what I'm about to say.
