Thirteen years ago, amidst a major political loss and a personal crisis, Mark Holland experienced the darkest period of his life.

Since returning to federal politics, he has been candid about his suicide attempt and the mental health struggles that brought him "to the brink of oblivion."

Now, as the federal Minister of Health, he is asking Parliament to slow down his government's plan to expand access to medical assistance in dying for people suffering from mental illness.

Holland insists that the ordeal he survived is different from the suffering of the people he says would qualify under the program.

He told the Canadian press that more time is needed to prepare medical systems so the public understands the difference.

In an interview about his personal mental health experience, Holland said: "I want to make sure, with every fiber of my being, that everyone gets the same pathway out of the darkness that I was able to find."

"What we're having really tough conversations about is: What do we do when there are conditions we can't understand? Where people suffer from nightmarish pain?"

Under current legislation, people suffering psychological distress will be eligible for medical assistance in dying starting mid-March.

Last week, Holland introduced legislation to delay expanding eligibility by three years.

He said provinces told him they either do not agree or are not ready to proceed, and the delay aims to provide more time to prepare.

He added that the pause will give Canadians more bandwidth to address their discomfort with this policy.

Holland continued: "Because it's uncomfortable, it's easy to pretend there are simple solutions and not delve deeper." "I think part of the idea of this pause is to give a chance for deeper conversations."

Holland was a professional politician until he lost his seat in the 2011 federal election. After that loss, he said he fell into despair.

He pointed to "a feeling of complete despair, isolation, abandonment, and the sense that... there is no way out of the pain you are living."

He said what separates his experience from that of those suffering from mental illness who can eventually access medical assistance in dying is that he sought help and it worked.

"When you are in that condition and you go and ask for help, the vast majority of people, with clinical support and support and love from friends and family, will be able to get out of that condition and he said: 'Look, it was a moment in time.'

The minister acknowledged that many people struggling with mental health issues struggle to get help.

But he said medical assistance in dying is for people who have "tried everything" and "are unable to escape their mental hell," "that's a big difference."

It is difficult to gauge public sentiment on this policy.

An Angus Reid poll in September commissioned by Cardus found that despite broad support across Canada for current medical assistance in dying policies, half of those surveyed opposed expanding eligibility to include people suffering only from mental illness.

Meanwhile, a poll conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Dying with Dignity Canada last summer indicated that 80 percent of respondents believe an adult should be able to be assessed and, if eligible, receive medical assistance in dying because of severe, treatment-resistant mental disorders if they are experiencing unbearable suffering.

While some people confuse suicidal thoughts with long-term, intractable suffering out of well-meaning concern, Holland said he believes fears are sometimes expressed to "play games and politics."

He stressed that if Parliament approves the extension, it will be mainly up to provinces to prepare staff to separate people in crisis from the very few who should qualify.

He said: "My job, when I talk to my regional counterparts every day, is to make sure they are working on that, and I ask them how we can support them."

The pause would delay the expansion beyond the next election. Conservative opponents of the Liberals say they will cancel the expansion if elected.

Holland said the scale of mental health problems in Canada is huge, and the government is moving to improve access as part of a series of bilateral deals with provinces and territories.

He explained, "I didn’t realize that what I went through was so common in other people’s experiences, and that many of us have reached that point where we don’t think we can handle it anymore, and we feel alone."

But he said this is not an argument against medical assistance in dying.

"The challenges we face in mental health and how we deal with them as a society are completely separate and different from conversations about the very limited conditions in which you suffer from treatment-resistant mental illness."

If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, support is available 24/7 by calling or texting 988, the national suicide prevention hotline.