Bill S-240 (Historical)

An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (trafficking in human organs)

This enactment amends the Criminal Code to create new offences in relation to trafficking in human organs. It also amends the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to provide that a permanent resident or foreign national is inadmissible to Canada if the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration is of the opinion that they have engaged in any activities relating to trafficking in human organs.

Human Organ Trafficking

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I also rise today to present a very important petition from Canadians from coast to coast to coast concerned about the issue of organ harvesting, organs taken from victims without their consent.

Two bills are currently before Parliament, one put forward by the hon. member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan and one that emanates from the Senate, Bill C-350 and Bill S-240.

The petitioners call on Parliament to pass this legislation quickly so we can protect people in foreign countries from the risks of this extremely devastating thing. It is hard to even imagine organ harvesting without consent.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my friend from Etobicoke Centre, and other colleagues, in also tabling a petition in support of Bill C-350 and Bill S-240.

I tabled Bill C-350, and it was seconded by the member for Etobicoke Centre, who had a similar bill in a previous Parliament. These bills deal with the scourge of forced organ harvesting, organs taken from people, often political prisoners, without their consent. These bills would make it a criminal offence for a Canadian to go abroad to get an organ for which there was no consent.

We cannot completely stop this practice, but we can stop Canadians from being complicit in it. The signatories urge Parliament to pass these bills quickly.

[Borys Wrzesnewskyj, Liberal, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I have the honour of presenting a petition signed by Canadians from across the country.

The petitioners express great concern about the harvesting and trafficking of human organs and body parts without consent and for profit, as documented by the independent Matas-Kilgour investigations.

In an effort to put a stop to the industry of harvesting and trafficking of human organs and body parts, the petitioners urge Parliament to adopt House Bill C-350 and Senate Bill S-240. These bills continue the work of Bill C-500 and Bill C-381, introduced by myself in 2008 and 2009, and Bill C-561, introduced by Irwin Cotler in 2013.

The petitioners urge Parliament to move quickly on this legislation and end this horrific multi-million dollar industry.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour for me to table a petition in support of my private member's bill, Bill C-350. It seeks to combat the trafficking in organs without patients' consent. This bill was seconded by a member of the government, the member for Etobicoke Centre, and it was originally proposed in the same form by Irwin Cotler, a previous Liberal justice minister, so it is a bipartisan, multipartisan initiative that seeks to combat this terrible scourge of organ trafficking.

The petitioners also mention Bill S-240, which has already been reported back from committee to the Senate, and I hope we will be able to see that bill here very soon. The petitioners call on the House to pass these bills as soon as possible to work toward the role Canada can play in ending this injustice.

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is on Bill C-350, which was introduced in the House.

The petitioners expressly call on Parliament to pass Bill C-350 and Senate Bill S-240. These bills propose to amend the Criminal Code and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act in order to prohibit Canadians from travelling abroad to acquire organs obtained without consent or as a result of financial transactions, as well as to render any permanent resident or foreign national who has engaged in the heinous practice of human organ trafficking inadmissible to Canada.

This petition has been signed by Canadians across the country.

[Dave MacKenzie, Conservative, Oxford, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it gives me pleasure to present this petition. Increasing concerns about international traffic in human organs removed from victims without consent have not yet led to a legal prohibition on Canadians who travel abroad. There are two bills, one before the House and one in the Senate, Bill C-350 and Bill S-240, and the petitioners request that they be passed as soon as possible to prohibit this. The petitioners are from across southwestern Ontario.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise today to present a petition with numerous names on it. There are currently two bills before Parliament proposing to impede the trafficking of human organs obtained without consent or as a result of financial transactions, Bill C-350 in the House of Commons and Bill S-240 in the Senate. It gives me great pleasure to present this petition on behalf of those who signed it.

National Security Act, 2017

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear. My party and I are very much opposed to torture. We go further than that. We take a very strong line against other countries in challenging them on human rights abuses, to a degree that I do not think we see from the current government.

For example, let me take this opportunity to shamelessly plug my own private member's bill, Bill C-350. It would, for the first time, make it a criminal offence for a Canadian to receive an organ that has been harvested from a person without his or her consent. A similar bill, Bill S-240, is working its way through the Senate and will likely come to this chamber before my private member's bill.

I suspect that my friends in the NDP will have no problem supporting either of those bills, but we have yet to hear from the government as to where it stands on this. Therefore, there are many issues around torture and fundamental human rights where we need to see some progress. I hope we will see support on those pieces of legislation dealing with organ harvesting, which is a form of torture.

The government has not yet signalled one way or the other how it is going to vote, which is interesting. It should be an easy, clear-cut issue. However, sometimes the things we think are easy and clear-cut do not seem as clear-cut from that side. Nonetheless, I am hopeful there is a consensus here that torture is totally unacceptable, and that we need to take the steps we can to address it.