Bill S-204 (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 Immigratiand 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.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I'm pleased to be presenting a petition in support of Bill S-204. This is a bill in the Senate, put forward by Senator Salma Ataullahjan.

It would make it a criminal offence for a person to go abroad and receive an organ for which there has not been consent by the donor. It also creates a mechanism by which someone could be deemed inadmissible to Canada if they were involved in organ harvesting and trafficking.

This bill is designed to confront and address the horrific practice by which, in certain cases—for instance, inside China—minority communities or dissidents may be targeted and have their organs removed as they're killed and used for transplantation.

Petitioners are supportive of Bill S-204, and they want to see it passed as soon as possible.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and that is all you need to see for the moment.

Canadians are horrified by the military report on the conditions of long-term care in Ontario. It raises big questions about the choices facing seniors in certain situations, which is what makes this first petition particularly timely.

I am tabling a petition related to Bill C-7, the government's euthanasia bill, which seeks to dramatically remove safeguards that the government said were vital only a short time ago. When some people are living in deplorable conditions, we cannot truly speak of them as having a choice of when they ought to die. Especially in light of that new information, I commend this petition for the consideration of members of the House.

The second petition is in support of Bill S-204 on organ harvesting and trafficking, put forward in the Senate. The bill would make it a criminal offence for a person to go abroad and receive an organ without the donor's consent. This bill seeks to combat the horrific practice of forced organ harvesting and trafficking.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

I'm pleased to be presenting two petitions before the committee today.

The first petition is in support of Bill S-204. This Senate public bill, been put forward by Senator Salma Ataullahjan in the Senate, would make it a criminal offence for someone to go abroad to receive an organ for which there has not been consent. It also has a mechanism by which somebody could be deemed inadmissible to Canada for being involved in the horrible practice of forced organ harvesting and trafficking. This bill has been before various Parliaments for over 10 years, and petitioners are hopeful that this Parliament will be the one that finally takes action to address forced organ harvesting and trafficking.

The second petition is put forward by folks who are concerned about Bill C-7, particularly the efforts by the government through Bill C-7 to remove vital safeguards that are currently associated with Canada's euthanasia regime. Petitioners are not happy about the fact that the government is trying to eliminate the 10-day reflection period and remove other safeguards that only four short years ago the government thought were essential for the euthanasia and assisted suicide system that they were putting in place. The petitioners call on the government to address that, and they are not supportive of these particular efforts to remove vital safeguards from that regime.

Thank you very much.

Human Organ Trafficking

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table two petitions today.

The first petition is with respect to Bill S-204 currently before the Senate. It deals with forced organ harvesting and trafficking. It would make it a criminal offence for someone to go abroad to receive an organ without consent. It would also make someone inadmissible to Canada if they had been involved in forced organ harvesting and trafficking. The petitioners are in support of that piece of legislation.

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Mr. Chair, following the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, I would also like to present a petition where the signatories have grave concerns with respect to human organ trafficking. As the member stated, Canadians can be rightly concerned with the WHO's endorsement of practices that are currently being undertaken by the state in China, so we're looking for support for Bill S-204.

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

Mr. Chair, I'm pleased to be presenting four petitions today.

The first petition is in support of Bill S-204, which opposes organ harvesting and trafficking.

While organ harvesting from unwilling prisoners is a well-documented phenomenon in China, the World Health Organization under its current leadership has actually praised China's organ transplant system. For example, Francis Delmonico, chairman of the organ transplantation task force at the WHO, said at the end of last year, “The biggest feature of the Chinese experience in organ transplantation is the strong support from the Chinese government, which is an example that many countries should follow.”

This is another demonstration that the capture of the WHO by the Chinese state requires scrutiny and accountability, and the petitioners believe that Canada must act in the meantime to combat forced organ harvesting and trafficking by passing Bill S-204.

The second petition deals with the terrible persecution of Afghanistan's dwindling Sikh and Hindu minority community. On March 25, dozens of people were killed by a suicide bomber who attacked a prominent gurdwara. After this, the funerals of the victims were also attacked.

I join with the petitioners in calling on the immigration minister to create a special program to allow the direct sponsorship of vulnerable minorities. The petitioners note that the community in Canada is ready to act to put up the money and provide the support, but the government must create the mechanism by which this sponsorship can occur. I note that the member for Cloverdale—Langley City has been leading on this issue by sponsoring e-petition 2501, for those who want to sign it.

The third petition deals with government Bill C-7. The petitioners are very concerned that the government is seeking to remove safeguards, which they once thought were vital, associated with the euthanasia regime. In particular, the petitioners are concerned about the fact that the government is trying to eliminate the 10-day reflection period that normally exists prior to a person's receiving euthanasia.

The fourth and final petition deals with human rights concerns internationally, in particular in Pakistan and Thailand. The petitioners highlight the plight of Pakistani asylum seekers who are in Thailand. The petition calls on the government to do more to support these vulnerable asylum seekers and seeks the repeal or reform of Pakistan's blasphemy laws, which are often used perversely against minority communities. It's important that we not forget about vital international human rights issues, especially when crackdowns may be worsening in the midst of this pandemic.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

I'm pleased to be presenting two petitions today. The first one deals with Bill C-7, a piece of government legislation that seems to remove many of the safeguards associated with the existing euthanasia regime. Petitioners are concerned about efforts to remove many of these safeguards. They note, in particular, the removal of the 10-day reflection period. They know that the reflection period can already be waived by physicians in certain situations, but this legislation proposes to eliminate that reflection period entirely.

The second petition deals with another piece of legislation, Bill S-204, a bill composed in the Senate which seeks to make it a criminal offence for someone to go abroad to receive an organ for which there was not consent. Petitioners are very supportive of this petition. It's noted as well that world health officials have actually praised China's organ transplant regime despite problems we know of dealing with organ harvesting and trafficking.

I commend these petitions for the consideration of members today.

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

Mr. Chair, five years ago when Parliament passed Bill C-14, then justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould said that it represented a finely tuned balance between access and safeguards. It also included a five-year review.

Petitioners on the first petition I'm presenting are very concerned to see Bill C-7 before Parliament, which removes safeguards ahead of that five-year review. Petitioners specifically mention their concerns about the removal of the mandatory 10-day reflection period, which can already be waived in certain circumstances. They are concerned about reducing the number of witnesses required to oversee it and ensure that a request has been properly made. I commend that petition to the consideration of the House.

The second and final petition that I will be presenting today is with respect to Senate Bill S-204. This would make it a criminal offence for a person to go abroad and receive an organ from a person who did not consent. This responds specifically to concerns about organ harvesting in the People's Republic of China involving Falun Gong practitioners and increasing concerns that this is being or about to be applied to Uighurs as well.

Canada can and should take action on this. Petitioners are noting that in the previous Parliament there were bills on this, Bill C-350 and Bill S-240. Now, in this Parliament there is a bill, Bill S-204, and the petitioners hope that this 43rd Parliament will be the one that gets it passed.

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

Mr. Chair, I'm pleased to be presenting two petitions today.

The first petition is with respect to government Bill C-7. Petitioners raised concerns that this bill removes safeguards from the current euthanasia regime. It includes removing the mandatory 10-day reflection period and the number of required witnesses who will witness a person's consent. The petitioners urge the House of Commons to immediately discontinue the removal of safeguards for people requesting euthanasia, and to put in place additional measures to protect vulnerable people. This would require that bill to be amended or not passed.

The second petition is with respect to Senate public bill S-204. This is on organ harvesting and trafficking. Petitioners call on members of the House, and hopefully the Senate as well, to support Bill S-204, which would make it a criminal offence for a person to go abroad and receive an organ for which there has not been consent. It would also create provisions under which a person could be made inadmissible to Canada if they had been involved in organ harvesting or trafficking. Thank you very much.

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

Mr. Chair, I'm pleased to be presenting a petition in support of Bill S-204. The text reads Bill S-240 because it was a petition signed during the previous Parliament, but the same bill has been put forward in this Parliament as Bill S-204. It seeks to address the scourge of forced organ harvesting and trafficking. This can happen in many different contexts, but the particular genesis of this is the targeting of Falun Gong practitioners and others in China through an aggressive policy of organ harvesting. There's concern that Uighurs are now being targeted, as well.

The petitioners hope that members of Parliament will support this bill and that this, the 43rd Parliament, will be the one that actually moves forward with action to address the terrible human rights abuse associated with forced organ harvesting and trafficking.

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

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition today in support of Bill S-204, combatting forced organ harvesting and trafficking.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure for me to table a petition in support of Bill S-204. This bill is in the Senate, and it would make it a criminal offence for someone to go abroad to receive an organ for which there has not been consent by the donor. It seeks to deal with the very serious issue of forced organ harvesting and trafficking.

Falun Gong

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

Mr. Speaker, the third petition highlights specifically the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China.

The petitioners call on the Government of Canada to respond to these events. They note that one of the ways in which Falun Gong practitioners are persecuted is through organ harvesting and trafficking.

Organ harvesting is referred to in the first petition on Bill S-204, but this petition asks us to, in a comprehensive way, respond to the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and call on the Government of China to respect fundamental human rights.

Human Organ Trafficking

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

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure for me to present three petitions today.

The first petition is in support of Bill S-204, a bill in the Senate that would make it a criminal offence for someone to go abroad to receive an organ for which there had not been consent. It would also create provisions for someone to be inadmissible to Canada if that person was involved in this horrific practice of forced organ harvesting and trafficking.

Similar bills were passed unanimously in the House and the Senate, but, unfortunately, not in identical form and thus the bill was not actually passed.

The petitioners expect that this same concept, Bill S-204, will get through in this 43rd Parliament and that we will be the Parliament that gets it done.

[Jamie Schmale, Conservative, Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I bring members' attention to this petition signed by people from across the greater Toronto area. They want to bring attention to the harvesting of human organs. The petitioners want the government to take action by specifically supporting a number of bills: Bill S-204 and Bill C-350. The petitioners are urging Parliament to move quickly on this matter.