Bill S-223 (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 appropriate minister is of the opinion that they have engaged in any activities relating to trafficking in human organs.

Human Organ Trafficking

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

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is on a similar issue. The second petition is specifically to highlight Bill S-223, which is a bill that would combat forced organ harvesting and trafficking. It recognizes that this is a practice that happens in certain places around the world and it would seek to make it a criminal offence for a person to go abroad and receive an organ taken without consent. It would also create a mechanism by which someone could be deemed inadmissible to Canada if they were involved in forced organ harvesting and trafficking.

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

Mr. Speaker, the next petition I am tabling is in support of Bill S-223, a bill that will be debated on Friday. It is a bill that would make it a criminal offence for a person to go abroad and receive an organ taken without consent. It would also create a mechanism by which someone could be deemed inadmissible to Canada if they were involved in forced organ harvesting and trafficking.

Bills on this issue have been before the House for about 15 years and have always had broad support, but never made it all the way. The petitioners are hopeful that this Parliament will be the one that finally gets it done.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am tabling one petition today in support of Bill S-223, which is aimed at combatting forced organ harvesting and trafficking. I surely hope that we will be able to get this bill passed as soon as possible.

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

Madam Speaker, I am also going to table a petition on Bill S-223.

I join colleagues on all sides of the House in recognizing the incredible legacy of David Kilgour, who passed away this week. David brought this issue to my attention and to many people's attention. He, along with David Matas, wrote the initial report on this issue. He has been a tireless champion on it and on so many other human rights issues as well.

I am very pleased to table this petition in support of Bill S-223 and, in the process, recognize Mr. Kilgour's work on this and so many other important human rights issues.

[Damien Kurek, Conservative, Battle River—Crowfoot, AB]

Madam Speaker, I too rise today to present a petition in support of Bill S-223. This is not the first Parliament in which this bill has been introduced and received wide-spread support.

I would also like to note and honour former member of Parliament, David Kilgour, a principled member of Parliament from this place, who stood strong for the values of human rights both in Canada and around the world. I am sure petitioners want to see this bill finally passed and given royal assent in this country after having been discussed and debated in three Parliaments. I hope that we can do so in honour of Mr. Kilgour, who championed this and, as has been noted, blew the doors open and was a whistle-blower on this deplorable practice around the world.

I am proud to stand along with many of my colleagues and present this petition here today to see that Bill S-223 gets passed for all of the victims but also in honour of Mr. Kilgour.

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

Madam Speaker, I am also tabling a petition on Bill S-223, which seeks to fight the really unjust, unfair practice of organ harvesting that is being done in different parts of the world and to make it a criminal offence to go abroad to receive an organ without the consent of the donor.

Again, like other members have done, I am just going to rise also to recognize David Kilgour, his family and his wife. I knew David decently well. We exchanged emails and met off and on. He is the one who blew the doors open on this practice overseas and made this thing possible. He passed away on Tuesday. God bless him for his work and God bless him for everything he did for this Parliament.

[Pat Kelly, Conservative, Calgary Rocky Ridge, AB]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to table a petition in support of Bill S-223. This is the bill to combat forced organ harvesting and trafficking. It would make it a criminal offence for a Canadian to go abroad to receive an organ taken without the consent of the donor.

This horrific practice was first brought to light by former member of Parliament, David Kilgour, who sadly passed away just this past week. It is a shame that he did not live to see its passage, but I certainly hope that this bill will pass. I did have the privilege of meeting Mr. Kilgour and talking about his incredible work in exposing this murderous practice that sadly goes on.

[Stephen Ellis, Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Madam Speaker, I too rise to present a petition on Bill S-223. We all know now that it is to combat forced organ harvesting and trafficking, making it a criminal offence for a person to go abroad and receive an organ taken without the consent of the person giving the organ.

Certainly, as a former family physician this bill would strike to the heart of the matter for me. We all know that this is vastly inappropriate and sadly a burgeoning event happening in countries to people who are not quite so lucky as to be Canadian.

Again, I would like to honour a colleague, who is not a colleague of mine but of everybody else here it appears, David Kilgour, a great champion not only of this issue but of other human rights issues.

[Richard Bragdon, Conservative, Tobique—Mactaquac, NB]

Madam Speaker, it is an honour to rise in the House today to present a petition and to raise the concerns of many Canadians, and many throughout the world, related to the atrocious practice of human organ harvesting.

This petition is in support of Bill S-223. This is a Senate bill that seeks to combat forced organ harvesting and trafficking. The bill would make it a criminal offence for a person to go abroad to receive an organ taken without the consent of the person giving the organ.

As I table this petition, I also want to give honour to former MP David Kilgour who passed away on Tuesday. I recall that Mr. Kilgour was also a member of the parliamentary prayer breakfast group that would gather regularly, and his contributions were always meaningful and significant. I would like to give honour to Mr. Kilgour and his memory today and express our deepest and heartfelt condolences to his family and friends. He was very instrumental in helping to blow the whistle initially on forced organ harvesting and trafficking in China and played a key role in this legislation to combat it in other countries. I am sorry that he will not be able to see this take place in person, but somehow I have a feeling that he will be aware of the bill's passage when it does happen.

[Laila Goodridge, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I too am going to rise to table a petition in support of the Senate bill, Bill S-223, which seeks to combat forced organ harvesting and trafficking, and make it a criminal offence for a person to go abroad to receive an organ taken without the consent of the person giving the organ.

I too would like to take this opportunity to recognize the amazing work that was done by the late member of Parliament, David Kilgour, on this. David was actually a member of Parliament when I first started university in Edmonton. He was a very kind man and he did so much, so I just wanted to take this opportunity, in his honour, to put forward this petition on the work that he had spent so much of his life doing.

[Glen Motz, Conservative, Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise in the House always, and today I would like to present a petition in regard to the support of Bill S-223. This is a Senate bill that is aimed at combatting forced organ harvesting and trafficking. It would make it a criminal offence for an individual to travel overseas to receive an organ taken from an individual without that person giving consent.

It has also been brought to my attention that, through this petition as I table it, we can honour a former MP, Mr. David Kilgour, who passed away this past week on Tuesday. Mr. Kilgour was one of two Canadians who initially made the world aware of organ harvesting and trafficking in China. He played a key role in passing legislation to combat it in other countries as well. It is an honour to present this petition in honour of him.

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

Mr. Speaker, I have a number of petitions to table today.

The first petition is in support of Bill S-223, a bill that would make it a criminal offence for a person to go abroad and receive an organ taken without consent. I want to assure members that there will be no more petitions tabled on the bill as soon as it is passed. Maybe that will help light a fire under some members to support the speedy passage of this important piece of human rights legislation.

[Damien Kurek, Conservative, Battle River—Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to also stand in this place today and present a petition in support of Bill S-223, which seeks to combat forced organ harvesting and trafficking. It would make it a criminal offence for a person to go abroad to receive an organ taken without the consent of the person giving the organ.

This bill has passed the Senate unanimously three times, and MPs from multiple parties have put forward a form of this bill over the past 13 years. The petitioners are hoping that it can be this Parliament that gets it done.

[Ryan Williams, Conservative, Bay of Quinte, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am also presenting a petition in support of Bill S-223, which seeks to combat forced organ harvesting and trafficking. It would also make it a criminal offence for a person to go abroad and receive an organ taken without the consent of the person giving the organ. It is my honour to present this petition on behalf of my constituents.

[Gerald Soroka, Conservative, Yellowhead, AB]

Mr. Speaker, this petition is also in support of Bill S-223, the bill on organ harvesting. It seeks to combat forced organ harvesting and trafficking. It would make it a criminal offence for a person to go abroad and receive an organ without proper consent from the person giving the organ.

Bill S-223 has passed in the Senate unanimously three times, and MPs from multiple parties have been putting forward a form of this bill for the past 13 years. This bill passed unanimously in the House of Commons in 2019 in exactly the same form. The petitioners would like to see this Parliament finally get this done.