Thank you so much, Chair.
Thank you for inviting me to your committee.
Senator, I hope you would agree that one of the important points about having witness testimony is so that we can put on the record—and so people know—why legislation is passed and why it is important. It is our job: to ask these questions and not simply to rubber-stamp. Whether or not someone else has looked at this and whether or not this has been around for a long time, I think it is a basic role, so I'll ask you a number of questions, because I think it's important to get this important legislation clarified for the Canadian people. I'm hoping that we can have that conversation.
Senator, under subsection 279.04(3) of the Criminal Code, the exploitation for purposes of trafficking in persons includes removal of organ and tissue by means of deception, threats, force or coercion. Subsection 279.02(1) criminalizes the receiving of “financial or other material benefit” if it was derived directly or indirectly from trafficking of a person for the purpose of exploitation. Subsection 7(4.11) of the Criminal Code sets out extraterritorial jurisdiction for these offences.
How many cases have been prosecuted in Canada for organ trafficking?