Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to address what is a really important issue. The whole issue of organ donations is something I am personally very interested in.
I was pleased with my colleague's comments about how individuals who are prepared to donate an organ should be made fully aware of what it is that he or she is offering to do. One of the other aspects of that debate is recognizing that it is not just the House of Commons. In fact, it entails having Ottawa work with different jurisdictions, the provinces and territories and possibly other stakeholders to deal with this issue. At the very beginning we recognized that it is an international issue of grave consequence that is having a serious impact around the world.
Even though, to the best of my knowledge, there has never been a case cited here in Canada, we have still seen Canada play important roles regarding leadership and trying to convey very strong messages on important issues.
The first question I asked my colleague across the way was with respect to a petition. I first heard about this issue through a group of individuals in my own community of Winnipeg who took the time to explain the issue to me personally. The degree to which that exploitation is taking place is fairly offensive, and I think the vast majority of Canadians would be very surprised.
I have had the opportunity to travel, as other members have, outside of Canada, and I have seen members of the Falun Gong group promoting and encouraging a higher sense of public awareness that goes far beyond our borders. That is one of the reasons I did not have an issue tabling petitions on it.
If I reflect on some of those petitions, they highlight the core issue. For example, they recognize that Falun Gong is a traditional Chinese spiritual discipline that consists of meditation, exercise and moral teachings based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion and tolerance. They make reference to the fact that back in 1999, the Chinese Communist Party launched an intensive and nationwide persecution campaign to eradicate the Falun Gong.
These are the types of issues that are being raised through petitions. I would suggest that these do more than just make those of us inside this chamber aware, because they engage citizens by requesting that they look at the petition, try to better understand the issue, and then sign in support of it. They reference David Matas, someone I have known personally for many years.
The former Canadian Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific, David Kilgour, conducted an investigation in 2006 and concluded that the Chinese regime and its agencies throughout China had put to death tens of thousands of Falun Gong prisoners of conscience. Their vital organs were seized and put up for sale at a high price.
Many doctors opposed to forced organ harvesting have collected about 1.5 million signatures in petitions over the years from countries all around the world. This bill references 50-plus countries, as well as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, who has called for immediate action to end the unethical practice of forced organ harvesting in China and an end to the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.
The European parliament has taken some action to date with a resolution condemning organ harvesting abuse in China. The resolution called on the government of China to end immediately the practice of harvesting organs from prisoners of conscience.
To the best of my knowledge we have not seen a motion or resolution to that effect, and that surprises me. There have been a number of attempts made by some members to bring legislation forward. There appear to be a number of outstanding concerns that we hope to draw out during this second reading debate, and the debate that might follow in the coming days to address some of those concerns.
This issue has been raised already. The people who have signed these petitions are asking the Government of Canada to take action. This is not a new issue. It has been around for a number of years, as my friend pointed out. Even former prime minister Stephen Harper was unable to get it to a vote. We will have to see what takes place here.
This issue is recognized in the Criminal Code. Many aspects of this proposed legislation, from what I understand, are already covered in the Criminal Code, if not directly, definitely indirectly, dating back to 2005 when the Criminal Code was amended.
I would suggest that we look at clauses 279.01 to 279.04 of the code. The main trafficking in persons offence prohibits engaging in specified types of conduct in order to exploit or facilitate the exploitation of another person. Exploitation is defined broadly and includes causing a person “by means of deception or the use or threat of force or any other form of coercion, to have an organ or tissue removed.”
In addition, it is an offence to receive a financial or material benefit knowing that the tissue or organ was derived from trafficking in persons. The concept of a material benefit is sufficiently broad to encompass the receipt of an organ in cases where the recipient knew the organ was obtained through deceit or any other form of coercion.
Canada's human trafficking offences also apply extraterritorially, in section 7(4.11), and therefore can be used to prosecute in Canada the Canadians or permanent residents who commit human trafficking offences abroad.
There are also provincial statutes that prohibit sales, purchase and dealings in human tissues or organs outside the applicable regulatory framework.
The point is that there are a number of issues, just as I am sure that former prime minister Stephen Harper recognized. Our government is looking at all aspects of this issue. We hope that the members across the way will maybe pick up on some of those points and possibly expand on them.
We know that there is an obligation for the government to work with other stakeholders, in particular our provinces and territories, and to listen to what Canadians have to say. We will have to wait to see how this debate ultimately evolves.