Madam Speaker, the issue of organ and tissue donation has come up for debate in the House on a number of occasions, and I have found that the debate on this subject invokes more emotion than debates on other subjects, and in a very positive way.
Whether it is the sponsor of this bill or other members who have had the opportunity to address the issue, I have witnessed that it is a very personal issue. I really do appreciate members' willingness to share their stories and thoughts and I recognize their passion.
I am sure the sponsor of the bill has listened very carefully to what has been said. I want to compliment his willingness and co-operative approach in trying to pass legislation that concerns an important issue to all Canadians.
I was a health critic in the province of Manitoba. Every so often the issue of organ donation would come up. It was an issue of utmost importance, and one on which there was lobbying. At the time, provincial MLAs said that something needed to be put on driver's licences, that maybe people should have to opt out as opposed to opt in to organ donation. All sorts of ideas were put forward as to how we might get more people to participate in organ donation.
I did a quick search on Google to get a better sense of organ donation. Well over 50 lives can be directly affected through the untimely passing of an individual who made the commitment to organ donation. The individual's passing could contribute to 50-plus lives being saved in a profound and positive fashion. When I say “positive”, I mean it could be anything from a life-saving heart transplant to a tissue transplant. The recipient might not be in a life-threatening situation but the donation of either an organ or tissue would be very important to him or her.
I want to emphasize to those who might be following this debate that we need to work with different jurisdictions. There are certain aspects of this for which the provinces and territories should be at the table. It is important to recognize, as the member across the way has done, that Ottawa needs to play a strong leadership role. My New Democrat friend referenced the importance of having a national registry. That may be something we could strive for.
On a Saturday a few weeks back, I met with a constituent at a local restaurant. The individual was virtually in tears when he talked about his niece who needed an organ donation. She had lived in Winnipeg but had moved to another province. It is hard to think of a young 15-year-old or 16-year-old girl with so much potential having to plead for help. She lives in Alberta and there are special circumstances surrounding the situation. My daughter, who happens to be an MLA, became engaged in the situation. We appealed through some media outlets for help and we are hoping and praying that the appeal will be successful.
There are far too many examples I could cite. I suspect that if we were to canvass all 300-plus members of Parliament, we would hear some very personal stories about how individuals could be assisted, lives could be saved and so forth.
I truly believe that we are moving forward, but not nearly as fast as we could be on this particular issue. I would like a bigger commitment to co-operate and facilitate something that would be in the national interest in terms of having a data bank from coast to coast to coast. That is ultimately what we should strive to achieve. However, we should not kid ourselves. It is not easy.
If members do a quick search on the Internet, they will find that different provinces have different approaches. If someone on Prince Edward Island needs a liver or another organ, that person, and his or her family, wants to know that whatever can be done is being done and that it goes far beyond the boundaries of Prince Edward Island. That is something we should strive for. Obviously, there are things in place to assist someone from P.E.I., but it is not as simple as it should be.
The point is that we need more organization, co-operation and collaboration among the different partners. I am referring to the provinces, territories and the federal government. That is what we need on the one hand. On the other hand, we need promotion to make the public more aware. We could talk about the statistics. There is no doubt that in Canada, we could do a lot better in terms of getting more people engaged by stressing how they could impact the lives of others by checking off a box.
Organizations have gone out of their way to simplify the process. For example, in the province of Ontario, there are websites that are very simply designed. It is easy to navigate the system to register. There is a national website. Those who may be following the debate can go to the national website, which links to the many provincial websites so that no matter where people happen to live, they can become directly engaged.
Some of the best known contributions are through blood banks. We talk about the G7 and western countries. In terms of Canada's participation in blood banks and organ and tissue donation, Canada does not fare very well. It is purely guessing on my part that one of the primary reasons is that we do not have a coordinated approach with the different stakeholders. I believe that could ensure that we have the ideal list. We need promotional campaigns and recruitment drives.
There has to be consent. All parliamentarians recognize the importance of consent. To that degree, it is getting people to buy in and provide their consent the best way we can.
I appreciate what the member is attempting to do and hope that at some point, the bill will pass.