Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise to speak to Bill C-316. I want to start by congratulating the member for Calgary Confederation for bringing the bill forward to the House of Commons and doing it in a manner that sought the support and input of many Canadians, and members of the House as well.
The bill itself recognizes the value of organ and tissue donation and transplantation and the important role that plays in protecting the health and safety of Canadians. I think all of us at some point or other in our lives have known people who have been confronted with that situation, whether a family with a loved one who is on a wait-list, or someone else needing an essential organ or transplant for their future survival and ability to continue to live a good quality life, or a family that has to deal with the grief of losing a family member and is faced with a difficult decision at the time of their sudden death. That cannot be easy. I think we have all heard of many of these stories and situations.
The bill allows people to reflect upon their own lives and those of others around them. It gives them the opportunity to make a very important decision on what will happen to their organs and tissues upon their death, so those kinds of decisions are not left to others and family members at a time of tremendous grief.
My colleague, the member for King—Vaughan, who spoke earlier was very emotional in her speech, but was certainly able to relate to this particular situation in a way that many of us cannot. She talked about her own family and how this issue has hit the heart of it, with the emotional decisions and trauma of having a family member who might need an organ transplant at some point, and their reflections on that decision. Obviously, this bill will go to heart of what many Canadians and many families might face in this difficult situation they might face in the future.
We also know that the bill before us today is one of the pieces of legislation the Minister of Health and our government have been following through on in their mandate. The minister has been working with provinces and territories on this very legislation to try to facilitate some collaboration, some partnership, across the country when it comes to an organ and tissue donation and transplantation system that would give Canadians timely and effective access to the kind of care they need.
I think most of us who listened to our colleague from the NDP cite the statistics of the numbers of people currently on wait-lists for organ and tissue donations and transplantation and of those who have died waiting can agree that far too many people are still on those wait-lists.
We can also agree that far too many Canadians die waiting, waiting for organ and tissue transplants that are necessary for them to continue to live and have a good quality of life.
I do not think any Canadian wants that to happen. It is all our responsibility to allow for a system that will ensure more people become organ donors, that there is a system in place to allow those who need transplants to get them. It is all our responsibility as Canadians that if we can bring life to someone, we bring life to that person.
In my riding, I have a very close friend and a family that went through such an experience. The family was faced with the decision upon the death of its son, which was very sudden, on whether to donate his organs for transplantation. That was a difficult decision, one I cannot even imagine. At a time when his parents were already shocked, heartbroken and in despair, they made a decision that their son's organs would be donated and used for transplantation.
Just recently, they had the opportunity to meet an individual who received one of those organs, an individual who today is enjoying a good quality of life, bringing joy to his family, to his grandchildren, watching his grandchildren and his children continue to grow and be a part of their lives.
As difficult as it was for her, her husband and her daughter at that time, knowing that in some way their son had been able to give this gift of life helped them through what had been one of the most tragic and difficult situations in their lives. It has helped them look at grief in a different way.
It was probably a couple of weeks ago when I was listening to CBC Radio's The Current one morning. She was on the radio, talking about this situation and so was the recipient who had received the heart as part of that donation. It was one of the saddest yet most inspiring stories I had heard in a very long time.
I do not think any of us wish for any family to be placed in that situation. By allowing this as a question, as a part of the Canada Revenue Agency work that it does through the application process, in reaching out to all Canadians, creating that awareness and allowing Canadians to make that decision to become a donor, we not only give them a sense of comfort in the decision they make, but we give their families a sense of comfort as well. Hopefully, at the end of the day, we are able to bring light to more Canadians who need it.
I am happy to support Bill C-316. I know many members of the House will, including government members. I am proud of the fact that as a government we have already stepped up to do many of the things outlined in the bill. In addition, we have been able to invest more into research related to transplantation, this year it is $100 million additional, to ensure these transplantations are successful.
We are continuing to work with research agencies, with science, along with families to ensure we can improve the system of organ and tissue donation in Canada.