Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the New Democratic Party, I would like to congratulate my hon. colleague, the member for Calgary Confederation, who has done such wonderful work, putting organ donation not only before our committee but before the House and, by extension, before our country.
I have two questions for the member.
First, it is a wonderful idea to add a question to Canadians' tax returns in order to encourage people, on an annual basis, to consider being an organ donor. I think that will increase the rates of organ donation in the country. Of course it is only adults, probably over the age of 18, of working age, who file tax returns. Does the member have any ideas or suggestions as to how we can encourage Canadians who may fall between those cracks to become organ donors?
Second, as we have heard at committee, countries like Spain have extremely high levels of organ donation, probably due to a variety of factors, but primarily because they have a presumed consent system. All Spanish citizens are presumed to be organ donors, unless they specifically opt out. Does he have any comment or position on that as a potential way to help increase organ donor rates in our country.