Madam Speaker, I rise today to table e-petition 2757, which I was proud to sponsor. The petition signed by more than 1.500 Canadians is part of a national campaign organized by a group called All Blood is Equal.
The petitioners call on Parliament to end the unscientific ban on blood donations from gay men, men who have sex with men and trans women, as this policy only contributes to blood shortages and perpetuates homophobic stereotypes.
The petitioners note that this is particularly egregious during a pandemic and call on the House to support my Motion No. 41, which in turn calls on the government to introduce behaviour-based rather than identity-based blood donation guidelines as more 17 other nations have already done.