SoVote

Dec/7/22 5:47:59 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would request a recorded vote.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Dec/7/22 5:48:03 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-32

Pursuant to order made on Thursday, June 23, the division stands deferred until Thursday, December 8, at the expiry of the time provided for Oral Questions.

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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux

Dec/7/22 5:48:17 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I suspect if you seek it you will find unanimous consent to see the clock at 6:01 p.m., so we can start Private Members' Business.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Dec/7/22 5:48:25 p.m.
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Is it agreed? Some hon. members: Agreed.

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Mr. Darren Fisher (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Seniors, Lib.)

Dec/7/22 5:49:17 p.m.
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Re: Bill S-223

Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to speak to Bill S-223, an act to amend the Criminal Code and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (trafficking in human organs). The bill proposes much-needed reforms that would seek to end the illicit trade in organs, a trade that preys upon human suffering and desperation. Organ trafficking is a transnational and global challenge that frequently involves the exploitation of the poor and vulnerable living in under-resourced countries. Generally, wealthier individuals, often from more affluent countries, drive the demand for organs, while the supply of organs usually comes from developing regions. While there are no known organ trafficking cases where the transplant occurred in Canada, there have been reports of Canadians participating in transplant tourism. This practice involves individuals going abroad to buy organs that are needed for medical reasons but not available in their own countries. Those from whom the organs are extracted may be coerced, or they may be influenced to agree to organ removal through exploitation of their vulnerabilities. For example, they may be promised a significant monetary reward that would ease financial desperation. These individuals must co-operate in the organ trafficking enterprise, for example, by submitting to compatibility and other types of testing, and preparing for and undergoing surgery. Once the surgery is performed, they are often not provided the promised reward or the care necessary to heal from that ordeal, resulting in long-term complications and even death. Organ traffickers, those who perform these surgeries, and intermediaries who locate organs for transplant capitalize on the desperation of both the sick and the impoverished. Those from whom organs are extracted are often left uncompensated and in poor health. The Canadian health care system struggles to provide care to those who return home after such surgeries, as health care providers do not have the information necessary to address complications. Bill S-223 proposes new offences that directly target organ trafficking conduct. Some will note that we already have Criminal Code offences that criminalize organ traffickers. For example, Canada's human trafficking offences apply where traffickers recruit, transport or harbour victims to extract their organs through coercive practices. These offences apply extraterritorially, which means Canada can prosecute Canadians and permanent residents of Canada who engage in trafficking conduct abroad. The problem is that no offences apply where organs are purchased and coercive practices cannot be proven. In so many of these cases, victims are pressured or influenced to agree to sell their organs, and even where overt forms of coercion are present, the relevant evidence is difficult to obtain, including because it may be located in another country. In this regard, the proposed offences in Bill S-223 fill a critical gap in the law. Not only does the bill propose new offences that would criminalize facilitating and participating in extracting organs coercively, or obtaining organs in this context, but it also criminalizes facilitating and participating in extracting organs that are purchased or obtained for consideration, as well as obtaining purchased organs. The bill also extends extraterritorial jurisdiction, which means Canadian citizens and permanent residents can be prosecuted in Canada for engaging in conduct abroad that is prohibited by the bill. This includes those who engage in transplant tourism. The bill also proposes to make foreign nationals and permanent residents who engage in conduct prohibited by the bill's offences inadmissible to Canada for having violated human or international rights, such as war crimes or crimes against humanity under section 35 of the IRPA. The bill's objectives are consistent with international standards. For example, the World Health Organization has stated that payment for organs is likely to take unfair advantage of the poorest and most vulnerable groups. It undermines altruistic donation and leads to profiteering and human trafficking. Such payment conveys the idea that some persons lack dignity, that they are mere objects to be used by others. Various World Health Organization documents also directly address organ trafficking, for example, the 2010 guiding principles on human cell, tissue and organ transplantation, and the 2008 declaration of Istanbul on organ trafficking and transplant tourism and commercialization, whose focus is on preventing organ trafficking and transplant tourism. The declaration recommends prohibition of transplant commercialization, a term that is used internationally to refer to treating organs as commodities to be bought and sold. Bill S-223's reforms would place Canada at the forefront of the international community on the issue of organ trafficking. Very few countries have sought to combat organ trafficking by targeting the demand that fuels this harmful trade. I am very proud of what this bill's legislative history shows: that combatting organ trafficking is an issue all partisans in Canada can support. Health Canada continues to lead an initiative called the organ donation and transplantation collaborative in order to help increase access to legal and safe organ transplantation. The collaborative's goal is to achieve organ donation improvements that result in better patient outcomes and an increase in the number and quality of successful transplantations. There are many impressive actions taken by the collaborative to achieve change in this space, including creating a pan-Canadian data system that will support decisions, avoid missed opportunities and improve patient care; identifying decision-making and accountability mechanisms to ensure Canadians have access to an organ donation and transplantation system that responds to their needs and those of their families; maximizing donor identification in hospitals and referrals to transplantation services across Canada; identifying underserved populations and improving patients' access to post-transplantation care in remote communities; increasing living donation as a preferred treatment option for kidneys and the liver, for example; and supporting health care professionals through professional education. These efforts, together with Bill S-223, will make Canada a world leader in responding to organ trafficking. While many like-minded countries regulate the transplantation of human organs and prohibit organ trafficking in the same way Canada currently does, such as the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia, few countries have criminalized purchasing organs, including transplant tourism. The government supports the Criminal Code reforms proposed by this bill and will continue to work toward bringing them into force. We are committed to ensuring the bill's reforms support their objective of ending organ trafficking in all its forms, including the commercialization of human body parts, and the harm it causes to those impacted and to all of society.

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Mr. Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe (Lac-Saint-Jean, BQ)

Dec/7/22 5:57:07 p.m.
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Re: Bill S-223

Madam Speaker, as members of Parliament, we have the opportunity to speak in this House about issues that are important to us. Every day, our colleagues rise to commend or denounce a situation that sometimes brings us together and other times drives us apart. Everyone knows that I am very happy when I can jump into the political arena and debate with my colleagues from other parties. It is not news to my colleagues that I like standing up to my Liberal, Conservative or NDP friends once in a while—with all due respect, of course. That is what our job is all about: defending our ideas. Having said that, there are some issues where debate is not really appropriate, not because I want to impose my ideas, but because, very often, unanimity triumphs over difference of opinion. Most of the time, this happens when the issues relate to the protection of human rights or the well-being of individuals. As the Bloc Québécois immigration and human rights critic, today I want to talk about the protection and well-being of individuals. I want to talk primarily about Bill S-223, an act to amend the Criminal Code and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, trafficking in human organs, which was debated and passed in the Senate. This shows that there is consensus among Canadians and Quebeckers with respect to the cruel and barbaric practice of organ trafficking. There is already a consensus on this. Therefore, no one will be surprised to hear me say that, just like my Bloc Québécois colleagues, I support the principle of this bill. Before continuing, I would like us to examine some notions together. Organ transplants were first performed in the 1950s and have saved countless lives. However, the demand for organs now far exceeds supply. It is estimated that legal transplants meet the needs of 10% of all patients on waiting lists worldwide. Consequently, thousands of people die each year waiting for a transplant. There is a reason why organ trafficking is on the rise. Just look at the numbers. The desperate need for organ transplants has led to a thriving criminal, transnational and lucrative market. Organ trafficking is a global phenomenon. This phenomenon is everywhere, even though the practice is prohibited in nearly every country. It is a practice that is widely considered unethical and, sadly, it disproportionately affects the poor and disadvantaged. The numbers speak for themselves. The typical recipient is a 48-year-old man with an average annual income of $53,000. In contrast, the typical donor is a 28-year-old man with an average annual income of $480. The problem is that these transplants performed abroad are dangerous, not only for the donors, but also for the recipients. There is no regulatory framework to ensure the safety of the procedure or the viability of the organs in either the donor or recipient countries. Although the issue of organ trafficking is internationally recognized, attempts to prevent and prohibit it have had limited success. As a result, this crime remains widespread in many parts of the world. So far, legislative measures in Canada to strengthen federal laws on trafficking in human organs have yielded poor results. “Canada is back”, the Prime Minister told us in 2015 and during the last Parliament. To that I say that Canada is far from back. What is more, on international human rights files, Canada has been dragging its feet for some time now. There is currently no Canadian law prohibiting Canadians from going abroad to buy organs, get a transplant and return to Canada. In these conditions, we certainly cannot say that the measures taken by the Government of Canada have scared off many giants. In any case, certainly not China. I can say that the situation in China is especially concerning. It is the only country in the world that organizes trafficking in organs on an industrial scale by removing organs from executed prisoners of conscience. This is forced organ removal. My Uighur friends know this all too well. I will rise in the House and denounce loud and clear the atrocities committed by the Chinese government against their community any chance I get. Today, I am doing so once again because we cannot say it enough. As I stand here before members of the House, nearly two million Uighur and Turkic Muslims are in concentration camps, where many acts of torture are committed. Human beings are killed in cold blood and their organs are sold on the red market. At the risk of repeating myself, but above all out of necessity, I will again state the following in the House. At this very moment, in China, the most awful crime that a government can perpetrate against its own citizens is being committed, the crime of genocide. China currently has the two largest transplant programs in the world. They grew quickly in the early 2000s without a corresponding increase in voluntary organ donors. This has rightfully raised questions about the origin of the organs. The trade in organs harvested from Uighurs interned in Chinese camps has been repeatedly investigated. Unsurprisingly, the investigations are always suspended. We have to ask ourselves why we were elected, but also why we ran in the first place. I realize there can be a political price associated with going after a giant like China. There can be economic repercussions. Every single one of our ridings has economic interests in China. That is to be expected because China is an economic giant. At the same time, as we speak, Uighur women are being forcibly sterilized and Uighur children are being taken away from their families and placed with Han families. As we speak, Uighurs' organs are being stolen. The stolen organs are then transplanted in a capitalist market where they can be bought and sold. Canadian citizens take advantage of this market. It is important to remember why we are in politics. Yes, we have to stand up to these people no matter the political cost. I am ready to put my seat on the line by standing up to China. When I say “China”, I am talking about the Chinese communist regime in power, which is committing atrocities against its own people. Bill S‑223 is therefore very important. We are going to stand up to China for once. This will be one of the little things that we are doing, one of the small steps that we are taking, to stand against the giant that is China. I will close with the following point. I do not know what is going to happen with Bill S‑223, but at least no one can plead ignorance, which is the greatest ally of totalitarian regimes, after blindness. Let us be neither ignorant nor blind. It is with this in mind that I will be supporting the bill to combat organ trafficking, but it is mainly for reasons of safety, social justice and principle. As members can imagine, I will never compromise on this. My principles and my conscience come first, and that is how we best represent our constituents who have decided to put their trust in us.

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Ms. Lori Idlout (Nunavut, NDP)

Dec/7/22 6:05:39 p.m.
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Re: Bill S-223

Uqaqtittiji, I thank my constituents in Nunavut for putting their trust in me. I will continue to work hard to ensure their needs are being met and to ensure their voices are being heard. Bill S-223, an act to amend the Criminal Code and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act related to the trafficking in human organs, is important to many Canadians and people abroad. This bill, if passed, could do one of three things. The bill’s proposed amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act could help to ensure that receiving organs or benefiting economically from this illicit trade is inadmissible in Canada. This is particularly important for developing countries where impoverished people are experiencing forced removal of organs, like kidneys and livers. This could be a strong message to countries like India and Pakistan that have corrupt agents to people in developed countries, including Canada. The bill, if passed, could send a clear message that the government should do what it can to protect the vulnerable people who are exploited by these heinous crimes. Most importantly, the issue of organ trafficking is not a partisan one and we need to work together to get this bill passed. We know that organs, like kidneys and livers, are being forcibly removed from many people worldwide. It is a very real problem on which the government has been needing to pass legislation for a while. It is something that, through several Parliaments, we have been waiting for substantive action on. This is the opportunity to pass this important legislation. The World Health Organization has noted that one out of 10 organ transplants involves a trafficked human organ. This totals about 10,000 a year. We know this is a crime that disproportionately affects people who live in developing countries that do not have access to the same rights, privileges and equality under the law. The Canadian government, by taking a firm stance on this issue, is sending a message that the trafficking of human organs is a criminal action and should be punished as such. In addition to supporting this initiative, more should be done to encourage ethical, safe organ donation domestically to alleviate the need for trafficked organs. A total of 2,782 organ transplants were performed in Canada in 2021, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information. There are more than 3,300 Canadians on waiting lists for a kidney transplant, which is almost double the number from 20 years ago, and close to a third of them are from Ontario, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information. Organ donation is greatly needed within this country. With such a large need within this country, it is important to have a conversation on how the Canadian health care system needs to talk about these needs. With so many Canadians needing organ donations, the illegal trade of organs in Canada continues to grow. The people who are exploited in this trade have given testimony speaking to their experiences. There are stories of people who have woken up in a drugged haze to someone wearing a surgical mask and gloves telling them that their kidney has just been removed and that they need to take care of themselves. Often, these victims can suffer very serious, lifelong health consequences from that and because of the nature of the operation, some people have ultimately died from it. In expressing what matters to indigenous peoples, this is an opportunity to remind all Canadians and parliamentarians of the consequences of federal government neglect in investing in first nations, Métis and Inuit health. Indigenous peoples continue to suffer elevated health indicators worse than those of mainstream Canadians. Generally, the health care needs of indigenous peoples are not being met. Nunavut continues to rely too much on a medical travel system that does not invest well enough in the potential to invest in human resources in Nunavut and indigenous peoples across Canada. An article regarding challenges experienced by indigenous transplant patients in Canada confirmed: Northern, remote and rural Indigenous populations are further challenged as small population sizes mean that there are significantly fewer local diagnostic and health-care services, and the distances to travel to receive these services is often challenging for patients and families, particularly when regular treatments are required. By addressing the seriousness of this issue, and through years of discussion, this bill should be passed. I am pleased to see that this Parliament has tried to address that by making it easier for people to sign up and become an organ donor. However, the illegal organ trade continues to grow and people continue to be exploited. The demand for organs is high and as our population ages, we certainly need to have smart and effective policy to address this issue. It is important that education on organ donation be made more accessible to Canadians. Canada has a shortage of organs, with 4,129 patients in 2020 waiting for transplants at the end of the year and 276 Canadians who were waiting on a transplant list dying. That was up from 250 to 223 in previous years. Indigenous children, including first nations, Inuit and Métis, experience persistent health and social inequities and face higher rates of end-stage organ failure requiring solid organ transplantation. The reasons for these inequities are multi-faceted and linked to Canada's history of colonialism and racism. Organizations and labs across Canada continue to conduct research to present their findings of inadequate health care system experiences that indigenous peoples face. With a better discussion, there is hope for the future. New Democrats have long opposed all forms of trafficking, be it human trafficking for sexual exploitation, labour trafficking or the trafficking of human organs. We continue to fight for human rights. We all must do what we can to protect vulnerable people. By passing this bill, Canada can send a strong message to other countries. Let us stand together in sending this message out.

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Mr. James Bezan (Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, CPC)

Dec/7/22 6:14:18 p.m.
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Re: Bill S-223

Madam Speaker, it is indeed an honour to rise today to speak to Bill S-223, an act to amend the Criminal Code and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to stop the trafficking in human organs. I want to thank Senator Salma Ataullahjan, who brought this bill forward in the Senate, where it passed all three readings. It is now being considered here in the House of Commons, sponsored by my colleague from Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan. This bill would amend the Criminal Code to create some indictable offences for those who are engaged in illegal organ harvesting. It would also allow the Minister of Immigration and Citizenship to intercede. If it is believed that someone is in Canada as a permanent resident or here as a foreign national, they can be deemed inadmissible to Canada if they have participated, in one way or another, in the harvesting of human organs. I have been advocating for this for quite some time. We brought forward the Sergei Magnitsky law, which passed this place unanimously in 2018. The government has failed to use it since that time, other than for the first tranche of people who were sanctioned. It was to make sure that those individuals who are committing gross human rights violations around the world were held to account and that they were not allowed to use Canada as a safe haven. We know there has been a systematic organ harvesting program going on in China, led by the Communist regime in Beijing. They have used it on political dissidents and ethnic and religious minorities, like the Falun Gong practitioners, like the Uighurs, like Christians and others. They have gone out after them, arrested them and then forcibly removed their organs to profit from them. We talk about gross human rights violations. It is disgusting that someone would actually take people who are being persecuted because they are a minority group or someone who does not agree with the regime in Beijing, or other countries for that matter, and arrest them, detain them and then literally rip them apart and market their organs around the world. Bill S-223 would make sure that those individuals, if they ever came to Canada, would face our criminal justice system. They would not just be facing sanctions and be banned from Canada or have their assets frozen here in Canada, but they would face criminal prosecution here in Canada. Let us consider someone who needed an organ transplant and knowingly used an organ that was harvested in this manner from a political dissident, from a Falun Gong practitioner or Uighurs. Right now, the Uighurs are being persecuted to the highest level. Essentially a genocide is being carried out by the Communist regime in Beijing against the Uighurs. If somebody wanted to buy one of these organs, they could be facing criminal prosecution here in Canada. We know that this market exists. Estimates suggest that illegal organ trafficking generates $1 billion to $2 billion Canadian every year. That is sourced from 12,000 illegal transplants, predominantly coming from mainland China. That is 12,000 transplants a year. We have to put an end to this. I had the privilege of working with the Falun Dafa Association here in Canada. It represents Falun Gong practitioners. Many of them have fled mainland China to make sure they had the ability here in Canada to have the things that we take for granted, such as freedom of association, freedom of expression, freedom of religion and freedom of conscience. All of that is denied by the Communist regime in China. They put together some great research over the years. A former colleague has put together a rather large report with the assistance of David Matas. When I say a former colleague, I mean David Kilgour, who was a long-time MP here, who always championed human rights. They had a list of over 150 individuals who were profiting from the sale of illegally obtained organs that were harvested from Falun Gong practitioners. Last spring, I presented a petition that called on the government to look at this. It said that in the last 21 years, Communist Party officials had orchestrated the torture and killing of a large number of people who practised Falun Gong and that it was being done on a mass scale so their vital organs could fuel the communist regime's organ transplant trade. There were 14 names to sanction under the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act, the Sergei Magnitsky Law, and the government responded but never sanctioned any of the individuals named. In October 2021, I sent a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs congratulating her on her new appointment and asking her to take action on behalf of Falun Gong practitioners. I asked her to look at the entire list of individuals, which said who they were, what position they held in mainland China and what operations they were involved in with regard to persecuting and arresting Falun Gong practitioners, harvesting their organs and ultimately trading those organs around the world. I first sent the 150 names to her predecessor at the time and then to her. Again, we got a response but no action was taken. I know the bill is getting support from all sides of the House and from every corner of the chamber, but we need to make sure we step up and sanction those individuals to ensure they are not coming to Canada. We can sanction them using the Sergei Magnitsky Law. They are hiding their wealth, taking advantage of our strong banking system, taking advantage of our fairly robust real estate market and capitalizing on the illicit gains they have been able to achieve because of this illegal trade in organs. There are Canadians who need organ transplants. We have to encourage more and more people to donate organs in Canada so that we can extend the life of those who need transplants. That way, we can also deter this illicit trade in illegally harvested human organs and make sure it does not spread to other jurisdictions. We always like to concentrate on the communist regime in China, but we know this is happening in other places in the world. There are stories of African nations, and it is not just governments doing this, but gangs and the people out there in human trafficking who are resorting to this as a way to generate illicit revenues. We need to continue to stand on the side of the individuals who cannot stand up for themselves. We have to make sure Canada continues to be a leader on the issue of human rights. We need to make sure that those committing these crimes can be held to account. I know Bill S-223 would go a long way in ensuring that they would not be allowed to work in Canada and would be arrested if they did, and would not be allowed to travel to Canada or they would be arrested and face charges. We also need to make sure that those who know they are purchasing organs through this gross human rights violation of illegal organ harvesting face the full cost and full force of law here in Canada. I again want to congratulate Senator Ataullahjan for bringing this bill forward. It is something she has been working on for a number of years. It has died on the Order Paper in the past, and this is our opportunity to make sure it comes into force as quickly as possible.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Dec/7/22 6:24:12 p.m.
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Resuming debate. Is the House ready for the question? Some hon. members: Question. The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes): The question is on the motion. If a member of a recognized party present in the House wishes that the motion be carried or carried on division or wishes to request a recorded division, I would invite them to rise and indicate it to the Chair. The hon. parliamentary secretary to the government House leader.

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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux

Dec/7/22 6:24:58 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I request a recorded vote, please.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Dec/7/22 6:25:02 p.m.
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Re: Bill S-223

Pursuant to order made on Thursday, June 23, the division stands deferred until Wednesday, December 14, at the the expiry of the time provided for Oral Questions. Pursuant to order made earlier today, the House shall now resolve itself into committee of the whole to consider Motion No. 23 under government business. I do now leave the chair for the House to go into committee of the whole.

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The Deputy Chair

Dec/7/22 6:25:56 p.m.
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Before we begin this evening's debate, I would like to remind hon. members of how the proceedings will unfold. Each member speaking will be allotted 10 minutes for debate, followed by 10 minutes for questions and comments. Pursuant to order made earlier today, the time provided for the debate may be extended beyond four hours, as needed, to include a minimum of 12 periods of 20 minutes each. Members may divide their time with another member, and the Chair will receive no quorum calls, dilatory motions or requests for unanimous consent. We will now begin tonight's take-note debate.

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Ms. Leah Gazan (Winnipeg Centre, NDP)

Dec/7/22 6:26:51 p.m.
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Madam Chair, today I am going to share the words of Cambria Harris, daughter of Morgan Harris. We talk so much here and now it is time to listen to what families and survivors want. “My name is Cambria Harris. My spirit name is West Flying Sparrow Woman. I'm a member of Long Plain First Nation but I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba. I am 21 years old and I'm the eldest daughter of my deceased mother, Morgan Harris. “We all know why I'm here today, and I thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak, but I'm sad for the reasons I have to come here. It pains me to say that this week has been one of the hardest for indigenous peoples. This horrific situation has shaken us as a nation and angered indigenous people and strangers worldwide. “What has happened is despicable, and I'm utterly shocked and saddened to hear that far more beautiful innocent indigenous lives were taken at the expense of a monster, including my mother Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran, Rebecca Contois and still one lost sister who has now been named Buffalo Woman. Remember these names. Shout them from the roof of your lungs and bring justice for these deceased women. “Time and time again, the system has failed vulnerable women and people, specifically indigenous. I want you to understand that every single one of these women are beautiful human beings. They are loved. They are mothers. They are sisters. They are someone. Our women—those who bring life to this world—are considered sacred and we need to start treating them like so. We need to end this violence against our women. Each and every one of these women lived a full life of stories and love. They deserve to be remembered for who they are rather than the way they passed on.” Sorry, Madam Chair, but I am sharing the words of the victim's child, and Conservative members are choosing this time to chat. I find that disrespectful. Could you stop my time? Let us respect these families.

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Hon. Diane Lebouthillier

Dec/7/22 6:26:51 p.m.
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moved: That this committee take note of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

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The Deputy Chair

Dec/7/22 6:29:01 p.m.
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I want to remind members that a take-note debate is in play at the moment and the issue, just like every other issue, is very important. I would ask members to please respect other members in the House. If they wish to have discussions, they should take them outside to the lobby. That would be appropriate. The hon. member for Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier on a point of order.

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Mr. Joël Godin

Dec/7/22 6:29:35 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I just heard my colleague accuse Conservative members of having discussions. However, I am looking and I do not see anyone around me talking. Perhaps my colleague made a mistake.

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The Deputy Chair

Dec/7/22 6:29:47 p.m.
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I think there were members talking and some of them were Conservatives. However, regardless of whether one is a member of the Conservative Party, the Liberal Party, the Bloc Québécois or another party, it is important to respect the workings of the House when there is a debate in progress. The person who has the floor should have the respect of the entire House during debate.

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Mr. Joël Godin

Dec/7/22 6:30:22 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I rise on a point of order. I agree. You are absolutely right. No party should be named—

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The Deputy Chair

Dec/7/22 6:30:27 p.m.
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I just want to add that there were definitely members talking. I will not say whether they were Conservatives or not. You are at this end of the House. Obviously, at the other end, there are other members from two other parties. I do not know who was talking. The hon. member asked for respect based on what she could see from her side. Resuming debate. The hon. member for Winnipeg Centre.

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Ms. Leah Gazan

Dec/7/22 6:31:06 p.m.
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Madam Chair, the letter continues: “They deserve to be remembered for who they are rather than the way they passed on. It breaks me to see our women fall through the cracks of society over and over again. Throughout my teens, I've watched and I've heard the horror stories of indigenous women going missing and many never found, and when they're found, they're found deceased in the most horrible, gruesome ways, and all you can do is cry and hope your loved ones aren't next. “I was there back when Tina Fontaine went missing and I protested when she was found, because it hurt me personally as a young indigenous girl. Tina was around my age at that time, and there was protesting and rallying for her at the police station, demanding change, as a sniper looked over us. “I was at the Take Back the Night marches shouting for our women and how we shouldn't have to be afraid to go out on the streets at night. That is why I'm here today. We are not meant to be forgotten, and we won't be. We are here forever, as we should be. These women have been a voice, and they deserve to be heard and paid the respect and love they need and needed before. “Over the last decade, I've watched the news stories of families mourning their missing loved ones. I've watched stories unfold from when they go missing and when they're found in the worst ways. What happened last week and what has been happening for a very long time is a hate crime and indigenous genocide. This needs to seriously change. These monsters lurking within our society, how do we begin to pick them out and stop them before they seriously harm somebody, when all the hints were there that they were going to hurt someone? “What is frightening is how these disgusting creatures present themselves as friends. They hide in the corners and shadows, only brought to face when they've murdered our women. You guys have the power to make change and do our part in this by providing all the missing and murdered indigenous people the justice and respect they need. “The system put in place, the system that was meant to protect these women and keep them from harm, failed them miserably and horribly. I'm angered by this, and I am heartbroken for the families and victims affected by this, my indigenous brothers and sisters. I've watched a nation come together in the most beautiful of ways for the most heartbreaking and gut-wrenching situation. This needs to end. “I've watched this happen too many times. It has become a story, a story that is familiar not only for myself but also for other indigenous people. My mother, Morgan Harris, was a bright and loving soul. She gave birth to me when she was only 18 years old, and this breaks my heart because I am blessed to be a mother of a two-and-a-half-year-old and I gave birth at 19. My mother will never, ever get to meet her granddaughter, and she will never have a chance at having that sort of bond with her. That was ripped away from my mother and my daughter, and my mother was ripped away from me at the expense of a monster, a vile creature. “With that being said, I am able to understand the struggles my mother went through having a child so young and then going on to give birth to four more while struggling with addiction. She had been struggling with addiction since I was a small girl, but she still shielded me from the horrors of the world. I remember when I was younger, I had gone for a sleepover at my aunt Crystal's, and by the time we got back to our childhood home on Simcoe, my house was surrounded by police and garbage bags. I didn't get to see her up close, but she yelled at me from the house while I was in the car, saying to me that I was going for a sleepover to my aunt's and that she loved me and how she'd get me back. I believed her. “That sleepover occurred in 2006, and it ended up lasting until I was 17. I didn't understand what she was going through then because she did such a good job protecting me from it, but I understand now it was never her fault. That was the start of it all, and through the years of growing up in CFS and between having visits with her as a young child, I watched my mom slowly lose herself to addiction in the most heartbreaking way. Mental illness took over. The help for her became less and less, and I watched my mother cry for help, as well as my family. “But she did the best with what she had. She was a smart woman, an absolutely bright, loving soul. She had a smile you'll never forget. It breaks my soul to know that the system put in place that was supposed to protect her failed her and watched as she fell and cried. “She was in and out of treatment centres and homelessness, constantly living on the streets for as long as I can remember, but that didn't stop her, that didn't stop her from seeing me and still being able to be a great, amazing mother for me. She was a great mother, and I might have been in CFS, but I did get visits with her, and then I did see her. My mother always made a point of being with me separately, making sure she spent quality time with me, because she herself knew she couldn't be there in the way she so badly wanted to because these systems had failed her. “She didn't get to leave this earth with a home. She didn't get to pass away next to her loved ones, and she was loved by friends, families and strangers all around. Throughout the short years of her life, she had to live in fear, hiding from sirens and people, and constantly living in fear of the dangers that lurked around at night while we were all blessed to sleep in our beds. “She lived in fear and she left the earth in a disastrous way. But you know what? For someone so small, with a five-foot stature, she was a feisty woman. She had a passion and an often burning goodness in her heart. Anyone who looked at this tiny woman the wrong way would be sorry. She fought for what she cared about, and everyone loved it and her confidence. “She was extremely cared for by many, and since this heartbreaking news broke out, I have received substantial amounts of support, and I've heard stories of people who knew her, of how she was living on the streets, and how she always made a point and an impact on someone. Everyone always remembered her name. “She was the funniest person I knew, and she was always making me laugh, along with others, and I want you to remember my mother, Morgan, as a strong, resilient woman. She had to do what she needed to do to survive, and it's unfortunate how she left. “Let's pay her the respect and love she deserves by giving her a home finally, and that would be finding her, Marcedes and Buffalo Woman from the landfill, or wherever else they may be. Your government started this genocide and now you must help us fix it.”

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