Senator Ataullahjan: Senator Gold, we are almost two years into this pandemic and little progress has been made to expedite immigration applications.

Most of the department’s in-person offices remain closed and applicants report being unable to communicate with officers unless they hire an immigration consultant, which comes with a hefty fee.

Senator Gold, what measures have been implemented to modernize the IRCC so it can still function in a more virtual world?

Hon. Salma Ataullahjan: Honourable senators, my question is for the government leader in the Senate. Yesterday, the Minister of Immigration, Sean Fraser, said it would take two years to bring Afghan refugees to Canada. I understand the challenges, Senator Gold, but given that the government knew the challenges it would face — if not years ago, at least months ago — does the government expect that some of these refugees who are on the run and hiding home to home, who are also facing a humanitarian crisis, will still be alive after two years?

Hon. Salma Ataullahjan moved second reading of Bill S-223, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (trafficking in human organs).

She said: Honourable senators, I rise today for the second reading of Bill S-223, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (trafficking in human organs). For those of you keeping count, this is my fourth introduction of this bill, and hopefully it will be my last.

Less than six months ago during the last parliamentary session, Bill S-204, an exact copy of this bill, unanimously passed in this chamber. It also received all-party support in the other place, but sadly fell off the Order Paper for reasons out of our control.

Honourable senators, Canadians are desperately asking us to pass this piece of legislation — a culmination of 13 years of parliamentary work — without further delay. For those of you who are not familiar with this bill, I will gladly provide a summary.

Bill S-223 proposes to strengthen Canada’s response to organ trafficking by creating additional Criminal Code offences in relation to such conduct and extends extraterritorial jurisdiction over the new offences. It also seeks to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to provide that a permanent resident or foreign national is inadmissible to Canada if the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration finds that they have engaged in trafficking of human organs.

Currently, there are no laws in Canada banning Canadians from travelling abroad, purchasing organs for transplantation and returning to Canada. That is shameful, especially when we have joined most of the world in condemning the sale of organs and transplant tourism.

Over 100 countries have passed legislation banning the trade of organs. Additionally, several countries have responded with legislation strengthening existing laws that ban organ trafficking and sales. There are a number of governmental and professional bodies with initiatives to regulate domestic and international organ transplantation and tackle organ trafficking, including, for example, the Council of Europe Convention against Trafficking in Human Organs.

Until we pass this bill, we will have to rely solely on people’s ethical and moral conscience to deter Canadians from seeking and obtaining organs abroad. Unfortunately, we know that these deterrents alone are not enough.

In 2012, the World Health Organization claimed that an illegal organ was sold every hour. Overall, the number of illegal transplants worldwide is believed to be around 10,000 a year. This would mean that in the past 13 years that we have dedicated to putting an end to organ harvesting and trafficking, over 130,000 illegal transplants have occurred.

The international character of this problem, which often sees vulnerable people exploited to meet the demand for organ transplantation in places like Canada, requires more than just a condemnation. We need legislation now. When this legislation is passed, perpetrators will know that they can be prosecuted in Canada and banned from entry.

Despite our inability to eradicate human rights violations around the world, we can enact change at home. It is entirely within our power to avoid complicity of transplant tourism within our own borders. This bill is a welcome effort in that complicity avoidance.

It is up to us to give domestic reality to the international aspirations embodied by international law. We, as parliamentarians, whether in government or in opposition, can and must do our part. This globally pervasive practice needs to be stopped without any further delay. Thank you.

Hon. Salma Ataullahjan introduced Bill S-223, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (trafficking in human organs).

(Bill read first time.)