The Member of Parliament for Peace River-Westlock wants to put an end to organ harvesting.
Arnold Viersen rose in the House of Commons on Wednesday to share a petition in Parliament and had the following to say:
“Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to stand today and present a petition. The people who have signed this petition are concerned about forced organ harvesting internationally. We condemn organ trafficking and we would like to see the passage of legislation in this place. The people who have signed this petition referenced Bill C-350 and Bill S-240 from the last Parliament. They look forward to seeing similar legislation passed in this Parliament.”
Sherwood Park-Fort Saskatchewan MP, Garnett Genuis introduced Bill C-350 as a private member’s bill in the sitting before the federal election and it never ended up receiving royal ascent.
“It was the Falun Gong that first initiated this discussion with me,” says Viersen.
“As I was going into the House of Commons, I was handed a pamphlet and asked ‘did you know that organ harvesting is happening in China?’ and I did not know, and that was the first time I was able to learn more about this.”
Falun Gong is a Chinese religious practice that the Chinese Government has been trying to eliminate.
Viersen says the object of Bill C-350 was to amend the criminal code make it illegal to purchase and transport organs from Canada or other countries and impose sanctions as well.
The bill passed in the House of Commons, but Viersen says it did not make it through the Senate in time.
He adds that he is hopeful similar legislation will be passed in Parliament, which has been suspended due to COVID-19 until April 20.
– Kenny Trenton, Trending 55 Newsroom
