Bill S-204: Why You Should Care: Monica Bassili
In September 2020, Senator Salma Ataullahjan presented Bill S-204, which intends to amend the Criminal Code and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
The bill aims to introduce and enforce legal consequences for individuals identified as trafficking human organs. In addition, the bill would entrench new offences regarding trafficking in human organs.
Finally, it would amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to indicate that a permanent resident or foreign national is inadmissible to Canada if the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration believes that they have engaged in any trafficking in human organs.
You must have read this and thought… Wow!
Trafficking humans on the most basic level is regarded as a far-off instance, which seldom happens in Canada. However, trafficking of human organs is more prevalent than Canadians care to mention.
Across the globe, shortages of vital organs do not discriminate. Women, children, men, grandmothers, grandfathers, and any human being can at some point require an organ transplant.
Think of popular movies, sitcoms, and television shows. Instances in which organ transplants are required rarely succeed. Concerning financial such organs, today’s economy facilitates the successful transplant to the highest bidder.
Think of Chapter 45 of the popular television series House of Cards. The president, Frank Underwood, is shot and needs a liver transplant. Despite being second on the donor list, his Chief of Staff hacks the list and allows the President to receive the first available liver.
When TV Meets Real Life
Yes, this comparison is to a tv series, yet, it is eerily similar to wealthy elites around the globe who traffick and facilitate organ transplants.
Globally, the trafficking of organs is estimated to generate approximately 1.5 billion dollars each year from roughly 12,000 illegal transplants.
Moreover, organ trafficking is an ambiguous crime in that there are many methods of attracting potential victims.
In 2018, the International Labor Organization asserted that over 40 million people were victims of human trafficking.
Approximately 90 percent of all detected cases were for sexual exploitation or forced labour.
However, the remaining 10 percent of cases are lumped into various categories, such as organ removal. With this in mind, it is significant to note that those experiencing human trafficking are predominantly women and girls.
The United Nations estimated that over 71 percent of human trafficking victims are women and girls. As a result, women in Canada, particularly Indigenous women and girls, are at higher risk of human trafficking, including organ trafficking.
To further criminalize organ trafficking would therefore enable the government to enforce legal and immigration standards that protect predominantly women and children.
Why You Should Care
As this bill is currently being moved to the Second Reading in the House of Commons, it is essential to pressure the government to adopt this legislation.
The bill also needs increased attention, research, and analysis from Canadians of European descent. As per the responses received in the House of Commons, the most engaging response was from Member of Parliament Randeep Sarai.
He quoted the prevalence of racialized and vulnerable migrants from North Africa, South and Southeast Asia, and Central America.
Racialized Senators and Members of Parliament should not be the only ones concerned with exploiting racialized peoples across the globe.
With this in mind, there is a greater need to accept the colonial and imperial consequences of the past century and reflect on its influence on today’s migration patterns.
Unfortunately, the typical response is to assume that people from impoverished nations are incapable and incompetent, leading to less attention from Western countries like Canada.
Using these assumptions reflects the systemic way in which Western nations and Canadians of European descent view non-European countries.
Ultimately, there is an assumption that certain countries are “civilized” meanwhile others are “uncivilized.” As discriminatory as this is, the fact that Canadians fail to talk about it allows these biased beliefs to manifest in neglected and overlooked ways.
If we ignore the effects of poverty, racism, and sexual exploitation worldwide, there is a slight chance that laws such as Bill S-204 will pass.
With this in mind, it is valuable to send a message to your members of Parliament and encourage them to voice their support for Bill S-204.
