Mr. Chair, I'll be presenting three petitions today.

The first petition is with respect to firearms. The petitioners note that virtually all violent gun crime committed in Canada, including the recent terrible shooting in Nova Scotia, involved illegal firearms in the hands of those already not permitted to posses them. Given this clear data, taking property from law-abiding citizens is a distraction from the important work that needs to be done to keep guns out of the hands of criminals.

The petitioners have three specific asks: number one, reverse the order in council banning certain firearms imposed on May 1; number two, propose measures that will effectively address the illegal use of firearms by criminals while respecting the rights of law-abiding citizens; and number three, ensure that substantial changes to Canada's firearms laws are only ever made by Parliament and not by the government or the RCMP acting unilaterally.

The second petition deals with government Bill C-7. While there's growing discussion about the need to do better in the area of long-term care, the government's focus has been instead on expanding euthanasia, even doing so ahead of a mandated five-year statutory review. Part of proposed Bill C-7 is to do away with a 10-day reflection period and reduce the number of witnesses required to ensure patient consent. The petitioners are opposed to and don't see the logic in the government's focus on removing safeguards rather than providing seniors with dignified living circumstances.

The third petition is in support of Bill S-204, a bill that would make it a criminal offence for someone to go abroad to receive an organ without consent and also create a framework under which someone could be made inadmissible to Canada if they were involved in the horrific practice of forced organ harvesting.

I commend these three petitions to the consideration of the committee. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and have a good summer.

Garnett Genuis

$591,290.00