Resuming debate, the Honourable Member for Oakville North-Burlington.
Thank you Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to speak today in support of Bill S-201, the
genetic non-discrimination act.
I applaud Senator Cowan for his efforts for many years on this issue and my colleague,
the member for Don Valley West, who has been a tireless advocate to end genetic discrimination.
With this bill, we have the historic opportunity to join all other G7 countries that already
have legislation that protects its citizens from discrimination based on their genetics.
As we have heard, the bill has three components, each of which is critical to the new genetic
non-discrimination bill, which would make it a criminal offence for a service provider
to require genetic testing or that a person disclose results of past testing.
The second part would amend the Canada Labour Code to set up a complaint procedure for those
working in federally regulated industries.
Finally, it would amend the Canadian Human Rights Act to add the words "genetic discrimination".
The proposed amendments would remove two of these three components of the bill and could
leave more 90% of Canadians with a false sense of security that they are indeed protected.
As we know, only 5% to 7% of Canadians are covered by the Canadian Human Rights Act,
so most would still remain without protections with the government's proposed amendments.
My colleague from Don Valley West shared a timeline that highlights the rapid changes
taking place in genetic testing.
In 2003, scientists first mapped the human genome.
Then there were 100 genetic tests for diseases or conditions.
When Senator Cowan first spoke about this issue in the Senate 10 years later, the number
of tests had jumped to 2,000.
Today that number has skyrocketed to almost 35,000, with tests available for more than
10,000 conditions.
The Canadian Coalition for Genetic Fairness is a group of 18 organizations dedicated to
establishing protections from genetic discrimination for all Canadians.
Members include the ALS Society of Canada, the Alzheimer Society of Canada, Muscular
Dystrophy Canada, the MS Society of Canada, Osteoporosis Canada, and 13 more.
They have stated that cases of genetic discrimination have been documented in Canada and are continuing
to grow.
As they remind us, all Canadians are impacted by genetic discrimination.
Each of us has dozens of genetic mutations that could increase or decrease our risk of
getting diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, Parkinson's, or Alzheimer's disease.
While I was aware that genetic testing was available, like most Canadians I had not given
it a lot of thought.
While I knew that my father's colon cancer made it more likely for me to develop the
same cancer, there was not a genetic test available for that particular cancer.
I knew about the BRCA gene and its connection to breast and ovarian cancer, but it was not
until last year, when I had a meeting with Ovarian Cancer Canada, that I was shocked
to learn of the discrimination that is taking place in our country based on genetics.
Ovarian cancer is an insidious disease that is notoriously hard to detect.
There is no reliable early detection test.
It is the third most common reproductive cancer in women and one of the most deadly.
I was told the story of two sisters who had a history of ovarian cancer in their family.
Their doctors recommended genetic testing, as their prognosis would greatly improve with
the knowledge gained from these tests.
One sister had the testing, was positive for the gene, and had surgery to remove her ovaries.
The other sister was told her insurance would be cancelled if she tested positive, so despite
the fact that the test could potentially save her life, she was afraid to risk losing her
insurance and did not get genetic testing.
Just last night, I received a letter from a constituent who wished to stay anonymous
out of fear of discrimination.
She disclosed that she and her daughter had a genetic test that found that they both had
a gene that could leave them blind.
She questioned the fairness of allowing a simple genetic test to undermine her future
access to employment and insurance, and she worried about her daughter and the effect
it could have on her career and future.
She reminded me that we live in Canada, a country where we celebrate our differences.
We protect one another from race, colour, sex, and disability discrimination.
In an article posted yesterday, representatives from Ovarian Cancer Canada and the Centre
for Israel and Jewish Affairs wrote:
For a young woman taking her first steps in building a professional career, the "wrong"
genetic test results can impose a new glass ceiling....
Tomorrow is International Women's Day, and members of this House will have an opportunity
to enhance women's health by allowing them to use genetic testing for early detection,
monitoring, and intervention without the fear of being discriminated against.
Last year I had the opportunity to speak with Rabbi Stephen Wise from the Shaarei-Beth El
congregation in Oakville.
He shared with me the prevalence of certain genetic diseases within the Jewish community.
He said that Bill S-201 would save lives.
In fact, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, a member of the Canadian Coalition
for Genetic Fairness, which appeared as a witness before the justice committee, stated,
"It is time for the law to catch up with science and bring an end to genetic discrimination".
On its website, it highlights that governments continue to invest billions in promising genome
research, but the benefits of this research will be diminished or degraded due to genetic
discrimination.
A Globe and Mail story from last year told the story of a 24 year old who was fired from
his first job of his career when he told his employer he had tested positive for the gene
for Huntington's disease.
Our human rights laws do not cover this type of discrimination yet.
Bill S-201 would change that.
This is one of the many reasons why the bill should pass as is, without amendment.
As it is currently written, the bill would make this type of dismissal criminal and allow
individuals to make their case through the less cumbersome judicial process.
Constitutional law experts have stated that the bill would be constitutionally valid because
it did not single out a particular industry that fell under provincial jurisdiction.
This issue has been debated in the House of Commons and the Senate.
The issue of genetic screening has been mentioned in both the Liberal and Conservative Party
platforms, and the NDP recently had a private member's bill to ban "genetic characteristics"
as grounds for discrimination under the Canadian Human Rights Act.
I suspect most Canadians would be shocked that their genetic test results could be used
to discriminate in employment, insurance, and even divorce cases.
Often it is not until people are advised to get genetic testing that they find out about
this discrimination.
The fear of the disclosure is actually preventing people from getting tested.
This is just wrong.
Genetic testing is transforming medicine by moving medical research toward personalized
medicine.
Modern medicine is recognizing that mapping the human gene for diseases and conditions
can truly change the way we treat individuals.
When Dr. Cindy Forbes, past president of the Canadian Medical Association, appeared before
the justice committee, she stated the CMA's strong support for Bill S-201 in its entirety.
She spoke to the rapid growth of genetic testing and the great promise it held in the diagnosis
and therapeutic treatment of many known and new diseases.
She said this would ultimately enhance the quality of life of many patients and allow
for early diagnoses that would benefit patient care.
She testified that genomic medicine was a transformative development.
She also stated:
Of great concern to Canada's doctors and their patients is the fact that public policies
and legislation have not kept pace with this transformation.
Genetic discrimination is both a significant and an internationally recognized phenomenon...As
Canada's doctors, it is the CMA's position that Canadians deserve to have access to the
best possible health care without fear of genetic discrimination.
She testified to the correlation between disease and genetics, stating:
Six out of every 10 Canadians will be affected during their lifetime by a health problem
that is genetic in whole or in part.
It's important to recognize that genetic testing will no longer be limited to rare, esoteric
genetic diseases occurring in patients seen by a handful of specialists across the country.
Rather, it's becoming an integral part of broad medical care and, as such, is expected
to become mainstream medicine.
As legislators, it is imperative that we deal with this issue now and give those who undergo
genetic testing the protection they deserve.
Bill S-201, if passed as originally written without amendments, will bring our laws in
line with other G7 countries.
This law is long overdue.
It will protect our citizens.
It is the right thing to do.
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