Bill S-206 (Historical)

World Autism Awareness Day Act

An Act respecting World Autism Awareness Day

The House proceeded to the consideration of Bill S-206, An Act respecting World Autism Awareness Day, as reported (without amendment) from the committee.

World Autism Awareness Day Act

[The Speaker, Andrew Scheer]

There being no motions at report stage, the House will now proceed, without debate, to putting the question on the motion to concur in the bill at report stage.

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

moved that the bill be concurred in.

(Motion agreed to)

[The Speaker, Andrew Scheer]

When shall the bill be read the third time? By leave, now?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

moved that the bill be read the third time and passed.

Mr. Speaker, I have been blessed with many joys in the House. Seeing hon. members unanimously pass my motion targeting Internet predators, Motion No. 388, was an occasion where we rose above partisanship.

When an overwhelming majority of hon. members united to deliver a message of hope to vulnerable Canadians everywhere by voting to pass Bill C-300, my legislation on suicide prevention, I felt humbled to once again be part of an occasion where our normal partisan rancour was put aside.

Today, I stand as sponsor in the House of Bill S-206, a bill from the other place, calling for recognition of World Autism Awareness Day. Once again, I feel blessed because I sense unity on this issue.

Through the study at committee and through the debate at second reading, not a negative word was spoken about this effort. Instead, we have used our time to educate each other on the very real need to promote autism awareness and to share some very personal stories about how autism has touched our lives.

I mentioned the experience of my friend and colleague, the member for Edmonton—Mill Woods—Beaumont. I thank him for his very personal sharing of his life with parliamentarians. The way the member and his family care for Jaden and bring him to the House to allow us to interact with Jaden has been one of the joys that I have personally experienced as a member of Parliament, and I think all of my colleagues would agree.

Also the member for Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier shared some experiences from her own family. Some hon. members want more to be done, but no one has disputed that every effort to promote autism awareness is a worthwhile effort.

During study of the bill at the Standing Committee on Health, the hon. member for Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel asked Mr. Richard Burelle, the executive director of the Autism Society of Canada, if the passage of Bill S-206 would be helpful. Mr. Burelle's reply was:

Keeping autism in the forefront is always a good thing. As Senator Munson said, the fact that we're piggybacking on World Autism Awareness Day is great. Any kinds of forward steps we can take in order to keep autism in the forefront, to create that awareness, are steps in the right direction.

There is no controversy here. There is no federalist-sovereigntist division, no left-right divide. In truth, I do not believe there is any reason to continue debating the bill. Rather than spending our time agreeing with each other, I would ask hon. members to allow debate to collapse and to allow Bill S-206 to pass on a voice vote today.

This effort did not begin with this Parliament. Previous efforts enjoyed similar support, but never became law, due to election calls.

Families coping with autism spectrum disorders have waited long enough, since 2006, in fact, for the House to simply acknowledge an awareness day.

Given the broad level of support the bill enjoys from all quarters, I ask that we stop talking about recognizing World Autism Awareness Day and just get this done.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the important thing to do right now, after that wonderful speech form the member for Kitchener—Conestoga, is to ensure nobody speaks so we can pass this on a voice vote.

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the sentiments of my colleague. I would certainly favour moving right ahead, but I know there are a number of members in the House who have personal stories they might like to share, which would add a little to the conversation. I am open to having a few more short conversations, but I agree that it is important for us to get this finished today and move it on so it can actually receive royal assent.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, to express our appreciation in recognition of what the member has attempted to accomplish here, autism is a very important issue for many Canadians who are affected directly and even those who are affected indirectly by this disorder. Many individuals who are affected with autism are absolutely outstanding citizens and contribute in every aspect of our society.

I applaud the member for bringing forward the bill. We in the Liberal Party support the bill and look forward to its passage.

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure everyone in the House knows someone who has been affected by autism. For me, it is a matter of the joy that these folks bring to our lives. If we are more knowledgeable about this issue, it will certainly help us in our interaction at home, in the House and wherever we are in Canada. There are so many people who will benefit from autism awareness day, which will simply raise the awareness that these people can contribute so much, and have contributed so much, to our society.

[Royal Galipeau, Conservative, Ottawa—Orléans, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am most impressed with the work that has been done in the House by the hon. member for Kitchener—Conestoga and by other members from all corners of the House.

Autism is a cause that I have personally embraced. I have raised money to support it ever since I was elected 2,463 days ago. I am very humbled to give it Royal's assent immediately.

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is great to have this kind of support for the bill. I agree that the sooner it gets royal assent the better. However, we should allow a few other members to have a few comments to add their support to this initiative that has come from the other place.

I want to acknowledge Senator Munson and his efforts in getting this done. I had the honour of supporting it in the House, but Senator Munson actually did the work to get this to where it is now. It is important that we move on it as quickly as possible.

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to say at the outset, on behalf of the NDP, that we have agreed that the debate tonight will hopefully be cut short, that this will be approved on a voice vote. Therefore, there is no controversy, in case people start spinning this up. There were discussions held on this, and we certainly agreed with that.

We would welcome the opportunity to make a few remarks about the bill. First, I would like to thank the member for Kitchener—Conestoga, as well as the senator who came before the health committee and spoke about the bill. We had a good discussion. We were very clear at the health committee, when we dealt with it a week ago, that we in the NDP very much support a day in recognition of autism and the impact it has on Canadian families.

As the member alluded to, if there is any slight criticism it is that this really is a bill about an awareness day. We would hope to see much more meaningful action take place, as many members in the community have called for, families who are living with autism. There are some very severe needs that need to be addressed. For us, this is an issue about certainly giving recognition but needing to do more than that. That is our point.

I would point out that a number of our members have also had bills on autism. The member for Vancouver Kingsway, put forward Bill C-351. That has been a very important bill that he put forward. There is also the member for Sudbury, who has had two bills calling for action to better support those living with autism. That is the kind of meaningful action we need to see.

We in the NDP are somewhat concerned that for a number of years the government has not taken the kind of leadership that is required on this issue. We do see many organizations calling for a national strategy. In fact, there were promises made to have a national strategy on autism. That is something that is very important to do. I know the member for Kitchener—Conestoga probably supports that. I hope he will encourage his government to now go further and build on the day of awareness we have.

The only other point I would like to make is that much has been said overall in this debate, in the first hours of debate, but there is new information that is coming out. One of the issues is an issue of gender, which on the surface appears to be an issue about age. This has to do with where early intervention is provided.

The fact is that there are some estimates that the average age of diagnosis for a girl on the autism spectrum is 12, whereas for boys it is between the ages of 5 and 7. What happens is that, because early intervention often takes place around the age of 5 or 6, many girls are actually being cut out of that early intervention.

This was something that was brought to my attention by a family in Nova Scotia who actually have three daughters who are on the autism spectrum. It is something to factor in about what needs to be done, to understand the kinds of supports families need to have and to understand, when we say early intervention, that it actually has to be appropriate to the ages of children when they are diagnosed. Certainly intervention is important, but it has to be appropriate and it has to meet the needs of the children at the ages they are being diagnosed.

I did want to make that point today, because I do think it is something that helps build the debate on this issue. In conclusion, I would again say that, in the NDP, we have supported this bill. We supported it at committee. We are happy to let it go on a voice vote today, which means it will be approved.

However, we would use this opportunity to say to the government members who have been supporting this bill, and indeed to all members, let us see this as a first step, let us build on this issue, let us hold the government to its commitments for a national strategy, and let us support the families in their needs, as well as people who are living with autism, because there is much more that needs to be done.

[Hedy Fry, Liberal, Vancouver Centre, BC]

Mr. Speaker, like my colleagues in the House, I want to support the member for Kitchener—Conestoga, who suggested that we make some quick comments and then take it to a voice vote.

The Liberal Party supports this very much and we are very grateful to Liberal Senator Jim Munson, who brought the bill forward. However, I do want to add some comments.

My hon. colleague for Vancouver East discussed the fact that gender is a huge issue in terms of early diagnosis. We know that early diagnosis is very important to get the kind of early interventions one needs. However, there are some other things I want to highlight.

I was quite impressed and moved at a conference I was at this weekend in British Columbia. It was an international conference with people from eight countries, all of whom themselves were autistic or on the spectrum disorder at some level. I heard some things from them that, even as a physician, I was not aware of and that moved me greatly.

We talk about this as a spectrum disorder, which becomes an illness, a diagnosis, et cetera. However, I was very much moved by the people in that room, from eight countries, in that that they did not want people to see them as a disorder. They wanted people to understand that many of them are functioning well and have great ability. They need people to understand the nature of autism in its full spectrum.

It was interesting when the member for Vancouver East talked about diagnosing girls at about 12. I met women with Aspergers who belong to the Asperger Women Association, who were diagnosed at 50, 42 and 35.

We see that we do not understand, in fact, that many people with autism function in our society. However, the people at the conference commented that they are discriminated against in society. Sometimes at home and school there is a certain protection for them, but when they go out into the real world they are discriminated against. They cannot get jobs. They find that people look at them as if they have a mental disability, when many of them have extraordinarily high IQs. Many are extremely talented artists. Some are very verbal and very good at all kinds of communications, not necessarily verbal ones.

I heard that they wanted the schools to understand them and not discriminate against them. They are subject to bullying a great deal and they wanted to deal with that issue.

As we talk about awareness, they very much want people to understand the fact that they are very able. Many of them are highly functioning. I met people there that day who had extraordinary IQs that were much higher than mine. They would be at genius levels. I also heard that they are concerned about their human rights.

I heard some moving things. For instance, they do not want people to fix them or cure them, but they do need support, understanding and opportunity to participate fully in jobs and the economic, cultural and social sectors. This is where I want to put a plea on the table. I was extremely moved by that.

As a physician, I had understood the spectrum disorder very differently. However, I do not even want to talk about it as a spectrum disorder anymore. As a physician, I saw it as a problem for a long time and not necessarily as something where a person would say they were born autistic, that is who they are and they are happy with the gifts they have. They just want opportunity, understanding and the ability not to have people say they want to fix them.

In fact, some said that family doctors, psychologists and psychiatrists have told them that if they are functioning well they should not tell anyone they are autistic. If they did not tell anyone, they would not be discriminated against. It was kind of like telling the LGBT community, as in the old days, to stay in the closet and not to come out.

I want to put that to members here so that we can understand people with autism spectrum disorder very differently from how we have tended to understand them.

[Mike Lake, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, I am not going to engage in debate today either. I am very heartened by the members of all parties saying they want to bring this to a vote tonight. I am also heartened, listening to two members of the opposition who have been around here for a long time, who have both said they have learned something new about autism in the last little while. I am excited about that. I look forward to having further conversations with them. If there is any way I can help them increase their understanding any more, or put them in touch with others who may also be able to express similar types of challenges, certainly I would be glad to do that.

I want to recognize a few people today, if I could. I want to thank Senator Munson for moving this bill in the first place. I really appreciate that. I appreciated having the opportunity to work with him on this issue over time. I want to thank some government ministers: the Minister of Health, the Minister of Human Resources, the Minister of National Revenue and staff who we worked with to try to move some of the issues.

The opposition members talked about some of the challenges. We have had the opportunity to bring forward some of those challenges to these various ministries and their staff, and stakeholders have been received very well as we have tried to move some of these issues forward. I want to thank those ministers.

I want to thank the member for Kitchener—Conestoga for picking up the bill in the House and for his very enthusiastic support of it, as with everything he does. The vigour and the positive attitude with which he supported this have been really encouraging.

I am doing a lot of thanking today, but I have spoken a lot about the issue. I want to thank my own staff, who I do not thank enough, for their work on this issue. They have embraced the issue as their very own. They have embraced Jaden as though he is their family member. It is a lot of work on top of the regular life of an MP. The work they do to raise awareness of this issue on top of their regular workloads is astounding, and I really want to thank them for that.

Jaden and I had the opportunity to go to New York a couple of weeks back. We went there for a UN event. The World Autism Awareness Day actually arose out of an initiative by the UN and Bob and Suzanne Wright, who founded Autism Speaks. It arose out of conversations they had. They have continued their work to raise awareness on this important issue.

We were there for a couple of days, and while we were there we had a chance to speak to the spouses of world leaders. There were 15 or 16 spouses. We actually spoke with the Prime Minister of Bangladesh and the President of Panama at the same time. We were very enthused and excited. We had the chance, as we were speaking to them, to play a bit of football in front of them. I had to explain that North American football is a bit different from the football most of them are used to. We do that to settle Jaden down, because he sometimes gets very excited and intense when we are doing some of these things. Playing football kind of calms him down, so we had the chance to show them how that works for him.

While we were in New York, I was constantly working, so Jaden was grabbing my shoulder and hanging off my shoulder, staring at my BlackBerry the whole time because he had to be on top of what the schedule was, but he was more excited than I have ever seen him in two days. We really had a fun time.

We went to Times Square on Friday night and, in terms of autism awareness, one of the things we have to be aware of as parents is that when we are in situations like that, Jaden is very excited, hanging off my shoulder, but if he gets two feet away from me in a crowded atmosphere like that, I might never find him again. We had the opportunity to experience Times Square together with all the excitement of the bright lights and everything else. It was a spectacular time.

We had the chance to do about five media interviews while we were there. I do want to recognize the folks in the media who have really worked to raise awareness of this issue. David Ariosto from CNN did an interview with us, and so did David Common from CBC. They both got it immediately. They both understood Jaden immediately. They made that connection with Jaden, and their stories reflect that. That was similar to the things that Tom Clark and Steve Paikin and Evan Solomon have done here when they have had the opportunity to raise awareness. We talked to Marci Ien at Canada AM and a lady named Susan James at ABC News. All of them really took an interest in this issue. It was not just another day in their lives of work, but they actually took an interest in really raising awareness of this issue.

They had a chance to get to know and connect with Jaden and move that issue forward. I want to thank them for doing that and for taking the time to go above and beyond in their approach to this.

I do not want to take much more time. I know that we want to pass this bill. No one wants that more than I do. However, I would be remiss if I did not thank the families of people with autism. When it comes to autism awareness, we can do a lot in the House, but it is the families that model the grace, perseverance and love for their family members, the sons, daughters, siblings, and in some cases, parents, who may not have been diagnosed until later in life as being on the spectrum. No one who advocates is more aware of the challenges than they are. They live every day with this. We discuss it once in a while in the House, but every single day those families live with this.

We heard the hon. member down the way refer to individuals with autism and their own unique perspectives. There is certainly a whole variety of unique perspectives. When we focus on the challenges, we also have to focus on the amazing, unique skills and talents these people have. As a society, we need to try to find ways to include them, take advantage of their incredible strengths, and learn from them. They make our lives better. My life is infinitely better because my son Jaden is involved in it. I would say that everyone in the House who has had the opportunity to meet Jaden, without exception, would say that their lives are better for having had the opportunity to give him a high five, a hug or a kiss.

With that, I will close. I thank all members from all parties for the way they have embraced Jaden during the time I have been a member of Parliament. God bless them all.