Thank you very much.
I would like to thank Madam Chairperson and members of the Standing Committee on Health for allowing us to present this morning, and also to convey our deep appreciation to Patricia Davidson, MP for Sarnia—Lambton, for bringing forward this most important issue.
Before I turn it over to our expert witness, Dr. Peter Agapitos, I want to provide you with a very brief overview of what the Canadian Ophthalmological Society is.
The Canadian Ophthalmological Society, or the COS, is the principal national public voice for ophthalmology in Canada. COS is the national organization representing all of the eye physicians and surgeons in Canada. Our mission is to ensure the provision of optimal eye care by promoting excellence in ophthalmology and by providing services to support our members in practice.
We're an affiliate of the Canadian Medical Association, the CMA, and an accredited provider of continuing professional development or continuing medical education, as recognized by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.
COS works to improve eye and vision care standards for all Canadians through the work of our board of directors, our councils and committees, and ties with national and international ophthalmological and eye care organizations. We have over 1,000 ophthalmologists who are members of the COS and 200 residents in ophthalmology who are also members.
I would now like to turn it over to Dr. Peter Agapitos.
Thank you.