Thank you very much, Chair.
First of all, to Senator Munson, thank you very much for coming here today to present your bill, and to the witnesses who all did an amazing job of giving us a real sense of what this issue is about.
We're only spending one short meeting on this, and it's not enough, so I'll get into it right away. Obviously, we support the bill. To raise awareness is very important; that's a given.
I want to read out an e-mail that I received from a parent who has three daughters who are on the autism spectrum. Her name is Amy. What she wrote to me was that
'Autism Awareness' is done and advocated for with the best of intentions. However, it is not something that is actually for autistic people and their families. They are already very aware.
She's saying that awareness is not enough:
Awareness needs to be matched by meaningful action. It must lead to appropriate lifespan supports and services across this country that allow autistic people and their families to reach their fullest potential.
You've all spoken about that. I want to get at the issue of what more we should be doing.
Senator, your bill is about an awareness day. I know that the Senate committee you instigated in 2007 made a number of recommendations, one of which was calling for the federal government, in collaboration with the provinces and territories, to establish a comprehensive national autism spectrum disorder strategy, including treatment, supports, and so on. I believe the Conservative government, in their platform in either 2006 or 2008, also promised such a strategy.
I wonder whether you have had any response to the Senate committee report or whether any of the other organizations are aware of any further support. It seems to me that the awareness is very important, but that unless we follow through on the need for a strategy and the treatments and supports to families, we're not getting nearly as far as we must get.
Could you respond to that?