I'll be quick. I probably won't get time to ask a question, though.
I want to start by thanking our colleagues from all parties. You guys have been amazing. I have a 16-year-old son with autism, as I think just about everybody in this room knows. He's like a three- or four-year-old in a 16-year-old's body. He comes here every year and gets a chance to meet all of the MPs, and he tries to raise awareness in his own way. I have to say the response from colleagues, regardless of party affiliation, has always been amazing. I thank you for that.
Jim, thank you for your tireless work on this. You and I may not always agree on exactly what the answer is, but we agree that what we want to do is help people with autism, not just autism—people who need help in a lot of areas. On this specific issue, I thank you for the work you've done.
Stakeholders, we've had many, many conversations over the years. Kathleen, thank you for the work you've done. We've had the opportunity to bring you together with the officials. We have the officials sitting here at the table to talk about some of the issues that we've been talking about today.
I know I'm going to get a chance in a few minutes to actually ask some questions, but I'm going to use my time right now to say thank you for the work you've done, and to let you know how important this is to my family.
I think, Marg, you made the point that if you meet one person with autism, you meet one person with autism. That's what it's like with Jaden. The challenges Jaden has aren't the same challenges that everybody else has. Hopefully over time we'll get a chance to meet more and more people. We'll see them in stores when we go to the store, we'll see them working in the library when we go to the library, or, in Jaden's case, as he participates in musical theatre, and he cooks, and does things that we would never have thought he'd be able to do. Thank you all for the role you play in helping our families get to that point.