I'll be brief.
Thank you, Mr. Hyer. Speaking of cross-party cooperation, it's the first chance I get to be in the same party with somebody. It's really fun, I have to say.
The biggest barriers, I think, have been the fixed notion on the part of some that because Lyme disease wasn't prevalent 20 years ago, it's not prevalent now. I think that has largely been overcome, and again I want to give credit to the Minister of Health in 2009, who brought forward the idea of making Lyme disease a reportable illness in Canada. That was a big step, because when Health Canada says it's a reportable illness, it's very hard for anyone to say it's not real. It's a reportable illness. Health Canada recognized it in 2009. That's a big step forward.
The biggest opportunity is to convene this conference as quickly as possible. We have a moment here, and I don't want to lose that moment. We have a moment of non-partisan cooperation here in the House of Commons. We have the fact that Minister of Health Rona Ambrose is willing to move quickly on this. I don't want to speak out of turn—and the parliamentary secretary can correct me—but I have a great sense that she's personally engaged on this. We have the opportunity now to do something soon, to bring the provincial and territorial health authorities, the medical community, and the community of Lyme disease patients into the same room to share where we are on this and to figure out best practices.
As much as I've been engaged in this issue, I don't know best practices. I put this bill forward for first reading almost two years ago, and it is what it is. You have to wait until your turn comes up in the lottery. Even as much as I knew about Lyme disease before I put the bill forward for first reading, that has only confirmed for me, as I sit before you today, how much I don't know. We need to listen to the medical experts, and that's our best opportunity.