Thank you very much, Chairperson, and thank you to both of our witnesses for being here today.
It's very heartening to hear about the research under way through the institute and that PHAC is very engaged with public awareness and getting the message out, because I think what we heard from the witnesses from the foundation last Thursday is that people are suffering from Lyme disease. One of their big concerns is that information is just not out there, so it's very good to hear you say that you hope that by the end of the summer there'll be a much greater awareness in Canada, because it is upon us.
I'd like to focus on a couple of questions. When we heard the witnesses last week, I would say that one of their key points and key frustrations was the lack of access to diagnostic testing. You've spoken about the two tests that are available in Canada, but we also heard stories of people who have gone to the United States to get another test—I forget the name of it—which is apparently not recognized or not available here. Actually, it might be available in one place in Canada.
I'm very interested in your comments at the end of your brief where you say that you're updating your laboratory diagnostic guidelines to reflect current evidence. I don't know if that's your diplomatic way of saying that the testing we have isn't cutting it, is not adequate, and that we're looking for new levels of diagnostic testing. I wonder if you could expand on that and tell us what feedback you've been getting from the Lyme Disease Foundation and whether or not we are looking at other diagnostic tools that will help people who think they've got Lyme disease and could get a test. That's one question.
I'd be interested to hear you talk about the action plan that you're developing and the three pillars. Knowing the bill, I wonder how you see the national strategy in the bill as different from your action plan.