It's been a long road. One of my colleagues talked about going down that road in 2017 and basically having what would have led to a national strategy, the Canadian Autism Partnership, rejected in the budget in 2017. Confidence is a tricky thing.
I am. I think we're in a different place today, though. I think we're in a place where the government has signalled that we are going to have a national strategy. There has been a 19-month study done by the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, led by people I know and who I think are absolutely capable of guiding this discussion. There has been a lot of work done. It's not 18 months starting from now, by any stretch. This is an accountability framework to make sure it happens.
Some people might ask, “Why do you have confidence in ministers at the provincial level in health, children's services and education?” I have confidence that there's a will to get this right. Clearly, we haven't gotten it completely right, over the years, but I think there is a will to get this right. It takes leadership at the federal level. That's what a national strategy is all about. I think, by working together, we're going to get there this time around.
I'm so thankful this bill has come forward to set an accountability framework around that.