We express our appreciation to Mr. Sweet, the chair of this committee, and to the committee members for hearing our brief on this bill.
We present as concerned grandmothers and granddaughters from across Canada. With me are members from British Columbia, Quebec, and Nova Scotia.
The Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign is made up of 240 groups--that's 10,000 people--across Canada. In addition to that are the thousands of others we call “grandothers”. In fact, a Pollara poll in 2009 indicated that 80% of Canadians want this bill passed.
We're concerned about the plight of African grandmothers. Why Africa? Because that is the region where, as you know, they are most heavily inflicted with the HIV pandemic.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is a pandemic that has hit the children: 13 million children are without either one parent or both.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is more than the total of all the children in Canada and Norway.
This is about women and children. The toll is particularly hard on those in developing countries. AIDS is the number one killer of babies. In fact, in the region of sub-Saharan Africa, most children who are HIV-positive die before the age of two.
Can you imagine, even for one minute, what it would be like to bury your children and then to take on the responsibility of raising two or four or ten orphans, very vulnerable children and adolescents? I met some of those people when I was in Africa.
What would it be like for Canada to be defined as a country that has lost a generation of workers, of adults? These parents, teachers, nurses, workers would be alive if they'd had the life-saving treatment that they couldn't afford.
Having highlighted the effect of HIV/AIDS on women, it's imperative to recognize that it is the women in sub-Saharan Africa who are literally holding that continent together because of their positive actions and their determination to stem the tide of this pandemic spreading. This can only happen if we increase the supply of affordable medication to them.
We have read the reports and the studies. We have visited MPs. And we have listened to the concerns. Your colleagues will tell you, as Linda has already indicated, that we have had responses from thousands of Canadians.
This is evidence that Canadians care. Canadians care. And it is our belief that there should be universal access to health care.
Canadian grandmothers are not naive. We know that passing this amendment without changes is but one solution. It's not a panacea. We know that. But we certainly question the wisdom of rejecting a viable solution and proposing the creation of another mechanism.
The argument has been raised that Canada must first address the issue of poverty. It's not a case of either/or. Each consideration regarding poverty infrastructure is hugely important. They all form the multi-faceted response that is needed to save lives and communities. But the fact is that there are places right now, even with drugs from China and India, where people who have infrastructures and who have water are being forced to remain on waiting lists until someone in the community dies before they are able to receive the medication. Treatment matters, and it matters now.
This debate should not be about patents or intellectual properties; it should be about people. It should not be about patent protection over human lives. This is a humanitarian bill. This bill is about people like you and me.
In May some of us went to Africa, and what was theory before is now reality. The statistics of millions took on a face. She has a human face and she lives a courageous life. Being in Africa for just over two weeks did not make us experts--we don't pretend that it did--but we didn't go as tourists. We went to listen and to learn.
We heard heart-wrenching stories. We walked, talked, ate, and danced with women from Kenya, Malawi, and Swaziland--from 13 African countries. Their requests had a common theme: “We know what to do. We know what we need. Support us. Be our voice in Canada.”
