Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you to all the witnesses.
I'm really glad our colleague Mike Lake has joined us, and particularly Jaden Lake.
Thank you for your science, your fighting so hard for families, and your courage--your courage to say that this is an epidemic and this is a disaster.
I have a number of requests so that we get some real recommendations for our report, then I'll ask some broad, open-ended questions.
The first thing I would ask Dr. Roberts and Ms. Lanthier is if you believe a national strategy is needed in Canada. I would ask that you table with the committee your key components of what that strategy would be, including how much money is needed for treatment as well as for research. That would be my first request.
Then I'll ask you all if you're willing to table with the committee all examples you're aware of, of national strategies around the world. What is working? Some of the strategies will have stuff that's working. What is not working? Let's get to what we need to know, please.
I think the wait times are so important. You've highlighted them, but if we have a report, what are the wait times for diagnosis across the country? I have real difficulty in my riding. I've worked for 30 years with children who live with ASDs, and I love my kids. We just can't get the diagnosis. We have a real challenge, because I have one of the most diverse ridings in the country. We have a large newcomer population. We now have a Somali population in which this can only be described as an epidemic. They've now started an organization. They had a picnic for the children this summer. We talk here about arriving at kindergarten with no treatment. But I have 18-year-olds who have never had any treatment. That is the reality.
Perhaps we could table with the committee a status report on the wait times for diagnosis.
The last thing I'll ask that you table with the committee is what the average yearly costs are and whether it's for ABA, IBI, or other treatments. As you say, if you want that early treatment, you're often going to be forced to pay. What is that across the country? There is a fairness piece here.
To begin with the open-ended questions--I don't know where to start--I'll ask you, Dr. Roberts, what are the key gaps for services to children, and what recommendations would you make?