Thank you, I'm almost done.
As I was saying, there is no point in even trying.
What do we need? First, we need more attention paid to this situation. The work of the committee will help with that.
We need to set some standards for appropriate clinical care for these patients, the type of treatment that works, appropriate wait times, and appropriate levels of access. We need national standards that can be applied across the country. Setting national standards is in the purview of the federal government and Health Canada. You can't force the provincial governments to do it because they control health care, but you can set the national standards.
We need examinations of the priorities and policies of CIHI and INMHA to allow us to develop a national plan for research into novel treatments for these deadly conditions.
Finally, you need to know that the work of the committee is very important in a whole other arena, in that it offers hope to both those who suffer and their families, hope that change can occur in our system of care, hope that the discrimination and stigmatizing attitudes can be reduced, and hope that the suffering associated with these conditions can be eliminated.
I thank you very much for your attention, and I am very happy to take questions.