Mr. Speaker, when I read about young women like Bonnie Fung who at 15 years of age is dealing with the challenges of adolescence and those that face her as a victim of lupus, and when I think about my 37-year old friend who is at once raising a family of seven children and taking chemotherapy to fight breast cancer, and when I talk to my aunt and my grandmother who both in their later years are suffering the pain and the disfigurement of osteoporosis, I know that we have to do more to fight these diseases and others that predominantly affect women.
We know that there has been a systemic bias against women in our health care and our health research. That is why I am so glad and look forward to the creation of a centre of excellence that will focus on women's health and why I hope that when our national health forum meets this summer the issue of women's health will be on its agenda.
As a government and as a country we cannot accept the status quo when it comes to Canadian women's health.