Mr. Speaker, November is International Diabetes Month. Health Canada suggests that Canadians pay up to $9 billion, mostly through taxes, on costs associated with diabetes and related complications including lost productivity.
The members of my family with diabetes are not alone. Over two and a quarter million Canadians have diabetes. Canadians with diabetes not only face the day to day demands of diabetes but are also four times more likely to have heart and vascular disease, 250% more likely to have a stroke, more likely to have end stage renal disease, likely to have mild to severe nerve damage, and face a 15 year shorter life expectancy.
The Juvenile Diabetes Foundation is committed to helping improve the lives of diabetes sufferers and to finding a cure. Every year over 60,000 new cases of diabetes are diagnosed in Canada. I urge the government to do all it can to support both finding a cure for diabetes and to review its support for care for those diagnosed with the disease.