Debates of Feb. 10th, 2000

An Act To Give Effect To The Requirement For Clarity As Set Out In The Opinion Of The Supreme Court Of Canada In The Quebec Secession Reference

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[Some hon. members]

No.

[The Deputy Speaker]

All those in favour of the amendment will please say yea.

[Some hon. members]

Yea.

[The Deputy Speaker]

All those opposed will please say nay.

[Some hon. members]

Nay.

[The Deputy Speaker]

In my opinion the nays have it.

And more than five members having risen:

[The Deputy Speaker]

Call in the members.

(The House divided on the amendment, which was negatived on the following division:)

Division No. 668

[The Deputy Speaker]

I declare the amendment lost.

The next question is on the main motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[Some hon. members]

No.

[The Deputy Speaker]

All those in favour of the motion will please say yea.

[Some hon. members]

Yea.

[The Deputy Speaker]

All those opposed will please say nay.

[Some hon. members]

Nay.

[The Deputy Speaker]

In my opinion the yeas have it.

And more than five members having risen:

(The House divided on the motion, which was agreed to on the following division:)

Division No. 669

[The Deputy Speaker]

I declare the motion carried. The bill therefore stands referred to a legislative committee.

(Bill read the second time and referred to a committee)

[The Deputy Speaker]

It being 6 o'clock, the House will now proceed to the consideration of Private Members' Business, as listed on today's order paper.

Leukemia Awareness Month

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

moved:

That, in the opinion of this House, the government should recognize the month of June as Leukemia Awareness Month.

Mr. Speaker, the results of the vote would indicate that clarity is a good thing, and we also think that awareness is a good thing. Awareness is as much a motherhood issue as is clarity. We find it quite astounding that our colleagues across the way in the Progressive Conservative Party find that clarity could be a bad thing.

There is no question that there has been a proliferation in the use of “the week of”, “the month of” and “the year of” in terms of all kinds of diseases, but particularly those concerning cancer.

The month of April has already been proclaimed cancer awareness month and as all hon. members know, October is breast cancer month. Having proclaimed April as cancer month has benefited all cancer sites. June is already the month for ALS, thyroid and spina bifida.

Although we think the competition among diseases has been uncomfortable when it comes to AIDS versus breast cancer versus prostate cancer, the politicizing of those diseases in terms of fundraising has been problematic sometimes. In times of awareness, more is better. We need to do whatever we can to raise the awareness of Canadians of these diseases in three ways: that of patient and caregiver, that of advocate and that of citizen.

The organizations that deal with health issues find that focusing all their efforts on one month of the year works for them. We therefore support the Leukemia Research Fund of Canada's interest in having June proclaimed leukemia awareness month.

What is interesting when we talk about awareness of leukemia that usually we are talking about an understanding of the disease, which is obviously a good thing. We are trying to develop an understanding of things that reflect early detection. For leukemia it is things such as fatigue and bruising. We are obviously trying to raise the awareness of the public for dollars for research and support which is also an extremely good thing. With this disease more than any other, it is also imperative that Canadians come to understand the importance and effectiveness of becoming a bone marrow transplant donor so that we can move to the next step in terms of the success that already exists in leukemia treatment.

In 1974 I graduated from the University of Toronto medical school. Back then leukemia was a virtual death sentence. Since then treatments have evolved, such as chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation. At the 25th anniversary of our graduation from medical school last June, my classmate, Dr. Mark Minden, made a presentation. He is now the chair of the Leukemia Research Foundation's scientific review panel and one of the most pre-eminent researchers in leukemia and bone marrow transplantation.

His presentation was astonishing to those of us who may not have focused on just how far we have come in the last 25 years. The motto of the Leukemia Research Fund of Canada is “We are getting closer every day”. It was impressively underlined by Dr. Minden as to how close we really are.

Unfortunately well over 3,000 Canadians will be diagnosed with leukemia this year and over 2,000 will die. It is important that Canadians understand that the cure rate is 70% in children and that 50% of adults affected reach disease remission lasting one to five years or more. Leukemia is the only form of human cancer where such advances have been realized. Leukemia research really does save lives.

As an overview, we should note the fact that leukemia is a disease of the white blood cells. Indeed it comes from two Greek words meaning white and blood. It is a cancer of the blood cells or of the blood-forming tissues of the body, the bone marrow, the spleen and the lymph nodes.

Leukemia affects individuals of all ages, of either sex and of every background. It is not contagious nor hereditary, but the more that we understand about the genetic disorders, the better. There is now a Philadelphia chromosome that is implicated with one of the chronic leukemias. We know it is more common with things like Down's syndrome, which is a genetic condition. We know that exposure to certain chemicals and radiation may increase susceptibility. This means that not only can we understand where it comes from genetically but maybe we could find out how it could be prevented by understanding the chemistry and radiation problems.

Chemotherapy, radiation and bone marrow transplants are working, but leukemia continues to cause the death of more children than any other disease.

I would like to highlight one of the most common leukemias in children, acute lymphoblastic leukemia or ALL. It represents more than three-quarters of leukemias in young people. It develops in the immature lymphoblasts or young lymphocytes. It seems to be caused by immunological factors. In this millennium immunology is probably the area which needs the most work.

There is evidence of a high risk for this disorder in people with immunodeficiency disorders. Apparent clusters of ALL are age specific at two or three years of age. Differences in this sub-type by age suggest that we still do not even know whether this is a disorder in the initial development of the immune system or whether it is an unusual immune response to infectious agents. There is no question that if we came to understand this better, we would be able to treat lots of conditions caused by abnormal immune systems much better.

These young people usually need chemotherapy for at least two to three years. It is a treatment intended to achieve a remission by eliminating all leukemia cells. But as we know, the drugs that are used to kill leukemia cells also kill healthy cells. It means that cells are killed in the hair, the skin, and the linings of the stomach and the intestine. At times this successful drug therapy is devastating even though the disease is cured. The side effects to the child are really difficult. It is sometimes necessary to receive radiation therapy to the brain and the spinal cord and the children are extraordinarily uncomfortable.

Before 1970 few children or teenagers with leukemia were cured. Survival improved when treatments changed from single to many agent chemotherapy. But when leukemia cells are still present around the brain and the spine, they are not able to be reached by chemotherapy.

This treatment has dramatically increased the cure rate of children and 95% of young people with ALL are now reaching remission after their first month of chemotherapy. In Canada an estimated three-quarters of all young people diagnosed with ALL between 1985 and 1988 were alive five years and most were considered cured.

About 30% of these kids experience a relapse or a return of the disease. Then the help of Canadians is needed in terms of bone marrow transplantation. This has been shown to improve survival and is offered to many children with ALL in their second or subsequent relapses.

We need Canadians to sign up as bone marrow donors. Because we need to match donors on all six of the immunological markers, siblings have a one in four chance of being a perfect match. If they do not match, the sometimes dying patients must turn quickly to other blood relations, bone marrow registries and pleas through the media. In about 40% of cases these searches fail.

Scientists have discovered a new method to transplant bone marrow from a mismatched donor, meaning almost anybody can have the potentially life-saving procedure.

It has been almost five years since our family's best friend, Phillip Borsos, died of leukemia. Phillip had had Hodgkin's disease and his leukemia was caused by the treatment he received for the Hodgkin's, an unfortunate and rare side effect but one nonetheless that happened. His wife Barret, and his two sons Angus and Silas whom I had the privilege of delivering, are now hoping that we in Canada will not take away other fathers when we are so close to the cure.

Phillip Borsos was one of Canada's finest filmmakers. He made amazing documentaries: Cooperage ; Spartree , and received an Oscar nomination for his documentary Nails . He then went on to direct The Grey Fox and Mean Season , One Magic Christmas , Bethune and Yellow Dog and then he died at 40 years of age.

Already the Leukemia Research Foundation has made huge progress and it is continuing the ongoing struggle to develop greater awareness. Last June during leukemia awareness month Leukemia Research Fund of Canada flags were flying over the city halls in major cities across Canada.

We are asking for the month to be designated by the House which would make it even more important. More awareness would be raised. The purpose of the awareness strategy is to spread the message that leukemia must be eradicated and that the Leukemia Research Fund of Canada exists for that purpose.

It is extraordinarily important that we have good messages like the national campaign entitled “We are getting closer every day”. We have a vehicle with which to inspire Canadians to do all of those things, to understand the gravity and how prevalent leukemia is, to understand that donating to leukemia research is extraordinarily important, and to sign up as a bone marrow donor.

In Canada health care is so important to people. Canadians are always reassured in the three roles they can play, that of patient and caregiver, that of advocate for the diseases, and that of citizen. For us to designate the month of June as leukemia awareness month would go a long way to that end. I hope there is support for this.

[Ken Epp, Reform, Elk Island, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to have the privilege of standing again in our House of Commons to talk about an issue which is very important to Canadians.

First of all I commend the hon. member who has brought this motion forward. I have a great deal of respect and interest in people who pursue research into finding the cure for many different diseases, so I am on the right wavelength in terms of supporting the intent of such a motion.

One needs to ask how one can best promote both the awareness of any particular disease or situation, and how one can best foster an environment both economically and academically to search for cures for these various diseases. This one focuses on one particular disease, blood cancer or leukemia.

I was asked to represent our party in this debate tonight. I stopped to think of how many people I know who have had leukemia. I may be wrong but I thought of four. I have been wracking my brain trying to think of whether or not there are more. In all instances, as the hon. member stated, when the news is first given, it is like a death sentence. Several people in our own family have had cancer: both my wife and her father and several others. It is devastating because it is a disease for which at this stage there is no known cause. Hence there is not a cure that has any degree of certainty, although they have been doing research and great strides have been made. It is very encouraging to realize that now some 70% of children who are diagnosed with leukemia actually will be survivors.

I have thought of two people who as young adults were diagnosed with leukemia and who are still living. Two have gone into remission of the four I was able to think of. One is a person in my community who has a wife and two young children. Frankly when he got the word that he had leukemia it blew this young family away. He went for treatment and I believe with his extraordinary faith in God for his divine healing he has been in remission now for a number of years. I saw him not long ago and I was very pleased with his appearance. I do not know if it is possible but he even looked healthier than I do. He is a little less rotund but is very healthy. We are grateful for that.

There were two young fellows on my list both of whom were diagnosed in their late teens and neither of whom survived. Both young men were very close to us. They were friends of ours. They were contemporaries of our children. They did not make it. They were diagnosed, went through the treatment regimen with a lot of agony and suffering and eventually did not make it.

No doubt this is a disease which requires urgent attention. As a government we must promote research and development in these medical areas. We need to concentrate on pockets of research in the country so that people who are of like mind can share their ideas and promote their research. I would like to see that happen.

With respect to calling a month of awareness, I am neither here nor there on it. The member is proposing that June be declared leukemia awareness month. April already is cancer awareness month. We are very aware of it.

In fact, I go to jail every April for the annual jail and bail fundraising that the Cancer Society does in our area. I have had the misfortune the last couple of times of having the Liberal candidate whom I defeated be the judge when I was arrested. When they bring me in he is not very kind to me. He always sets the bail really high.

Last April when they took me in, they arrested me and put handcuffs on me. As I said, I am rather rotund and the handcuffs actually dug into my skin and pushed right against the bone. I stood in front of the judge and said, “This is prisoner abuse”. He said, “That will be $500 for speaking disrespectfully of our police force”. I said, “That's not fair”. He said, “Five hundred dollars for talking back to the judge” and then he put me into the jail. I said, “This is no real jail. If it was a real jail there would be a colour TV”. He said, “Another 500 bucks”.

I had to raise $1,500 for bail to get out of jail which of course my friends helped me to do and I was able to get out of jail. All of these different activities not only raise awareness of the disease but they also raise money in order to promote research.

I have an inclination to say that leukemia awareness month should be tied in with the general cancer awareness in April. That would be my preference.

However, I would have no objection to setting aside a separate month even though we have only 12 months and, as has been mentioned, every month is an awareness month for more than one cause at this stage.

The message I would like to leave is one that has more to do with government involvement than with declaring a month a particular month. We all have to do as much as we can to promote research and development, to educate particularly our young people, and to provide a climate for them that promotes research. Perhaps I should not say this in the context of this debate but I cannot stay away from it. We need to reduce taxes so that our research scientists and our young people can find greater motivation to stay here and work together to find cures for diseases.

Leukemia is an interesting disease because considerable progress has been made in this area. Perhaps the research in leukemia will eventually be the key that unlocks the door to wider research and gives us more clues on how to attack cancer generally.

I commend the member for bringing forward the motion. Even having this one hour of debate in the House today helps to increase the awareness of people.

There are two kinds of people in our country. Those who have had experience with cancer, perhaps leukemia, are very aware of the disease and the need for research. There are others who fall into the category of “it will not happen to me or to my family”. Those are the ones we should target. Those are the ones all of us should help to make more aware. We should appeal to them to work together as Canadians. Whether it be through our tax system or voluntary charitable donations, let us all work together to find a cure.

[Réal Ménard, Bloc, Hochelaga—Maisonneuve, QC]

Mr. Speaker, allow me to congratulate our colleague from the government majority, the hon. member from Ontario, who I gather from her preliminary remarks is a physician by trade, on her sensitivity to a form of blood cancer that is obviously a very trying disease, which, as you know, affects all too many young people.

Of course, I cannot congratulate her on her preliminary remarks on the clarity bill. She will understand that, as far as that goal is concerned, I do not share her views and do not believe this is a bill we should promote, because we on this side agree it is really undemocratic.

That being said, I do congratulate her wholeheartedly for the sensitivity she has displayed toward the fight against leukemia. We will indeed support her motion, while I realize it is not a votable item. The hon. member has suggested that there are three approaches to overcoming leukemia.

She reminded us that, at the time when she was a medical student in 1974—I was barely a teenager then, as you can imagine—for all intents and purposes, leukemia was a terminal disease with very little hope of remission and with very few drugs available of course.

I believe I am correct in saying today that, while there is still no satisfactory treatment and today still people—again too often children and young people—die from leukemia, there are a number of drugs available and treatment is possible.

I think that the hon. member's motion, which is primarily designed to raise awareness, is also a call for research and for partnership between public funding agencies and the pharmaceutical industry.

I am pleased to tell her that we on this side believe that her call should be heard. I think that research is important and can make a difference. When we talk about the pharmaceutical industry, there are two main industrial clusters, so to speak. There is the generic drug industry, which is based mainly in Ontario, in the Toronto and Mississauga area, and the brand name drug industry, based in Quebec.

We must bear in mind that the fight against leukemia or cancer in general cannot be won without co-ordinating the research effort.

I met recently with representatives of the association formerly known as PMAC, the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of Canada, whose name has been changed to Rx & D. Under this new designation is a long-established group of about forty companies essentially involved in producing brand name drugs.

The brand name drug industry told us that a research cycle of more than 10 years may have elapsed between the time a molecule is isolated for research and the time a drug becomes available on the consumer market. Between the time a molecule is isolated for research and the time the drug becomes commercially available, an investment of nearly $500 million is required.

We are talking about huge investments, so much so that the legislator—I think we have to render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and unto Ménard what is Ménard's—Patent protection was initiated under the Progressive Conservative government.

If I am not mistaken, it was introduced in 1991 or 1992, under Bill C-22. The legislator found it necessary at the time to provide some form of protection and incentive to research, because to this day—and let us never forget it—it is our best and most legitimate hope to overcome disease, particularly debilitating diseases like leukemia.

Research has to remain our greatest hope. It is important to recall that, with the motion tabled by our colleague, a member from Ontario and a physician by trade, we as parliamentarians must implement the most effective, forward-looking and discerning tools to make research possible.

I have just reviewed actions taken under the Mulroney government, which my seatmate, the hon. member for Chicoutimi, was part of in the good as well as the bad times. Of course, he is convinced that the good times were more important than the more difficult ones, which is totally his right.

We are in favour of this motion. We agree that awareness is required. This brings me to the third aspect raised by our colleague, namely, support for caregivers.

When someone in our family has an illness, this is not an isolated situation which has no effect on our ability to cope. Awareness means understanding what the illness is, understanding what medications are available, understanding that prophylaxis is available, but it also means adopting a certain behaviour when we know people with leukemia.

Both members who spoke before me, the motion's sponsor and our colleague from the Reform Party who alluded with great humour to his stoutness—which, I must tell him, makes him very likeable and very endearing to us—referred to the importance of showing solidarity as caregivers. Awareness also means providing information on what type of behaviour to adopt.

I thank our colleague for her motion. We are showing solidarity. If the motion had been deemed votable, we would have voted for it as a group, as we must do in some circumstances.

[Louise Hardy, NDP, Yukon, YT]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support the motion to recognize the month of June as leukemia awareness month as this would increase our awareness of the disease.

One of the things we need to be aware of is that 2,000 people will die from this disease. We also need to know what causes the disease and why it affects some people but not others. What are the implications concerning our environment? What are the environmental factors that may or may not play a part in this disease? What are the genetic factors?

There is so much to know but so little that people in general do know about this disease because of their busy lives. They only find out about it if someone they know and love is suffering from the disease, but they do not know enough to be of any help.

We have to be aware of what we can do as a community and what we can provide in terms of medicare and home care. We need good hospitals and good research.

The whole cycle of research that was just described may take a long time. If we want to decrease the number of deaths from this disease we must always be proactive and one step ahead. We want to prevent those 2,000 deaths as a country, but more importantly, the deaths that each family may have to face.

The idea of cancer alone induces fear in people. The more awareness we can bring to them, the more we can help our communities. Most people think of cancer as a deadly disease. Hopefully, as we move further along in our research, there will be far fewer deaths and far fewer children being taken away from their families and out of our lives.

The fact that this disease affects so many children and is the leading cause of death in children is enough for us to single it out as being a disease for which people need to develop an awareness. As a mother of four children and having seen families lose their children, it is our deepest fear that our children will die ahead us. I do not know how a family would cope with that. The loss of a child to a family and to a community makes us want to take the extra effort to become more aware of this disease and to bring the issue forward.

Last year a man in our community died. A lot of treatment cannot be done in the north so people have to fly out, which is quite a difficult endeavour in itself. It means the waiting period can be far longer for people in the north than for people who are in a community where treatment can be easily accessed. The man who died had left the Yukon to undergo a bone marrow transplant. Unfortunately, it was too late for Ben Sheardown.

I will say a few words about Ben because he was an integral part of our community. He was a a coach, an athlete, a teacher, a counsellor, a husband and a father. To every person he came into contact with, he was far more than that. Anyone who met him could not help but be inspired by his kindness, his passion and his ferocious nature.

Anyone who had the chance to meet him in the last month of his life knew immediately how privileged they were. He went through incredible suffering with tremendous grace and almost transcended the daily world that we live in. I think he attained a different spiritual level, one which we all would like to bring to our lives.

The worst part is that he left us too soon. He still had so much of himself to give to his children, his wife and his community. He was someone I had known throughout my whole life as a teacher, a neighbour and a friend. He is still deeply missed. If we could have prevented his death or given him even a few more years of life we would have all benefited.

Just last month I had to say goodbye to a friend who died of leukemia. She did not even have a chance for a bone marrow transplant. Her name was Effie Croft and she had started a small community newspaper in Faro. She found out quite late that she had the disease because she would never have imagined herself sick no matter how tired she was. She was a counsellor, but more than anything she brought an incredible joy to the people around her. Even through the time of her whole town's decamping and moving away when the mine closed she was a real source of energy and great love to her town.

When people found out how sick Ben was with leukemia and that they could possibly donate bone marrow, there was a huge outpouring of people wanting to do that. As was described by the member of parliament who is also a doctor, it is a long process and it is not easy to find a match. People were not aware that if they had made themselves available to a donor bank beforehand they could have helped. It could have been easily accessible to Ben and anyone else who might need a bone marrow transplant.

There is another thing about organ donations, bone marrow donations or donations of whatever piece of our bodies we are able to donate. People need to know that in the case of donating bone marrow we do not have to die to do it. There is a lot of fear for people trying to come to grips with what it means to be a donor, with what it means to be able to help each other. Canada does not have a good record for doing that, but I know people would do it if they were only aware of how to do it. Then they would be more than generous in any way they could to help their fellow citizens.

Sometimes when we talk about diseases we talk about them in terms of numbers and names instead of in terms of individuals, children, friends, parents, sisters and the other people they affect. If we appeal to the better instincts of our friends and neighbours in our communities I know they would respond.

This idea deserves action. We can do no wrong by tightening the awareness of this terrible disease. If we help just one family it would be worth it, but I think this awareness will help our whole country.

[Jean Dubé, Progressive Conservative, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to enter the debate on what is a great motion moved by the member for St. Paul's who is a physician and is probably very aware of this troublesome disease.

Approximately 3,300 people will be diagnosed this year with leukemia and 2,100 will die from it. This is a sad reality but it certainly hits home in a lot of families in Canada. Many families are probably saying goodbye to loved ones who are leaving us because of this disease.

We must continue working together in partnership to develop cures for diseases such as this one. It is not the only one. Before my life in politics I was very involved in the community. I started the Alzheimer's society in my region, another disease that is hitting a lot of people.

Leukemia also hits young people as well. The cure rate for young people today is 65% but 35% do not make it. This is very difficult especially for parents. It is important to make sure Canadians are aware of what is going on here and to make sure that everything possible is being done.

It is therefore important to raise the awareness of this disease, which takes lives every single day across Canada, from coast to coast. Indeed, 35% of children with leukemia will not make it. They will die.

As parents, it is very hard to see these sick children on television or when visiting a hospital.

I want to thank the member for St. Paul's for taking the initiative of raising this very important issue in the House. I would also like to thank all the volunteers who work day and night from coast to coast and who, as such, are not paid of course. In my riding, in the Campbellton area, I went to visit a prison with them to help raise money for cancer. These people are always there, without fail. A knock on the door and they are ready to help fight this disease.

Shortly before Christmas, our family was stricken, not by cancer, but by heart disease. My father died in October 1999; it has been extremely hard on all of us. But I am thinking about a family in the Dalhousie area, in Restigouche, the Perry family, whose 18 year old son has leukemia.

There is no warning. It can hit very quickly. That was exactly what happened to the Perry family, a young family in Dalhousie, New Brunswick. One of the children was diagnosed with leukemia just before Christmas. He is 18 years old and is receiving treatment as we speak. If he is listening today I want to tell him, on behalf of the House, not to lose faith. There is always hope. Sixty-five per cent of people make it through. We are all thinking of him and his family. Hopefully, he will get through as well.

Once again, I would like to thank the hon. member for St. Paul's and all the volunteers. We are still asking the government for its partnership and effort to develop the drugs we need.

Last week, health ministers and premiers met in Quebec City and asked for more money for health care. We need money for development, but we also need money to care for the sick. We really need to put the emphasis on health. I think this is a consensus throughout Canada.

The ball is in the government's court. We need to put pressure on the finance minister and the Prime Minister to put more money in health care, because we know health is a priority in Canada.

I congratulate once more the member opposite. We will gladly support this motion.

[Joe Fontana, Liberal, London North Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I want to applaud the member, the good doctor from St. Paul's. I rise today to add my support to a very worthwhile motion to declare the month of June as leukemia awareness month.

As the son of a leukemia survivor, I know how important this motion is. It really touches my heart. My mother, thank God, has been in remission for six years. Not only did it take the good efforts of the medical fraternity and the research which has been done so far on leukemia, but also the caregivers and the families, which provided the strength and the love that allowed my mother to survive. The quality of life may not be perfect, but it is a very good life and one that we would hope for every person who has been stricken with leukemia.

Leukemia affects all ages, both sexes and every background. Every 10 minutes another child or adult dies from leukemia or a related cancer. In 1999, as we have already heard, 3,000 Canadians were diagnosed with leukemia and 2,100 died of this devastating disease. Leukemia is the number one killer of children. Leukemia is a destroyer of families and as we have heard a devastator of dreams.

Despite these staggering odds, as the doctor, the member for St. Paul's, and others have said, we are winning important battles in the fight to save lives. With the best treatment 73% of our children with childhood leukemia will now survive. That is a great step forward. The overall survival rates have doubled in the last 30 years.

These are important victories with human faces. Yet we must continue to work to win the war. Yes, we all agree that medical research is an important component. We must provide Canada's researchers with the support and the financial resources they need, as well as the opportunity to be able to research in Canada and stop this terrible disease.

We must raise public awareness. This is what June is all about. It is to make it possible for people to become aware of those around them who have leukemia and to make it possible for the volunteer sector to raise the moneys along with governments to be able to continue their fine work on research. It is also an opportunity to thank those men and women in the hospitals and in the homes who provide the love, nurturing and caring that are important parts of the well-being of people.

While medicine is very important, caring and compassion are also important. I must give accolades to those people, for example, Dr. Barr at University Hospital in London, Ontario, and those men and women who looked after my mother and made it possible for her to continue, as so many hundreds and thousands of people work very hard to do.

This motion is essential so that the public understands and knows our commitment as a parliament to the eradication of leukemia and that we will continue to work with all our partners in our communities to ensure that we can stop this disease and make it possible for all those people to dream the possible dream and not to have to suffer the affliction of leukemia.

[Yvon Charbonneau, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak to the motion brought forward by the member for St. Paul's asking the government to recognize the month of June as Leukemia Awareness Month. I congratulate her as well as all the other members from the various parties who were involved in this initiative.

All over Canada, the public supports the campaign that was launched to find ways of preventing or treating leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, Hodgkin's disease and other blood diseases.

Leukemia affects people of all ages, of both sexes and from all backgrounds. It was described at length by several of my colleagues who have spoken on this issue during the last hour. I would add one fact: in Canada, every ten minutes, a child or an adult dies from leukemia or a related form of cancer.

In their homes and communities all across the country thousands of Canadians are living with leukemia and many Canadians are working to provide support and comfort to those affected by these forms of cancer.

Recognizing the month of June as leukemia awareness month will help to acknowledge the important contributions of families, health professionals, researchers, educators and the thousands of other Canadians whose every day efforts help to reduce the incidence and impact of this disease.

Closely related to program delivery is public information and education. Voluntary groups have the unique ability to reach deep into society to ensure that the public as a whole knows about particular services that might benefit them.

Now the government has the opportunity to help with this public awareness campaign by recognizing June as leukemia awareness month. Volunteers by the hundreds are coming forward to help with every kind of fundraising event, and great progress is being made.

Lives are saved and treatments are improved while researchers are working to find a permanent cure.

The volunteer sector plays a crucial role in the pursuit of these objectives for Canadians and in the efforts to maintain a high quality of life. The volunteer sector has become the third pillar of Canadian society, with the public sector and the private sector, helping to make Canada a country that is more humanitarian, more prosperous and more attentive to the needs of others.

Volunteers can help in many ways each year, and the volunteers with the Leukemia Research Fund of Canada collect over $3 million for research, that saves lives.

Today, 70% of children affected are cured, and over 50% of adults with the disease go into remission for five years or more, thanks to all these efforts.

Other volunteers help people with leukemia by giving them psychological support or temporarily relieving those caring for them. Canadians do their part, but this deadly and challenging disease continues to take lives, and every life lost is a tragedy.

This is why we must all support research for a cure and support this motion, which calls on the government to make June Leukemia Awareness Month.

Canadians want all levels of government to work collaboratively, to work in partnership to address this important need. Canadians support the investment that the federal government has made in research, education and funding of the health care system.

We have done much but more could be done. Through the creation and funding of Canadian institutes on health research, through promotion and prevention campaigns, and through investment in the Canadian health and social transfer we will all be providing much needed assistance to Canadians living with and supporting those with leukemia.

Recognizing the month of June as leukemia awareness month will also recognize the work of the Leukemia Research Fund of Canada, established in 1955 as a non-profit organization.

Recognizing the month of June as Leukemia Awareness Month will give us an opportunity to remember all those who fell victim to leukemia and other forms of blood cancer, and to celebrate the survival of an increasingly larger number of patients.

It will also be an opportunity to develop the public's awareness of bone marrow transplants and of the importance of providing psychological support to children, parents and families affected by leukemia.

It will be an opportunity to talk to Canadians about health and the prevention of disease, and to stress to them the importance of health care and wellness services.

This is why, and I will conclude with this, I am very pleased to see that members from all opposition parties have rallied and shown enthusiastic support for this motion by the hon. member for St. Paul's to designate the month of June as Leukemia Awareness Month.

I would encourage all members to support the motion raised to recognize the month of June as leukemia awareness month.