Mr. Speaker, until today I have stayed away from using the rare opportunities we have to make statements in this House to single out the work of just one community organization when so many are doing incredible work in Hamilton without getting the kind of support or recognition they deserve from our government.
However, last Saturday I went to an amazing celebration for the AIDS Network in commemoration of its 20 years of service to our region. “Escape to Oz” was an incredible event that really put the fun back into fundraising.
I wish some of my federal and provincial colleagues from the other parties would have been there to show their support, to share in the successes to date and, more importantly, to remind ourselves of just how much more there is yet to be done.
While the Prime Minister's photo op with Bill Gates last week included a welcome announcement of funding for the Canadian HIV vaccine initiative, it does not erase the memory of his snub of the international AIDS conference in Toronto last summer.
What organizations like the Hamilton AIDS Network want to know is that their government supports not just international aid but that it will act to assist people living with HIV-AIDS right here in Canada too.
To date, that assistance has not been forthcoming. Canadian governments have failed the world and they are failing our own citizens. The time to deliver is now.