Mr. Speaker, April 1 marks the beginning of two major annual fundraising campaigns for the Canadian Cancer Society: the Residential Campaign and Daffodil Month.
Volunteers across the country will be knocking on the doors of Canadians, inviting them to participate in the fight against cancer. An estimated 153,000 new cases of cancer and 70,000 deaths from cancer occurred in Canada during 2006.
On the basis of current incidence rates, 38% of Canadian women and 44% of men will develop cancer during their lifetimes. On the basis of current mortality rates, one out of every four Canadians will die from cancer. These figures are astonishing and should sound the alarm for Canadians to join the fight against this major killer.
Thanks to the generosity of donors and the work of volunteers like Linda Paternostro, Vince Lombardi and Rina Camarra in York Centre and York South—Weston, the Canadian Cancer Society is actively preventing cancer and working toward a cure.
With the help and generosity of Canadians, we can make cancer history.