moved for leave to introduce Bill C-219, An Act respecting the establishment of a National Strategy for Autism Spectrum Disorders.
Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to rise today to reintroduce a national autism strategy bill. The bill would, among other things, establish national standards for the treatment and delivery of autism-related services and create a system to monitor autism prevalence.
Roughly 1 in 200 Canadians are thought to be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. I was recently told the story of an individual named Mark by my colleague from Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing. Mark was born with autism. Mark fought against all odds and successfully, I am happy to say, completed two college programs and, this week, graduates from Waterloo University.
Unfortunately, people like Mark are currently the exception to the rule. I hope the swift passage of this legislation will make stories like Mark's more common in the future.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)