Mr. Speaker, May 11 to May 17 is National Nursing Week, the week that encompasses International Nurses Day. Florence Nightingale was born 195 years ago today.
It is an honour for me to rise in the House to talk about the vital contributions that nurses make in the health and well-being of all Canadians. With more than 408,000 regulated nurses across Canada from coast to coast to coast, it is by far our largest group of health care providers.
The Canadian Nurses Association is the national professional voice for registered nurses. Its theme this year for National Nursing Week is “Nurses: With you every step of the way”. This emphasizes how important nurses are in all of our lives at every age and in all health situations. In fact, we could say that nurses are the backbone of our health care system, providing us with the attention and medical care that we need to live healthy, long lives. Nurses know that every day they will touch a life or a life will touch them. I thank all Canadian nurses.