Mr. Speaker, today is the start of ALS awareness month. ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, does not have a cure nor an effective treatment. In Canada, up to 3,000 people are living with ALS, and about one-third of them will succumb to the disease, this year.
Last year, the ice bucket challenge raised $15 million for ALS research, but we need to do more.
As we all know, our good friend and colleague, the hon. member for Ottawa—Vanier, has this terrible disease. Several MPs and I will be walking in his honour in the Walk for ALS here in Ottawa on Saturday, June 11.
I encourage all Canadians to take part in one of the 90 walks happening across Canada and to support ALS research by donating at ALS.ca.
Please spread the word on social media using the hashtag, #ALSAwareness.