Mr. Speaker, on behalf of people from across Winnipeg, today I have the honour of presenting a petition in favour of a pan-Canadian strategy to address eating disorders.
Eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia have the highest mortality rate of all mental illnesses, but the sooner someone receives treatment, the higher their chance of having a full recovery.
Currently, there are children as young as seven who are affected by eating disorders. They have been diagnosed and are being hospitalized for them. More than one million Canadians suffer, and families have been negatively affected physically, emotionally and financially by these struggles; hence the call for a pan-Canadian strategy to address these disorders.