Mr. Speaker, 2021 marks the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin. This was a major breakthrough for people with diabetes, but there is still a lot of work to do.
In 2018, a group of young people came to Parliament Hill to speak to parliamentarians about type 1 diabetes, which is a topic most people know little about. I got to meet Juliette Benoît, an eloquent, precise and brave young woman who wants to advance research. I learned that these young people have to be very disciplined to deal with the pressure this disease puts on them, as they must endure more than 1,460 injections a year.
We need to promote awareness of all the different types of diabetes, a disease that affects more than 760,000 people in Quebec alone. Research is key to improving the lives of people with diabetes. If we work together, we can make that happen. We must combine intelligence, knowledge and funding as we work towards this common goal.
As the African proverb goes, “If you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go together.”