Mr. Speaker, it is often said that 50 is the new 40. However, when it comes to safe standardized breast cancer screening, starting at age 50 for Canadian women is simply too late. Current screening standards are not meeting the reality of what Canadian women need when it comes to early detection.
A recent report by Statistics Canada showed that growing rates of women are facing late-stage breast cancer when screening is only accessible at 50. Numbers jump again for women who are racialized, marginalized, or from rural and remote communities. As federal members, we can be leaders in empowering women to access early detection, no matter what province there are in across the country.
We all know someone, whether she is our mother, daughter, sister or aunt, who has bravely faced breast cancer head on. For me it is my constituent and friend Shira Farber. She has been an incredible advocate for our York Centre community and now she is one for women from coast to coast to coast facing breast cancer, as she battles for her own life with three children at home and an entire community behind her.
I ask women across the country to stand up for women to meet standards at the age of 40 to be screened safely, for their health and for the health of all Canadian women.