Mr. Speaker, we have a problem. Thirty years ago, polio was eradicated in the Americas. Two generations of children were made safe from the death and disability that polio wrought. Now we must wage this battle again. We are seeing long-eradicated diseases making a comeback, mostly because of the disinformation that fuels anti-vax communities.
As a physician, I watch in despair as conditions such as measles and rubella trickle back into our homes and classrooms, bringing with them chronic morbidity, death and disability to a new generation.
Canada was the first country to invest in the fight to end polio worldwide. Our objective was to totally eliminate the disease globally. Today, polio is on the rise again, and with global travel, it will become a pandemic. Canada must resume our global leadership; our $151-million pledge over three years to the global polio eradication initiative to immunize 370 million children is a start.
The world's children deserve no less.