“ALS is a fatal disease with no cure that takes away a person's ability to walk, talk, eat, and breathe. Canadians with ALS need quick access to medicine, support, and research for a cure. I invite all MPs to an ALS awareness event this evening.”

“Mr. Speaker, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, is a devastating and debilitating disease. A diagnosis, quite simply, is a death sentence. There is no cure. ALS knows no social boundaries. It robs people of their ability to walk, to speak, to swallow and eventually to breathe. For those diagnosed with ALS and their families, the challenges are immense. We need to ensure that Canadians diagnosed with ALS have timely access to medications and the resources they need. We need to support research that brings us closer to better treatments and, one day, a cure. This evening I will be co-hosting a reception with the ALS Society of Canada in the Speaker’s dining room from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. I encourage all of my colleagues in the House to please attend. Behind every ALS diagnosis is a person, a family and a community. We must continue to stand with them and work toward a future in which no Canadian has to face this terrible disease without hope.”