Lyme disease is exacerbated by the climate crisis. Ticks thrive in warmer conditions, especially when successive winters do not get cold enough to kill them off. The climate crisis increases vector-born diseases in humans as well as creating dangerous conditions for ecosystems, such as in the devastation caused by the pine beetle.

The Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation (CanLyme) is a volunteer-run organization with the express purpose of providing the public and medical professionals with reliable information on LD.

CanLyme has many resources to help identify and prevent Lyme Disease! Learn more at https://canlyme.com/

My Private Member’s Bill C-442 passed in 2014, creating a Federal Framework for Lyme Disease. The federal framework was published in 2017. As required by the bill, the Minister of Health is expected to table a report this month, with findings as to the effectiveness of the federal framework. We anxiously await this report, along with the thousands of Canadians living with Lyme.

The post May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month appeared first on Elizabeth May.

I am writing to inform you that Jane Philpott, Minister of Health, has tabled the Federal Framework on Lyme Disease in Parliament. For many of us, this road has been a long and difficult one.

For me it started almost ten years ago when I met Brenda Sterling in Pictou County, Nova Scotia. I wondered why she was in a wheelchair, and I was shocked it was because of Lyme disease.  She told me that the medical system and the government had also insisted she couldn’t have Lyme disease “because we don’t have Lyme disease in Nova Scotia.”  Then I moved to southern Vancouver Island and met many more people with Lyme disease and heard the same stories of denial and lack of treatment options.  One of my strongest supporters’ son in law was incapacitated by Lyme. I decided that if I were to be elected, a bill for action on Lyme disease would be my priority.

When I tabled Bill C-442, An Act respecting a Federal Framework on Lyme Disease, Nicole Bottles, one of the champions fighting Lyme, and her mom, Chris Powell, travelled to Ottawa to help me introduce the bill.  It took nearly 3 years of advocacy to pass the bill. That C-442 passed unanimously through both Houses is a testament to the work of activists, doctors and patients who were tireless in their efforts to educate and bring awareness to the cause of Lyme disease. A year ago, researchers, doctors and patients gathered with public health administrators for a conference that would help inform the Federal Framework. It was incredibly moving for me to see the voices of those patients who, like Nicole, had suffered for years and were only just being heard for the first time.

Now, a year later and following an open consultation period on a draft in March, the Federal Framework has been tabled. You can read the framework here.

So, what does the framework do? Well, it outlines what the federal government can do about combatting Lyme disease over the next five years, given that we know Lyme disease is expected to increase in prevalence due to climate change. It primarily focusses on surveillance, education and awareness, with a particular focus on early detection education for front-line health professionals and public health authorities, and the institution of new guidelines and best practices. This last commitment includes $4 million to establish a Lyme disease research network.

I understand and empathize with those who have been disappointed in this long process. However, I remain heartened and am deeply thankful to Minister Philpott, as well as former Minister Rona Ambrose, for all of their work in implementing my legislation.

We now have this framework as a tool for action.  We now have a federal commitment that includes educating doctors about Lyme disease. But, how will this all be implemented? How do we track where the promised $4 million in Lyme research will be targeted? How do we press provincial governments and medical societies to ensure doctors know how to make the clinical diagnosis and provide effective timely treatment? We’re on a road, together, to beating this terrible disease. But it does not end with the publishing of this framework.

This week, the parliamentary Health Committee will meet to hold two hearings on Lyme disease and the new framework, and patients and advocates will once again have an opportunity to effect change. The first of these hearings will take place on Tuesday, and will be available for viewing here.

Thank you again to all of you who have fought so hard to get us to where we are today. I am ever grateful for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth May, OC
Member of Parliament
Saanich-Gulf Islands
Leader of the Green Party of Canada

The post Lyme Disease Update – Federal Framework Released appeared first on Elizabeth May.

Welcome to Elizabeth May's parliamentary week in review! This weekly e-newsletter recaps her work in Parliament when the House is in session. At the links below, you can watch videos of Elizabeth's interventions in the House, keep up with her media releases, and read articles she has written. This newsletter covers Elizabeth's work from May 5, 2017 to May 12, 2017.
 

Key Moments in the House

Question Period

– Will Canada’s lakes and rivers remain unprotected under weak Transport Committee recommendations?

Debate

– Questioning the Liberals’ use of Time Allocation and Omnibus Budget Bills

Statement

– Recognition of National Nursing Week

In the Media

Policy Magazine: A Green Balance of Power in BC, by Elizabeth May

Radio: Tune in to hear Elizabeth on CBC's The House with Chris Hall, Saturday, May 13th at 9AM, CBC Radio One

TV: Tune in to watch Elizabeth on CTV's Question Period, Sunday, May 14th at 11AM ET, 8AM PT 

Podcast: Listen to Elizabeth on CBC's The House midweek  – BC's Minority Report

Public Statements

Statement on Vesak Day 2017

Statement on Lyme Disease Awareness Day 

Elizabeth May released the following statement ahead of Lyme Disease Awareness Day, part of Lyme Disease Awareness Month: 

"Thanks to the tireless advocacy of researchers, doctors, and patients, awareness of Lyme Disease has spread in recent years. However, thousands of Canadians continue to suffer from this debilitating disease, while other advanced countries move ahead with progressive and publicly funded treatments."

"From May 15 to 17, 2016, Canada held a conference to develop a federal framework on Lyme Disease. This conference was mandated by Bill C-442, the Federal Framework on Lyme Disease Act, a result of my private member's bill."

"Last month, Lyme Disease researchers, doctors and patients called on Minister of Health Jane Philpott to update the Draft Federal Framework on Lyme Disease with the latest medical and patient best practices before it reports back to parliament. Advocates say the current draft framework is incomplete and does not include the latest Lyme Disease medical research.

"I remain very grateful for all-party support for Bill C-442. This issue remains non-partisan. I have confidence in Dr. Jane Philpott to hear the concerns of those who remain concerned in the Lyme-literate medical and patient community, and to re-write the draft framework before the publication of the approved framework."

Petitions

Elizabeth introduced the following petitions to the government this week:

• Implement international aid policies to support small family farmers and ensure that Canadian policies and programs help protect the right of those in the developing world to preserve, use, and freely exchange seeds.
• Put in place a national affordable housing program, along the lines of the resolution passed by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, looking to reform the tax system to increase benefits to developers in building purpose-built rental housing​
• Bring back part-time non-Christian denominational chaplains for federal prisons to assist people in prison to find their way forward and return to healthy and productive lives.
• Press the People's Republic of China to stop discrimination against the practitioners of Falun Dafa and Falun Gong.

​​Read the governments' responses to petitions Elizabeth has introduced here.
 

Community Newsletter

April 2017 Newsletter – Earthquake Preparedness
 

Committee Briefs

Brief Submitted to the Expert Panel Reviewing Environmental Assessment Law

Brief Submitted to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change for the "Let's Talk Parks Canada" Consultation

Brief Submitted to the Standing Committee on International Trade for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement Consultation

Brief Submitted to the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities in Response to their Review of the Navigation Protection Act

Brief Submitted to the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans in Response to the Review of Changes to the Fisheries Act

Brief Submitted to the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development on the Canadian Environmental Protection Act
 

Private Members' Bills

Elizabeth May has introduced the following bills:

Bill C-269: This bill will abolish mandatory minimum sentences for all crimes of except murder and treason.

Bill C-258: This "Think Small First" bill would require that every new bill introduced in the House undergo an assessment to determine how the bill would impact Canadian small businesses.

Bill C-259: The Open Science Act would require all federal departments to make all publicly funded scientific research available to Canadians on their websites.

For a list of private members' bills Elizabeth May has seconded, please visit elizabethmaymp.ca
 

Recent Events 

Monday, May 8th – Elizabeth attended the Yad Vashem National Holocaust Day Remembrance Ceremony in Ottawa

Upcoming Ev​ents

Wednesday, May 17th – Elizabeth May & Nathan Cullen host bipartisan event for electoral reform

Friday, May 19th – Elizabeth delivers the 2017 Robert Hunter Memorial Lecture at U of T

Saturday, May 20th – Join Elizabeth for Mayne Island Conservancy's 12th Annual May Day Celebrations

Saturday, May 27th – Join Elizabeth at the opening of (in)finite, a 60th Anniversary Exhibition by the Anglican Foundation

Walk for the Salish Sea – May 25th-29th:

• Thursday, May 25th – Join Elizabeth as she speaks at Pulling Together – All Nations's Gathering Against Kinder Morgan, a potluck dinner fundraiser
   
• Friday, May 26th – Join Elizabeth as she speaks at an Oil-Free Salish Sea Rally aboard BC Ferries
   
• Sunday, May 28th – Join Elizabeth as she speaks at the Fossil Fuel Freedom Fest

The post Elizabeth May’s Week in Review – May 12, 2017 appeared first on Elizabeth May.

On Tuesday, MPs from all parties and a Senator gathered to call for a strengthened Federal Lyme Disease Framework. Senator Kelvin Ogilvie, Conservative Senator from Nova Scotia, a world-respected scientist before being named to the Senate and Chair of the Senate Social Affairs, Science and Technology Committee, joined me, as well as MPs Tracey Ramsey (NDP for Essex), and Francesco Sorbara (Liberal for Vaughan – Woodbridge) to support the calls of advocates to strengthen the framework.

Dr. Melanie Wills, Director of the Canadian Lyme Science Alliance (CLSA) and researcher in Molecular and Cellular Biology at Guelph University, and Dr. Liz Zubek, a family physician who specializes in the treatment of Lyme Disease, both called for an improved framework, with a focus on improving the review of the available biomedical literature, and increasing the urgency of the call for better diagnostic testing. Rossana Magnotta, President and Founder of the G. Magnotta Foundation for Vector-Borne Diseases and advocate called for the Minister to incorporate better patient input into the Framework.

I encourage you to watch the press conference here:

There’s still time for the Framework to reflect these concerns. I remain deeply grateful that the bill received all-party support in the House of Commons and Senate. I continue to believe that working together, there is much we can accomplish to improve the lives of those suffering from this terrible disease.

Elizabeth May, OC
Member of Parliament
Saanich-Gulf Islands
Leader of the Green Party of Canada

The post Press Conference: Improving the Lyme Disease Framework appeared first on Elizabeth May.

Jane Philpott – Minister of Health

The post Parliament: Question on the Draft Lyme Disease Framework appeared first on Elizabeth May.

I am writing today to address the draft Federal Framework on Lyme Disease, recently opened for consultation by the Public Health Agency of Canada. There are positive elements to the draft. However, there is also room for improvements.

I welcome the Framework’s statement that the diagnosis of Lyme is “primarily a clinical one.” It also includes an important commitment to the development of new and improved diagnostic tests. That said, I expected more out of this process. It has been over two years since Bill C-442 received Royal Assent, and the consultation on the draft Framework is taking place nearly a year after the conference last May. I believe that the Framework should be strengthened to include a commitment that the Government of Canada will not allow any Lyme patient in Canada to go without treatment in Canada. I plan to discuss this with Minister Philpott.

I encourage those who feel similarly to participate in the consultation by submitting your comments by email or mail to the below contact by March 8th:

Lyme.Framework.Consultation_Consultation.Cadre.Lyme@phac-aspc.gc.ca

Centre for Food-borne, Environmental and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases
Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Branch
Public Health Agency of Canada
130 Colonnade Road
Mail slot 6502A
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0K9

You can read more about the consultation process here.

There is now also a Parliamentary petition, e-903, that encourages a rewrite of the framework. If that reflects how you feel about the Framework, I would encourage you to sign the petition here.

Thank you again for your interest in this file.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth May, OC
Member of Parliament
Saanich-Gulf Islands
Leader of the Green Party of Canada

The post Lyme Disease Framework Update – March 2nd appeared first on Elizabeth May.

February 24, 2017

Welcome to Elizabeth May's parliamentary week in review! This weekly e-newsletter recaps her work in Parliament when the House is in session. At the links below, you can watch videos of Elizabeth's interventions in the House, keep up with her media releases, and read articles she has written. This newsletter covers Elizabeth's work from February 17, 2017 to February 24, 2017.
 

Key Moments in the House

Speeches and Debates

Feb 21 – Speech on the Fundamental Purpose of National Parks – Maintaining Ecological Integrity 

Feb 23 – Speech and Debate on the Impact of Carbon Taxes

Questions

Feb 21 – Question on the Broad Scope of Bill-C23 Regarding the Power of US Border Officials Operating in Canada

Feb 22 – Question on Canada’s Lack of Participation in UN Nuclear Disarmament Negotiations

Update on Electoral Reform

The Prime Minister has made a terrible decision. But it can be reversed. We must continue to show him that there is a clear consensus, that Canadians want proportional representation.

*What You Can Do*

1. Continue to call the Prime Minister's office, write him letters, and write letters to your local Member of Parliament. 
    
2. Sign the parliamentary petition, if you have not already, calling on the Liberal government to revive the electoral reform debate in the House of Commons: 

   Click here to sign Petition E-616. It is currently sitting at 124,375 signatures!
    

3. Stay tuned​ for futue action as we work together with our pro-democracy friends to hold the Liberals to their promise! 
    

​Lyme Disease Update: Draft Framework Online and Open for Comments

On February 14th, the Public Health Agency of Canada released the Draft Federal Framework on Lyme Disease. You can read it here. The draft framework was written by the Public Health Agency and is the summation of the information gained during the online consultation process of summer 2015 and the conference of spring 2016.

The framework is required to meet the guidelines set out in Elizabeth's Private Member’s Bill, which include the following:

• the establishment of a national medical surveillance program to use data collected by the Agency to properly track incidence rates and the associated economic costs of Lyme disease;
• the establishment of guidelines regarding the prevention, identification, treatment and management of Lyme disease, and the sharing of best practices throughout Canada; and,
• the creation and distribution of standardized educational materials related to Lyme disease, for use by any public health care provider within Canada, designed to increase national awareness about the disease and enhance its prevention, identification, treatment and management.

We hope that the final federal framework reflects the input of stakeholders, especially patients’ groups, who have been so dedicated to improving the quality of life for all those suffering from Lyme across Canada.

*Ensuring the Liberal government fulfills its responsibility to implement the bill*

1. Submit your comments on the draft federal framework: 

If you can, please comment on the draft federal framework within the 30 day consultation period. You can do so my emailing your comments, by March 8^th, 2017, to:

Lyme.Framework.Consultation_Consultation.Cadre.Lyme@phac-aspc.gc.ca

You can also mail your comments, again by March 8^th, 2017, to the following address:

Centre for Food-borne, Environmental and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases
Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Branch
Public Health Agency of Canada
130 Colonnade Road
Mail slot 6502A
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0K9

​2. Stay tuned for the upcoming parliamentary petition:

Elizabeth has sponsored petition e-903, calling upon the Government of Canada to ensure concerned stakeholders are included in the writing of the Lyme Framework, upholding the spirit and intent of the Act. It is currently being translated and should be live early next week. We will keep you posted. 
 

​Media Updates

Elizabeth May congratulates Université Laval on fossil fuel divestment commitment

Elizabeth May calls on Liberals to honour campaign promise and close tax loophole on stock options
 

In the Media

CBC News: Elizabeth May makes case against deportation for bipolar Vancouver Island man

CTV News: Canada's ad hoc fitness caucus: MPs sweat together
 

Petitions

• Ensure the implementation of the Missing Persons Index and DNA database. 
• Ensure a moratorium against the release of genetically modified alfalfa.
• Establish further tax incentives for the purchase of new hybrid and electric vehicles. 
• Consider the national homelessness strategy as proposed by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities as a model for dealing nationall with homelessness.
• Act to protect Canada's pollinators by banning, as other jurisdictions have done, the use of neonicotinoid insecticides.
• Get rid of the perverse first past the post voting system and bring in fair voting with proportional representation.

Read the government responses to petitions Elizabeth has introduced here
 

Committee Briefs

Brief Submitted to the  Expert Panel Reviewing Environmental Assessment Law

Brief Submitted to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change for the "Let's Talk Parks Canada" Consultation

Brief Submitted to the Standing Committee on International Trade for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement Consultation

Brief Submitted to the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communites in Response to their Review of the Navigation Protection Act

Brief Submitted to the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans in Response to the Review of Changes to the Fisheries Act

Brief Submitted to the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development on the Canadian Environmental Protection Act
 

Private Members' Bills

Elizabeth May has introduced the following bills:

Bill C-269: This bill will abolish mandatory minimum sentences for all crimes of except murder and treason.

Bill C-258: This "Think Small First" bill would require that every new bill introduced in the House undergo an assessment to determine how the bill would impact Canadian small businesses.

Bill C-259: The Open Science Act would require all federal departments to make all publicly funded scientific research available to Canadians on their websites.

For a list of private members' bills Elizabeth May has seconded, please visit elizabethmaymp.ca

Current Federal Opportunities

Canada 150 Speakers’ Speech Writing Contest – Young Canadians from across the country are encouraged to participate in the Speakers’ Speech Writing Contest. The contest closes on April 21, 2017. Click the link for more details. 

Upcoming Events with Elizabeth May

Friday, February 24 – Elizabeth speaks on panel at Annual CAELS Conference

Thursday, March 02 – Elizabeth joins Gerban Van Straaten for a conversation about the Earth Charter

Saturday, March 04 –  Elizabeth delivers TEDx talk at TEDxStanleyPark

The post Elizabeth May’s Week in Review – Feb 24, 2017 appeared first on Elizabeth May.

On Tuesday, the Public Health Agency of Canada released the Draft Federal Framework on Lyme Disease. You can read it here. The draft framework was written by the Public Health Agency and is the summation of the information gained during the online consultation process of summer 2015 and the conference of spring 2016.

The framework is required to meet the guidelines set out in my Private Member’s Bill, which include the following:

• the establishment of a national medical surveillance program to use data collected by the Agency to properly track incidence rates and the associated economic costs of Lyme disease;

• the establishment of guidelines regarding the prevention, identification, treatment and management of Lyme disease, and the sharing of best practices throughout Canada; and,

• the creation and distribution of standardized educational materials related to Lyme disease, for use by any public health care provider within Canada, designed to increase national awareness about the disease and enhance its prevention, identification, treatment and management.

My hope is that the final federal framework reflects the input of stakeholders, especially patients’ groups, who have been so dedicated to improving the quality of life for all those suffering from Lyme across Canada.

If you can, please comment on the draft federal framework within the 30 day consultation period. You can do so my emailing your comments, by March 8^th, 2017, to:

Lyme.Framework.Consultation_Consultation.Cadre.Lyme@phac-aspc.gc.ca

You can also mail your comments, again by March 8^th, 2017, to the following address:

Centre for Food-borne, Environmental and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases
Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Branch
Public Health Agency of Canada
130 Colonnade Road
Mail slot 6502A
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0K9

Thank you again for your continued engagement on this very important issue. Please don’t hesitate to contact my office should you require any further information.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth May, OC
Member of Parliament
Saanich-Gulf Islands
Leader of the Green Party of Canada

The post Lyme Disease Update: Draft Framework Online and Open for Comments appeared first on Elizabeth May.

From the commitment right out the gate to bring forward legislation on medically assisted dying to legalizing marijuana, she is sailing into some strong headwinds.  Add the negotiation of a new Health Accord, responding effectively to the horrific suicide epidemic in some indigenous communities and the plan to bulk buy prescription drugs, and she might regret having won her seat at all.

Her mandate letter includes direction to act on enhanced home care services, health information innovations, new digital health technology, implementing high quality mental health, boosting vaccination rates, acting on concussions in sports, tobacco packaging and, working with other ministers, on Nutrition North.

The pledge to take on the threats to children’s health from over-processed, chemically “enhanced” and sugary food-like stuff fed to children is also welcome.  Restrictions and warnings on trans-fats and salt are also promised.  But the food industry, particularly the big players like Coca-Cola, Cargill and Monsanto are formidable obstacles.  There can be no greater legacy for Minister Philpott than looking after the health of our children by ensuring that their physical, mental and spiritual health needs are fully considered.

On top of that are persistent problems within Health Canada.  CFIA has had a cultural bias as an agency to protecting the reputation of Canadian food exports, sometimes at the risk of endangering the health of Canadians.  The lysteriosis crisis at Maple Leaf is a prime example of where action was delayed.  The mandate for CFIA contains this inherent conflict of interest.  The agency is both to promote Canadian food exports and regulate food safety.  An overhaul of the CFIA enabling legislation will be needed.

Similarly, the Pest Management Regulatory Agency has a history of granting toxic chemicals constitutional rights.  Under the PMRA, chemicals are innocent until proven guilty.  One of Philpott’s early and welcome moves was to rescind the “temporary registration” for a host of toxic pesticides, allowed to be used temporarily for years – with no testing at all. An opportunity to improve pesticide regulation is opening up in the Environment Committee with the review of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.  Since the late 1980s the act has regulated toxic chemicals from cradle to grave.  The problem is that from the act’s inception, it omitted two classes of toxic chemical – radionuclides and pesticides.  The regulatory framework for commercial pesticides is essentially unchanged from the days when PMRA was housed within Agriculture Canada.  Despite its welcome relocation to Health Canada, the organizational culture has remained industry-friendly.  To better protect public health, a move to CEPA, which is already jointly administered by both the Health and Environment minister, would be a vast improvement.

A too cozy relationship with pharmaceutical multi-national corporations can also be inferred from the difference in the assessment of prescription drugs by Health Canada when compared to the reviews of the same drugs and the same data packages when reviewed by the Therapeutics Initiative at UBC in Vancouver.

While not fully embracing national Pharmacare, the Minister’s mandate letter calls on her to explore bulk buying of prescription drugs.  As the rising cost of drugs is the single largest component to rising health care costs, a focus on reducing those prices through bulk purchasing can pass on cost savings to the provinces.  It can and will make prescription drugs more affordable.  Taking the next step to ensure every Canadian can afford to fill their prescriptions is a necessary step in enhancing public health.

The Green Party also believes we need to spend more time, research dollars and attention to the benefits of preventative health care.  Healthy living, staying fit and avoiding exposure to dangerous chemicals can save our health care system by keeping us well.

Lastly, I am so very pleased that the 41^st Parliament passed my private members bill for a Federal Lyme Disease Strategy.  From May 15-17, Public Health Agency officials will, in compliance with my bill, be working to develop a new and progressive strategy to deal with Lyme Disease.  The Public Health Agency has determined that Lyme is the fastest growing infectious disease in Canada.  The agency expects that by 2020 we will face 10,000 new cases of Lyme every single year.  It is my firm hope that the conference will listen to those who suffer from Lyme and guarantee them treatment in Canada, ending the common practice of going to the US to get treatment.

Originally published in the Hill Times.

The post Challenges facing the Minister of Health appeared first on Elizabeth May.

“Provincial and territorial ministers of health as well as representatives of the medical community and patient groups will attend the conference to provide input on the new framework. I anticipate an honest and open dialogue amongst stakeholders and look forward to the results of the conference. I would encourage those who are interested to visit the Public Health Agency of Canada’s website to learn more.”

“I hope the framework will be an important step forward as we work together to ensure that fewer Canadian families suffer from the consequences of Lyme disease.”

The post Statement from Elizabeth May for Lyme Disease Awareness Month appeared first on Elizabeth May.