I am proud to share with you that we have formed an all-party subcommittee to address neurological disease and to bring researchers, stakeholders and decision-makers together on ASD, MS, ALS, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, all of which are major neurological diseases that cross all ages.

As things currently stand, I am also less than satisfied with the wording relating to dental amalgam, which remains strongly suspected of playing a part in a range of conditions, of which I shall cite as examples immune deficiencies, Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, and damage to the unborn child in the womb.

* The European Union has so far played an important part in the establishment and dissemination of best practices (for example, as regards the introduction of reflective number plates and the development of crash barriers which are safer for motorcyclists), and it is planned to extend this activity further still.

The Committee members are of the opinion that the health care delivery system should ensure that palliative care is also available to all patients with chronic or degenerative illnesses, such as ALS, MS, AIDS, Alzheimer's and other diseases.

Palliative care facilities have traditionally focused on cancer patients and as a result patients with other medical problems, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), multiple sclerosis (MS), Alzheimer's disease, end-stage renal or respiratory or cardiac disease, have had difficulty in obtaining access to palliative care.

For the thousands of Canadians who suffer from Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, schizophrenia, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, dementia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and other disorders, this declaration would be proof positive that the government would not turn a blind eye to their needs and, indeed, that the government would continue to give them the attention they deserve (1150 ) It is for these individuals as well as for the health and well-being of Canada as a whole that I offer my wholehearted support for Bill C-239, an act respecting the decade of the brain.