24 November 2006
MontrealGood morning.
Thank you Dr. Porter for that generous introduction.
And thanks to you, and Drs. Aprikian and Freeman for giving me a tour of your facility today.
I’d also like to acknowledge some of the special guests we have in attendance with us here today,
Please stand when I say your name.
Dr. Barbara Whylie, the CEO of the Canadian cancer society;
Jack Shapiro, Chair of Canadian cancer care network; and
Dr. Brent Schacter, the CEO of the Canadian association of provincial cancer agencies.
I would like to thank each of you for your contributions over the years in the fight against cancer.
Canadians from coast to coast to coast thank you for your service.
So ladies and gentlemen, please give these three worthy individuals a round of applause.
Just like the staff here at the McGill University health centre, Mr. Lapierre and Drs. Whylie and Schacter know all too well the toll this terrible disease exacts from Canadians.
Cancer strikes without warning and plays no favourites, and it touches all of us.
Even the young and healthy are not immune.
At some point, it will darken the lives of each and every one of us. This year alone, some 150,000 Canadians will be diagnosed.
Another 70,000 will succumb to the disease.
Cancer will take parents from children and children from parents.
Husbands will lose wives and wives will lose husbands.
And in workplaces and communities across the country, people will mourn the loss of colleagues and friends.
As part of their grieving, many will pray for the epidemic to end.
But it won’t end until we solve the mysteries of cancer.
And even the most optimistic scenarios don’t predict a universal cure any time soon.
In the meantime, however, there is cause for hope.
Because we are learning, slowly but surely, ways to prevent, control and sometimes even cure cancer.
More and more people are not only living with cancer, they’re beating it.
And the secret to our success is knowledge; knowledge about how to prevent cancer.
How to detect it, treat it, and survive it.
That’s why, last December, I made a pledge to Canadians:
If elected, our government would adopt the Canadian strategy for cancer control, a five-year battle plan developed by over 700 survivors and experts.
We promised to adopt the strategy because we believe it can save Canadian lives. And last May, I’m proud to say, we delivered on our commitment to fund it in Budget 2006.
Already the key elements of the Strategy are beginning to fall into place.
The major players in the fight against cancer will soon be joining together to pool their expertise and knowledge.
These include:
the Canadian Cancer Society;
the Canadian Association of Provincial Cancer Agencies;
the federal, provincial and territorial health departments; and
the nation’s top research institutes.
Their goals are nothing less than:
Preventing cancer altogether;
Detecting cancers early when they’re most treatable; and
Enhancing treatment and support services to improve quality of life for Canadians suffering from cancer.
To achieve these goals – prevention, detection and treatment – I am pleased to announce today the creation of the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer.
This Pan-Canadian body will serve as a clearing house for state-of-the-art information about preventing, diagnosing and treating cancer.
A non-profit corporation, it will operate at arm’s length from government.
The board of directors of this independent non-profit organisation will include:
Patients;
Families;
Survivors;
Representatives of the key cancer stakeholder organizations;
The federal, provincial and territorial governments; and
Canada’s aboriginal peoples.
Recognizing that health care falls within provincial jurisdiction, the new national agency will play no role in the administration of health policy or programs.
Its job is simply to make sure that the best cancer care practices in any single part of Canada are known and available to health care providers in every part of Canada.
This initiative marks the first coordinated and comprehensive approach to cancer control in our country.
From now on, when Quebec researchers or clinicians achieve a breakthrough in diagnostics, their new knowledge will benefit patients in Alberta.
And when oncologists in British Columbia pioneer a successful treatment, it will be available to patients in Québec.
As part of today’s announcement, I’m also pleased to name the chair and vice chair of the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer.
Jeffrey Lozon, the president and CEO of St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, will serve as the body’s chair.
While Dr. Simon Sutcliffe, the president and CEO of the BC cancer agency, will serve as its vice chair.
Both men bring a wealth of experience to their positions.
Canada is fortunate to have such high-calibre executives to take on this challenge.
Make no mistake about it – the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer is going to save lives.
In fact, experts are predicting the strategy could pre-empt 1.2 million new cases of cancer and prevent 423,000 cancer deaths over the next 30 years.
Every day, medical researchers and practitioners here in Canada and around the world take small steps towards transforming cancer from a death sentence into a manageable illness.
The Partnership will track those steps closely, setting a path that may one day lead us to a universal cure.
Because together we can win this fight.
Thank you.
