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2014-12-13 23:20:57 UTC
A Green Party first ! . . . and a private member's Bill to boot !
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CP | By The Canadian Press - 12/12/2014
Elizabeth May's Lyme Disease Bill Passes Senate In Green Party First
OTTAWA - The Senate has passed a private member's bill on Lyme disease, the
first Green party bill to ever pass both houses of Parliament.
The legislation sponsored by Green party Leader Elizabeth May won Commons
approval last June and now only needs royal assent to become law.
It calls on the government to call a conference of provincial and territorial
ministers, medical experts and representatives of patient groups to develop a
comprehensive Lyme disease strategy.
The strategy would include a national program to track rates of infections, and
establish guidelines for preventing infections and diagnosing and treating them
when they occur.
Lyme is a tick-borne disease whose symptoms include a rash, fever, headache and
fatigue.
May says the bill could not have passed without the support of the government.
"The hard work of the minister of health, Rona Ambrose, and the entire Lyme
community were instrumental in making this bill a reality," she said.
Although the legislation passed with all-party support, part of it was opposed
by an organization representing infectious diseases specialists.
The Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Canada was
concerned that the bill appears to support the idea that significant numbers of
people suffer from a condition they believe to be chronic Lyme disease and that
they have been failed by a medical system that refuses to accept that diagnosis.
A number of organizations say the existence of chronic Lyme disease is based on
pseudo-science, while others claim it is a real and debilitating condition.
May said her bill is neutral on the subject.
____________________________________________________
For the first time in the history of the world, every human being is now
subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals, from the moment of conception
until death.
~Rachel Carson, Silent Spring, 1962
"I'm not a doctor," she said. "I'm not taking positions on these things."
_______________________________________
CP | By The Canadian Press - 12/12/2014
Elizabeth May's Lyme Disease Bill Passes Senate In Green Party First
OTTAWA - The Senate has passed a private member's bill on Lyme disease, the
first Green party bill to ever pass both houses of Parliament.
The legislation sponsored by Green party Leader Elizabeth May won Commons
approval last June and now only needs royal assent to become law.
It calls on the government to call a conference of provincial and territorial
ministers, medical experts and representatives of patient groups to develop a
comprehensive Lyme disease strategy.
The strategy would include a national program to track rates of infections, and
establish guidelines for preventing infections and diagnosing and treating them
when they occur.
Lyme is a tick-borne disease whose symptoms include a rash, fever, headache and
fatigue.
May says the bill could not have passed without the support of the government.
"The hard work of the minister of health, Rona Ambrose, and the entire Lyme
community were instrumental in making this bill a reality," she said.
Although the legislation passed with all-party support, part of it was opposed
by an organization representing infectious diseases specialists.
The Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Canada was
concerned that the bill appears to support the idea that significant numbers of
people suffer from a condition they believe to be chronic Lyme disease and that
they have been failed by a medical system that refuses to accept that diagnosis.
A number of organizations say the existence of chronic Lyme disease is based on
pseudo-science, while others claim it is a real and debilitating condition.
May said her bill is neutral on the subject.
____________________________________________________
For the first time in the history of the world, every human being is now
subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals, from the moment of conception
until death.
~Rachel Carson, Silent Spring, 1962
"I'm not a doctor," she said. "I'm not taking positions on these things."