Getting the attention of our elected representatives

A few other noteworthy items have transpired over the last month.

Those of you in the Lyme community may recall that early this year, an MP from Manitoba (the Honourable James Bezan) invited Lyme patients from across the country to contact him with their Lyme adventures -- he wanted to hear from us about our experiences with Canada's medical system. Well, it seems he had a pretty good response. According to a recent article in Nova Scotia's Chronicle Herald, aptly titled It should have been done 10 years ago, Mr. Bezan has forwarded our accounts to new federal Minister of Health Leona Aglukkaq, as well as every one of her provincial counterparts.

"There seems to be a lack of education of our doctors, poor diagnostics and testing, and that has resulted in the virus [sic] having a greater negative impact on the lives of too many Canadians," Selkirk-Interlake MP James Bezan said in an interview. Bacteriological inaccuracies aside, Mr. Bezan hit the nail square on the head.

Elsewhere in Canada, the leader of Alberta's Liberal Caucus, MPP Kevin Taft Ph.D. (aka “the man with a plan”), tabled a private members statement entitled Diagnosing Lyme Disease (pdf format).

"Clearly, there are obvious deficits in the available background information, diagnostic criteria and testing recommendations for Lyme disease in Alberta." "I urge this government to work with CanLyme on a formal public review and work with federal agencies to revise Lyme testing."

Have you written your elected representatives yet? Contact your MP and MPP today ( BC, AB, SK, MB, ON, QC, NB, NS, PE, NL ).