We hope everyone enjoyed a special Canada Day weekend with their friends and family, and had time to reflect upon all the wonderful things we enjoy living in this great Country. Although it’s been a while since we sent an update, we continue to be busy pushing forward with our advocacy work. One of the blessings of living in Canada is that we have a democratic Government and as a result, we enjoy the right to free speech and a democratic process. We are happy to share that, as a result of continued advocacy, meetings with and letters to MPs and Senators in Ottawa over the last couple months, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health agreed to study the Federal Framework on Lyme Disease which was released in final version on May 30, 2017. On June 6 & 8th, 2017, the Health Committee held 2 sessions to hear from a variety of Lyme stakeholders who were called to testify about their concerns with the Lyme Framework. Ms Sue Faber and I were both called to testify as patients and advocates. Ms Janet Sperling, CanLyme director, and Dr. Vett Lloyd from Mount Allison University, both testified as scientific experts, and Dr. Ralph Hawkins, MD and Dr. Elizabeth Zubek, MD, both appeared to testify as medical experts and clinicians. Finally, Dr. Howard Njoo, the Acting Assistant Deputy Minister, Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Branch testified on behalf of the Public Health Agency of Canada, and Ms Margaret Fearon and Mr. Jean-Paul Bedard from Canada Blood Services also appeared. Each witness was given 10 minutes to speak. We are attaching Sue and my testimony clips which have been posted on YouTube: Sue Faber: https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=-gByuqmZBNk Jennifer Kravis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wLAgudDsjY At the end of this update, there is a link to the full 4 hours of testimony, along with written briefs that were submitted from various other interested parties across Canada. At the conclusion of the study, the Health Committee prepared a letter to federal Health Minister Jane Philpott which we have not seen yet. In addition, Conservative MPs Len Webber (Calgary) and Dr. Colin Carrie (Oshawa), both members of the Health Committee, sent an additional letter to Minister Philpott urging her to consider the joint recommendation raised by the Lyme community to legislate an oversight committee consisting of ALL Lyme stakeholders, as was recently done in the U.S. We are especially appreciative of the continued support and efforts by the Conservative party to push for change on this issue. What you can do: continue writing and/or asking to meet your federal MP to express your concern about Lyme disease and the need for MUCH more attention and funding allocated to this issue. If your MP is on the Health Committee, express your thanks for their time and attention on this issue – ask him or her to keep you updated on the outcome of this Health Committee Study. Find your MP here: https://lop.parl.ca/ParlInfo/Compilations/HouseOfCommons/MemberByPostalCode.aspx?Menu=HOC Here is the link to the Health Committee page on the Lyme Framework study: https://www.ourcommons.ca/Committees/en/HESA/StudyActivity?studyActivityId=9527827 The start and end times of each witness are as follows: Tuesday Session (Video): 10-58-15 to 11-04-11: Intro & Elizabeth May, MP Green Party 11-04-43 to 11-12-51: Janet Sperling, CanLyme 11-13-00 to 11-24-54: Sue Faber, Lyme Patient & Advocate 11-24-59 to 11-34-36: Jennifer Kravis, Lyme Patient & Advocate 11-34-38 to 11-46-18: Dr. Vett Lloyd, Tick Researcher 11-46-18 to end: Questions & Discussion by Health Committee Thursday Session (Audio Only): 11-03-19 to 11-16-59: Intro by Bill Casey, Chair & Dr. Howard Njoo, Public Health Agency of Canada 11-17-00 to 11-23-43: Jean-Paul Bedard & Margaret Fearon, Canada Blood Services 11-23-44 to 11-34-18: Dr. Ralph Hawkins, MD 11-34-19 to 11-44-39: Dr. Elizabeth Zubek, MD 11-44-40 to end: Questions & Discussion by Health Committee Members Enjoy your summer, make sure to take steps to prevent tick bites, and conduct regular tick checks on yourself, your pets and children. Be safe, have fun. Thank you for your continued interest and support.