News Prime Minister Trudeau Meets with MS Society of Canada in Show of Support for MS Awareness Month Prime Minister Trudeau Meets with MS Society of Canada in Show of Support for MS Awareness Month by Patricia Silva, PhD | May 10, 2016 Share this article: Share article via email Copy article link Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other lawmakersĀ met with members of the multiple sclerosis (MS) community and theĀ Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada (MSSC)Ā at the start of May,Ā MS Awareness Month,Ā to discuss issues of importance to those living withĀ the disease. From left: Hedy Fry, a member of Parliament; Benjamin Davis, with the MS Society of Canada; Marie Vaillant, who has MS, with the MSSC; Prime Minister Justin Trudeau; and Yves Savoie, president and CEO of the MSSC. (Photo credit: Brian T. Hum) “I want to thank Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for showing his support during MS Awareness Month,” Yves Savoie, MSSCās president and chief executive officer, said in a press release. “Prime Minister Trudeau’s visit with members of the MS community underscores the importance of our efforts to help improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of Canadians affected by multiple sclerosis as well as reinforces the Canadian Government’s commitment to supporting research to help prevent and treat chronic conditions.” MS, a chronic and potentially disabling disease of the central nervous system, isĀ one of the most commonĀ neurological diseases affecting young adults in Canada ā the country, in fact, has the highest rate of MS in the world, theĀ MSSC said. The prime minister expressed his support for Canadians living with MS, and commended the MSSC and other groups for their advocacy efforts. He also thanked the MSSCĀ forĀ making realistic andĀ tangible recommendations to improve the working status of MS patients (such asĀ extending Employment Insurance benefits to 26 weeks from 15 weeks to better support these workers and to match compassionate care benefits), and to accelerate government funding ofĀ research intoĀ treatments for progressive MS, which currently has no effective disease-modifying therapies. “I have lived with progressive MS for 20 years and I am very excited about Canada’s leadership in the fight to end MS,” saidĀ Marie Vaillant, board chair of the Ontario and Nunavut Division of MSSC, and theĀ MS International Federationās board vice chair. “Knowing that our country is a part of the global movement to bring together researchers to understand the progression of MS, develop clinical trials and find treatments that have eluded us so far is crucial to those of us who live with progressive MS.” Print This Page About the Author Patricia Silva, PhD PatrĆcia holds a PhD in medical microbiology and infectious diseases from the Leiden University Medical Center, Netherlands, and completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at the Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Lisbon, Portugal. Her work in academia was mainly focused on molecular biology and the genetic traits of infectious agents such as viruses and parasites. PatrĆcia earned several travel awards to present her work at international scientific meetings. She is a published author of several peer-reviewed science articles. Tags MS Awareness Month, Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada
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