Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I think it's incredibly troubling. We have some amazing witnesses here today who have been presenting some very powerful testimony. I know I have a series of further questions that I was hoping to get on the record. Unfortunately, the government is using this as an opportunity to play partisan politics when it comes to women's health. Frankly, I think it is unfortunate.
I appreciate the fact that members opposite do want to study women's health, and this is precisely why I brought forward my motion on breast cancer screening.
It was interesting. This morning, the Canadian Cancer Society actually changed its guidelines. It deviated from what the federal government and the health task force put forward when it comes to women's health. Its official recommendation is to lower breast cancer screening to 40 years old from 50. It shows how behind the times this government is when it comes to women's health and how lacking the task force has been on health screening here in Canada. The fact that the Canadian Cancer Society had to come out and change its recommendation ahead of what the government has done because they've been sitting on their hands doing nothing, allowing more women to unnecessarily suffer with breast cancer.....
I say this because, as members of this committee know, this is something that is deeply troubling to me. I lost my mom to breast cancer. I was 21; she was 49. It is something that, as my kids get older, as I get older, I think about every single day. What would it mean if my children had to grow up without a mom like I had to grow up without a mom? My brothers had to grow up without a mom.
Every single day, I talk to people from right across the country who tell me their stories and the impact that breast cancer has had when it comes to their lives.
I think it is very troubling that this government has not acted on this. I passed a motion back in April during Cancer Awareness Month. It should be prioritized for study in the health committee.
We've had a tradition in this committee of having these very broad studies and not actually getting to the crux of any one particular issue. When it comes to having these broad studies, one of the biggest challenges is that we can't actually find these solutions.
I wasn't trying to play any politics when I moved forward—