Let me begin this short statement by wishing all mothers here and everywhere a happy belated Mother’s Day. I hope yesterday was a wonderful day for you and the special mothers in your life.

But, Speaker, just as I proclaim these well wishes today, I draw attention to a serious matter affecting our parents and grandparents everywhere. It is a disease called dementia, which captures the set of symptoms associated with cognitive decline. This disease affects over 600,000 Canadians today. A dementia diagnosis is life-altering for both the person affected and their families, and we must do more to help them.

Here in Ontario, we need a better strategy, a better plan. We must spread better dementia awareness and test for it early, because earlier detection can help the rate of decline and help families better prepare. We must create more dementia support programs and better support the ones that exist so more people can participate sooner. We must do more to support their caregivers—the vast majority are their own adult children and spouses—and we must make outside support much more affordable.

A new era of dementia drugs is on the horizon—which seek to finally address root causes rather than just the symptoms of dementia. When these drugs are shown to work, we must make them available here as fast as possible.

And finally, we must fix long-term care in this province once and for all. We owe it to our grandparents and parents. We owe it to ourselves, and we owe it to our children, who we wish will long outlive us, hopefully in a better world where this disease is finally eradicated.