Lyme Disease is a chronic illness prevalent across much of Southern Ontario. Unfortunately, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care does not cover far superior diagnostic and treatment methods used in Europe and the United States. As a consequence, many people across the Province travel abroad at their own expense to receive treatment for this disease. The MOHLTC should recognize this problem and introduce modern diagnostics and treatment for Lyme Disease and bring more awareness to the ailement. 

A Petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario

WHEREAS, the tick-borne illness known as Chronic Lyme Disease, which mimics many catastrophic illnesses, such as Multiple Sclerosis, Crohn’s, Alzheimer’s, arthritic diabetes, depression, Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia is increasingly endemic in Canada, but scientifically validated diagnostic tests and treatment choices are currently not available in Ontario, forcing patients to seek these in the U.S.A. and Europe; and

WHEREAS, the Canadian Medical Association informed the public, governments, and the medical profession in the May 30, 2000 edition of their professional journal that Lyme Disease is endemic throughout Canada, particularly in Southern Ontario; and

WHEREAS, the Ontario Public Health system and the Ontario Health Insurance Plan currently do not fund those specific tests that accurately serve the process for establishing a clinical diagnosis, but only recognize testing procedures known in the medical literature to provide false negatives 45 to 95% of the time;

WE, THE UNDERSIGNED, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to pass Bill 27 An act to enhance the surveillance, prevention, identification, awareness, research, diagnosis, treatment, management and other best practices with respect to various vector-borne diseases including West Nile Virus and Lyme Disease.