Canadian ME patients, families and friends:
This is a Call To Action.
WHAT ARE WE DOING?
Organising virtual AND live protests for a National Strategy for ME.
Whether you are busy or housebound, you can help get that message to Minister Philpott by participating in Millions Missing Canada events in the coming weeks:
- Virtual Demonstration on Sept 27th as part of the global #MillionsMissing campaign
- Live Protest on October 6th at the Health Canada building in Toronto
See below for details for both events.
WHY ARE WE PROTESTING?
We’re mad as hell and not going to take it any more!
- Reason #1 for Protest: CIHR’s Disease Denial:
No doubt you’ve heard by now about the Canadian Institute of Health’s (CIHR) recent rejection of a grant application for ME research funds (click
here for details). In their review of the grant, the CIHR reviewers claimed that there is no evidence that ME is a disease. Thanks to this, Canada is now referred to as
The Dark North.
The information that the CIHR reviewers used was so biased and out-of-date, that they failed to even mention or cite the
Canadian Clinical Criteria or the
Institute of Medicine’s 2015 Report. Both of these documents are the gold standard in the ME field, and both clearly and unambiguously state that ME is real, is serious, and can be devastating for patients.
The absurdity of the CIHR reasoning, is magnified by the recent
ground-breaking studyby Dr. Robert Naviaux’s which found clear evidence of hypometabolism in ME patients.
The CIHR’s profound and unforgivable ignorance does, however, explain the severe neglect of ME patients, as illustrated by the table below:
So, just to recap: Disease denial leads to Millions of Dollars Missing from research funding for ME patients.
- Reason #2 for Protest: Silence From The Hill
Minister Philpott ignored our Millions Missing letter in May seeking a meeting. Not even an acknowledgement of the more than 400,000 Canadians suffering with ME with lack of research funding and access to appropriate testing and treatment.
We deserve better from our healthcare system and this Minister of Health.
We deserve an apology.
We deserve equal research funding and access to treatment.
We deserve a national strategy for ME.
HOW ARE WE PROTESTING?
Virtually AND Live
Change starts with us, the ME community, and the power of our collective voices. We have created protest opportunities in which as many ME patients, friends and families as possible can participate.
Millions Missing Canada volunteers are working hard to develop and roll out a public relations plan and we need your help to make our demands come to reality.
So read these details and SHARE, SHARE, SHARE!
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SEPTEMBER 27: VIRTUAL ONLINE PROTEST
Our fully Canadian protest which is part of the Global #MillionsMissing demonstration:
- Canadians from across the country will email Minister Philpott and other politicians at the same time on Sept 27 (11am Pacific / 2pm Eastern)
- We will have a link available to our template letter, which will make sending your emails much easier than in May.
To join our September 27 Virtual Protest, we need you to do 2 things today:
- SIGN UP for Sept 27 virtual event by either:
- Sending an email to MillionsMissingCanada@gmail.com, OR
- Registering as “going” on our Facebook event page for Round 2:https://www.facebook.com/events/619297384893996/
- SHARE THIS POST WIDELY and encourage family and friends to participate and share. The more people signing up, the louder our virtual voices will be heard by politicians, press and the public.
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OCTOBER 6TH - LIVE PROTEST
Downtown Toronto.
The Live Protest:
- WHEN: October 6, from 12 - 2pm EDT
- WHERE: On the street at 180 Queen Street West
- VIEW: Live stream on Facebook Live for a portion of that time.
- RSVP: Let us know if you think you can attend.
- SEND YOUR SHOES: If you can't make it in person, send shoes which we can use to represent you at the protest. Add a short note attached to your shoes telling us a bit about you and your shoes.
Send shoes to –
c/o Aleksandar Vasiljevic
51 Stoneton Drive
Scarborough M1H 2P6
Ontario
Please note, shoes will not be returned. Our plan is to hold on to them all to use
in future protests.
To join our October 6 Live Protest, we need you to do 2 things today:
- SIGN UP For October 6th event by either:
- sending an email to MillionsMissingCanada@gmail.com, OR
- Registering as “going” on our Facebook event page for Live Protest Toronto:https://www.facebook.com/events/1120173071406359/
- SHARE THIS POST WIDELY and encourage family and friends to participate and share. The more people signing up, the louder our virtual voices will be heard by politicians, press and the public.
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Stop the harm.
Start the research.
Start the treatment.