Parliament of Canada - March is Brain Awareness Month. To kick-off the Month, Kirsty Duncan, MP, read the following statement read in the House on Mar. 1, 2013:
Ms. Kirsty Duncan (Etobicoke North, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, March is National Brain Awareness Month, a time to encourage Canadians to learn how to nurture a healthy brain, to help recognize individuals who have been adversely affected by brain disorders and to advocate for a national brain strategy.
Today, 5.5 million Canadians and their families live with a neurological disease, disorder or injury. If the brain is not working properly, then every part of life can be compromised. Often people living with a brain condition face stigma and a general lack of understanding about their condition, leading to feelings of frustration, hopelessness and isolation.
The National Population Health Study of Neurological Conditions will end in March 2013. My appeal is for a joint meeting of federal, provincial and territorial ministers of health to help support the development of a framework, working with stakeholders across the country, toward a pan-Canadian action plan for the brain.