Mr. Garfield Dunlop (Simcoe North): Yesterday, Sunday, April 17, I had the privilege of participating in the fifth annual Super Cities Walk for Multiple Sclerosis. It was held at the Orillia District Collegiate and Vocational Institute in Orillia. It had approximately 300 participants and dozens and dozens of volunteers. In Orillia alone, the Super Cities Walk raised $56,000 for MS research.

I want to put on record a couple of key points: Canadians have one of the highest rates of multiple sclerosis in the world; MS is the most common neurological disease affecting young adults in Canada; every day, three more people in Canada are diagnosed with MS; women are twice as likely as men to develop MS; MS can cause loss of balance, impaired speech, extreme fatigue, double vision and paralysis; MS was first identified and described by a French neurologist, Dr. Jean-Martin Charcot, in 1868; we don't know what causes MS, but researchers are closer to finding the answer.

What's important is that in communities across our country -- I believe the goal this year was 150 communities participating, and they tried to raise approximately $11 million for MS research.

I would just like to take this opportunity to thank those folks in my riding who participated in this walk, and all the volunteers and participants across the country who have helped find the cause of this disease.