Lung Association Congratulates Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq, Looks Forward to Continued Partnership on Improving Lung Health

OTTAWA, Oct. 30 – The Lung Association was pleased today by the appointment of Leona Aglukkaq as Canada’s new Minister of Health. At the same time, the Association thanked former Minister Tony Clement for his help over the past 2.5 years in advancing the lung health agenda in Canada.”Throughout the mandate of Minister Clement, and with the support of the Prime Minister, we made encouraging progress on advancing the lung health of Canadians,” said Nora Sobolov, President and CEO of The Lung Association, “Minister Aglukkaq understands the very real respiratory health challenges facing Canada’s First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities – and we stand ready to work with her to meet these challenges. We are confident that Minister Aglukkaq will be as strong as an advocate for better lung health as her predecessor, and look forward to working with her to improve the respiratory health of the one in five Canadians living with lung disease”.

Over the past two years, The Lung Association, the federal government, and respiratory health stakeholders nationwide have been working hard to build The National Lung Health Framework – Canada’s first national action plan on lung health that will work to lower rates of lung disease in Canada. The plan will improve the respiratory health of all people living in Canada through collaborative and equitable patient care, policy, programming, research and leadership. It is an action plan that recognizes the key link between the environment and lung health, and that will take steps to address both indoor and outdoor air quality issues. It should be noted that the National Lung Health Framework is the first health strategy in the world that tackles both environment and health and is the result of collaboration among dozens of organizations and hundreds of volunteers dedicated to reducing the burden of lung disease in Canada.

During the recent federal election campaign, referencing his government’s commitment to lung health, Prime Minister Harper announced an initial funding investment of $10 million over two years to begin implementing the National Lung Health Framework. The Association looks forward to seeing this commitment in the 2009 federal budget, and will continue working with Health Minister Aglukkaq, her Cabinet and caucus colleagues, and all Parliamentarians, to ensure that lung health remains a priority in the 40th Parliament. As well, the Association and its partners will continue working with the government and all Parliamentarians to ensure that the Framework is fully funded before the next federal election.

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For further information: media representatives may contact: Cameron Bishop, Director of Government Affairs and Media Relations, The Lung Association, (613) 569-6411, ext, 223