Dear Minister,

As Minister of Health, we need you to #TakeActionforMS for the over 90,000 Canadians living with multiple sclerosis (MS) and thousands more in the MS community affected every day by this unpredictable, episodic, and progressive disease.

Canada has one of the highest rates of MS in the world and more than 75% of those diagnosed with the disease are women. MS is a disease that impacts each person differently with different symptoms, different levels of severity, and requires different treatments and medications that help them live life to the fullest.

Unfortunately, research from the Conference Board of Canada has shown us that for people who live with MS, where they live, their employment status, and how much money they earn has a significant impact on their ability to access the life changing disease modifying therapies (DMTs) they need. This is not the promise of universal health care that Canadians believe in.

We need your government to #TakeActionForMS to address the inequities in Canada’s health system that result in different coverage of MS treatments for different people. Everyone who lives with MS in Canada must be able to access the full range of Health Canada-approved DMTs. Further, it is imperative that your government act to ensure that any new DMTs that come to market are available to the Canadian MS community as soon as possible.

With 12 Canadians newly diagnosed with MS every single day, there is no time for delay. We need the Government of Canada to ensure that every person who lives with MS has affordable and equitable access to all Health Canada approved therapies to treat this disease. As Minister of Health, we are asking you to #TakeActionForMS and make this happen.