Bill No. 119 - Endometriosis Awareness Month Act. - 2nd Reading

CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : I beg leave to make an introduction.

THE SPEAKER « » : Yes, go ahead, please.

CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : In the gallery opposite is Maggie Archibald. Maggie is the force behind this month. I'd like all members to give her the warm welcome of the House. (Standing ovation)

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable Leader of the New Democratic Party.

CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : Maggie is no stranger to this place. I remember driving on a highway in Cape Breton in a blizzard with my colleagues, and the member for Halifax Citadel-Sable Island saying, We've got to call Maggie Archibald. I said, Are you kidding? It's a whiteout and there's no service. She said, No, we said we'd call Maggie. She's got to talk to us about this bill.

We called Maggie and miraculously the cell service held and we didn't go off the road, and she shared with us some of the reasons that we have heard already tonight about why this bill is so important. I think it's really important to acknowledge that, and I want to thank you, Maggie, for doing that. I think also there is a cautionary tale in this story. I think that Maggie and other advocates have had to move mountains to convince not just politicians but the medical establishment that their pain is real. As the member for Bedford Basin said, it is women and non-binary folks who, so far, are speaking to this bill or are slated to.

We talk a lot about the challenges and triumphs faced predominantly by men in this Chamber, frankly, but I think it's also important that we acknowledge the pain and the silence that is so often experienced by women and non-binary folks in our society. That can be physical pain, as in the case of endometriosis, or all kinds of other pain. I think that that speaks to, as has been said, the need to really acknowledge this and to ground it in people's real experience. I thank the minister so much for her comments because those kinds of stories remind us why we're here. They remind us why we pass legislation like this.

Things touch us. They touch us in our personal life and they touch us in our professional life, and occasionally, if our better angels are on the right side and the stars align, we can turn that into legislation that can help people. I do believe that this can help people. I also have friends and family who have suffered with this disease and let me tell you something: Every single person in this Chamber has friends and family who have suffered with this disease. It's really important to think about that.

Imagine, for those of you who haven't had this experience, going into an emergency room and saying, I have debilitating pain; going to your family doctor and saying, I can't work, my pain is so bad - and having someone tell you to take a couple of Advil, lie down, and you'll feel better. This is what routinely happens.

I think we often talk - those of us who have given birth - about the pain of childbirth and the ways in which people who haven't had that experience don't understand that pain, but I think the same is true for lots of other conditions, and this is one of them.

I really have always believed that the most important thing we can do in this Chamber and in these jobs is to do our best to be empathetic to the concerns of Nova Scotians - to the concerns of constituents. I think this bill is really a display of that empathy. What we're trying to do with this bill is to say to people who are experiencing this pain, are challenged to find treatment, or are challenged to be believed, We hear you, we see you, and we believe you. We acknowledge your pain. We know it's bad, and we will be a continuing part of the drive to ensure that everyone can get up-to-date effective treatment for endometriosis.

Thank you, Maggie. Thank you to the other members for supporting this bill. With those few words, I'll take my seat.