The ALS Society of Canada (ALS Canada) applauds the Ontario government’s commitment of $13 million over three years in the 2024 Fall Economic Statement to support the Ontario Provincial ALS Program.
This pivotal investment represents a meaningful commitment from the provincial government to address the urgent and evolving needs of people affected by ALS. The program will deliver vital services aligned with the best practice model of care to provide better health outcomes for the 1,400 Ontarians living with ALS and their loved ones, supporting their independence, safety, and dignity while reducing stress on Ontario’s healthcare system by helping prevent unnecessary hospitalizations and emergency visits.
“The physical, emotional, and financial demands of ALS are enormous and only grow as the disease progresses,” says Tammy Moore, CEO of ALS Canada. “This transformative investment by the Ontario government in the Provincial ALS Program will help ensure people with ALS have access to multi-disciplinary care, essential community services and the assistive devices and mobility equipment they need when they need it, it is recognition the ALS community has long sought. We’re proud to have collaborated with the Ontario ALS Clinics and the ALS community to bring forward this program in partnership with the Ontario government.”
In collaboration, ALS Canada, with Simon Kuzyl, Patient Care Manager, and Dr. Lorne Zinman, Director of the ALS Clinic at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, and the regional ALS Clinics in Ontario (Hamilton, Kingston, London, Ottawa, and Toronto) have advocated for this program since 2022. This program reflects the realities faced by people living with ALS and the critical need for accessible, timely care and support.
The program includes an expansion of ALS clinics in Northern Ontario. Until now, people affected by ALS have had to endure long journeys to attend appointments in clinics located in Southern Ontario. This regional strategy ensures that Northern Ontarians living with ALS will receive timely and equitable access to care, regardless of their geographic location.
ALS is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive paralysis of those affected, as the brain loses the ability to communicate with voluntary muscles. People living with ALS often face a rapid loss of function—including mobility, speech, and eventually the ability to eat, swallow, and breathe—and most will need expensive mobility aids, communication devices, and respiratory assistance. There is currently no cure, and approximately 80 per cent of people diagnosed with ALS will pass away within two to five years.
“We are so pleased that the Ontario government has recognized and acted on the urgent needs of families affected by ALS in Ontario. This support will have an immediate and tangible impact on newly diagnosed patients as well as those of us who are further along on our journey,” says Mike Cels, who was diagnosed with ALS in 2017. “Every solution that eases the challenges of managing life with ALS is significant to us.”
ALS Canada will continue collaborating with the Government of Ontario for policies and investments that create lasting change and improve the lives of people affected by ALS today and in the future.
For more information:
ALS Society of Canada
media@als.ca
437-703-5402
Source: ALS Society of Canada