November 14, 2023 — Brampton, Ontario
Today, Sonia Sidhu, Member of Parliament for Brampton South and Chair of the All-
Party Diabetes Caucus joined representatives from the City of Brampton, including His
Worship Mayor Patrick Brown, Council Members, MPs, MPPs, representatives of
national organizations and grassroots teams, for the city’s commemoration of World
Diabetes Day. Mayor Brown issued a commemorative statement recognizing November
14 as World Diabetes Day in the City of Brampton. Dynacare, a locally-based national
business offered free diabetes testing to Bramptonians attending the event.
In Brampton, almost every sixth resident lives with diabetes or prediabetes. 11 million
Canadians are living with diabetes or prediabetes. The number of diagnoses has
doubled in the last 20 years.

MP Sidhu worked closely with members of the city council, Mayor, and local community.
In 2019, MP Sidhu introduced a motion for the House of Commons to recognize the
event federally, and to declare November as Diabetes Awareness Month.
2023 represents a significant anniversary for the fight against diabetes. It is the
centennial of the Nobel Prize awarded for the discovery of insulin by Sir Frederick
Banting and his colleagues at the University of Toronto in 1921. This discovery
remained one of the most important medical breakthroughs of the twentieth century has
saved countless lives. In 1991, the International Diabetes Federation and the World
Health Organization selected November 14th, Banting’s birthday, as the first World
Diabetes Day.

Two years ago, both houses of Parliament unanimously passed MP Sidhu’s private
members bill, C-237, the National Framework for Diabetes Act. The bill requires that the
government work with the provinces and territories, indigenous groups, and other
stakeholders to create a national plan to fight diabetes. Last year, the National
Framework has been established. The framework aims to coordinate awareness,
education, funding, treatment, and research.

MP Sidhu worked as a healthcare professional for eighteen years before being elected
to Parliament, where she now serves as Chair of the All-Party Diabetes Caucus. In this
role she has worked to raise awareness about issues surrounding diabetes among her
fellow parliamentarians through presentations by researchers and advocates. She also
conducted a cross-country consultation between 2019 and 2023 and has represented
Canada at several international events.

Quotes
“The discovery of insulin is one of Canada's most lasting contributions to the world, and
today we celebrate those who made it, as well as those who continue to research for a
cure. We also celebrate those who live with diabetes, recognize the support that is
provided by their loved ones, and honour those who have been lost. We have always
been leaders in this fight, and I am so happy to see that our community in Brampton is
continuing this tradition. There’s a lot more for us to do together and we will continue to
do more. I want to thank all community members who are joining us in this fight.”
— Sonia Sidhu, MP Brampton South

“Diabetes Canada is pleased to join fellow members of the diabetes community to
commemorate World Diabetes Day. It’s been 100 years since the revolutionary
Canadian discovery of insulin and, while much progress has been made in the
treatment of this disease, there is still no cure. Through continued multi-sectoral
collaboration, awareness and education, our hope is we won’t have to wait another 100
years to end diabetes.”
— Diabetes Canada

“Dynacare is honoured to be participating in the flag-raising ceremony at Brampton City
Hall, joining many community stakeholders in care on World Diabetes Day,” said Vito
Ciciretto, Dynacare CEO, “Working together, we are committed to finding solutions that
address the issue of type 2 diabetes in our community.”