News Release

From the Prime Minister's Web Site (http://www.pm.gc.ca/)

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PRIME MINISTER STEPHEN HARPER ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR FREE MEDICALERT BRACELETS FOR CHILDREN

March 19, 2008
LONDON, ON

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today announced that the Government of Canada will provide the Canadian MedicAlert Foundation's No Child Without campaign with support to ensure elementary school children across the country are protected from unforeseen medical emergencies.

Speaking to an audience of parents, teachers and children at Cleardale Public School in London, Prime Minister Harper noted that an estimated one in 10 Canadian children have severe allergies, asthma, diabetes, epilepsy and other conditions that can be life-threatening if emergencies are not treated properly and promptly.

"This is a constant worry for parents of kids with medical conditions that are potentially dangerous," said the Prime Minister, himself a father of two young children. "That's what prompted the creation of the MedicAlert program, which came to Canada 45 years ago. Countless children and adults have received life-saving emergency treatment thanks to their membership in the program.

"Over the next five years, the No Child Without campaign will be taken to every one of Canada's 12,000 elementary schools," Prime Minister Harper said. "I want to congratulate MedicAlert for this tremendous initiative, and I also want to applaud their new partner in the campaign, the Lions Club of Canada, which is providing funding and community-based support as the program expands across our country.

Today's announcement provides an additional $3 million to the No Child Without campaign. The Budget 2008 commitment, combined with $2 million allocated to the campaign in Budget 2007, brings the federal government's total contribution to the No Child Without campaign to $5 million.

"The program is Canadian community-based, volunteer- and donor-driven philanthropy at its finest," the Prime Minister noted. "Working together with families, schools and government, MedicAlert is making life safer and better for the children who will carry our country forward. This is the Canadian way, and I salute everyone who is contributing."

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The Prime Minister's Office - Communications
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