CONTRIBUTIONS OF DEAN ALLISON

On June 28, 2004, Dean Allison was elected as the first Member of Parliament for the new riding of Niagara West-Glanbrook. In the 2006 and 2008 general elections, he was reelected with resounding majorities. In 2010, he was appointed to the Conservative Caucus Advisory Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. He served as Vice Chair of the Ontario Conservative Caucus.

For his constituents, Dean Allison is a strong advocate, and works tirelessly on their behalf. Through his efforts, numerous businesses and hundreds of individuals have seen a positive result. Dean Allison is well respected throughout the different communities of Niagara West-Glanbrook. Throughout the riding, he attends often many of the different meetings and events.

On June 16, 2011, Dean Allison, as Member of Parliament for Niagara West-Glanbrook, gave notice for a motion in the House of Commons. He raised a serious concern about anaphylaxis and asked the government and people to take the necessary and appropriate measures in order to make sure that Canadians can maintain a high quality of life. For this motion, Dean Allison worked long hours with his colleagues and the Health Minister before to lead a debate in the House of Common where his motion received the support of all parties. Hundreds of family members of the Canadian Anaphylaxis Initiative (CAI) welcomed the motion. The CAI is a volunteer network of concerned families who worked, through the past years, with various Members of Parliament in order to raise awareness of severe allergies in Ottawa.

According to Dean Allison, one in 13 Canadians is anaphylactic or suffers from life-threatening allergies. This moved him to table the motion for finding new ways to reduce or minimize the risks of preventable and unnecessary anaphylactic incidents. Through his motion, Dean wanted the House of Commons to find a way for helping to coordinate a thoughtful government response to anaphylaxis to raise public understanding of life threatening allergies and to offer a greater safety for a growing number of Canadian families including children, youth, and adults.

The spokesperson of CAI, Cindy Paskey, said that with the support of government officials and Members of Parliament, they can educate people on the signs of a reaction and how to help a person in need. They can also promote responsible safety measures and raise greater publicunderstanding.

The CAI is thankful to Dean Allison for introducing the motion. With the support of other Members of the House, the Canadian government vowed to support the required research in order to find the main causes of anaphylaxis and ultimately an effective cure for severe allergies. Through the motion, Dean Allison wanted to make Canada a happier, healthier, safer place to live.

The first debate for this motion took place on April 19, 2013 in the House of Commons. The motions prompted the government to consider a comprehensive, coordinated response to anaphylaxis. Many families and communities across Canada thanked Dean Allison for playing a major role in this national awareness drive through his motion M-230.