NEWS RELEASE
DOUG SHIPLEY, BARRIE-SPRINGWATER-ORO-MEDONTE MP
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Doug Shipley, member of Parliament for Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte, introduced private member’s Bill C-389 (the Improving Accessibility to Automated External Defibrillators Act).
Bill C-389 seeks to eliminate the application of the GST/HST from the sale of AEDs, as well as kits containing AEDs, and parts and services for AEDs. This will increase the accessibility and affordability of these life-saving devices.
“We know that making defibrillators easily accessible in public buildings such as hockey arenas and airports has the potential to save thousands of lives,” said MP Shipley. “In my community alone, 51 lives have been saved in the past 20 years thanks to the County of Simcoe Paramedic Services’ public access defibrillators program.”
According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, as many as 45,000 Canadians experience a sudden cardiac arrest each year — and 80 per cent occur outside of a hospital setting.
With each passing minute of cardiac arrest, the probability of survival declines by up to 10 per cent. Defibrillation improves survival rates significantly if delivered in the first few minutes.
AEDs combined with CPR increases survival rates to 50 per cent or more.
“We should be doing everything we can to get these life-saving devices in as many places as possible,” said MP Shipley. “This legislation will be a game changer for individuals living in rural communities who may wish to purchase an AED for their home, farm, or cottage, who currently do not have access to an AED.”
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