Hon. Wanda Thomas Bernard: Honourable senators, World Ostomy Day was October 3. For this World Ostomy Day statement, I want to begin with two simple words: Thank you. I want to thank the partners, families and friends who stand alongside people living with an ostomy.

I know from my own experience as a spouse what that support can mean. Acceptance, encouragement and unconditional love can make an enormous difference in helping someone move beyond stigma and isolation and embrace a full life living with an ostomy.

Today, I especially want to highlight Ostomy Canada Society’s dedicated Spouses and Significant Others, or SASO, resource. SASO focuses on partners sharing responsibilities, emotional resilience, communication, support networks and advocacy, as well as celebrating milestones together. Thank you to the founders and members of SASO across Canada.

For the third year, I’m using World Ostomy Day to speak out and speak up for Canadians living with an ostomy. The messages I have received over the past three years remind me why speaking openly matters. People have thanked me for helping to break the silence and dispel the myths that still surround ostomies.

There is more work to do, including addressing what one person described as:

. . . the material gap in the emotional and financial support of those affected by this medical necessity in their day-to-day lives.

For me, this advocacy is also deeply personal. My late husband, George Bernard, lived a full and vibrant life with an ostomy for almost 20 years, supported by people who loved and accepted him. I continue to advocate for greater understanding and support for people living with an ostomy in memory of his ability to live life fully with joy and gratitude.

So, today, I thank every spouse and significant other who walks this journey alongside someone they love, and I stand with every person living with an ostomy.

Together, let us Step Up for Ostomy, break the silence, reduce stigma and ensure that no one has to walk this journey alone.