OTTAWA - The Senate has passed a private member's bill on Lyme disease, the first Green party bill to ever pass both houses of Parliament.
The legislation sponsored by Green party Leader Elizabeth May won Commons approval last June and now only needs royal assent to become law.
It calls on the government to call a conference of provincial and territorial ministers, medical experts and representatives of patient groups to develop a comprehensive Lyme disease strategy.
The strategy would include a national program to track rates of infections, and establish guidelines for preventing infections and diagnosing and treating them when they occur.
Lyme is a tick-borne disease whose symptoms include a rash, fever, headache and fatigue.
May says the bill could not have passed without the support of the government.
