Ideology Over Saving Lives

This is shameful. So after dithering and refusing to show leadership on the issue of Insite for so long the Conservatives have come off the fence and made it clear that they fully oppose its continued operation by their decision to waste taxpayer money to appeal the decision of the BC Supreme Court that will leave Insite open for another year. In the meantime the program everyone knows works will continue to operate thankfully but this government’s serious disregard for science and what’s morally right is extremely troubling. Did Canadians vote for a party that would put ideology before saving lives?

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A Ruling That Will Save Lives

I've made it clear before that I support Insite and that the right thing to do based on overwhelming scientific evidence that the program works, was to extend its license. Therefore I was very glad to see this ruling as I had little faith the Conservatives would do the right thing before the license expired June 30th. This is a matter of public health as much as Conservatives would like to argue otherwise. So Insite has been granted a one year reprieve by the BC Supreme Court in line with the wishes of the BC Government and by June 30th, 2009 I expect we will have a Liberal government that will ensure this program that is supported by the Vancouver and BC governments, the scientific community and compassionate individuals alike continues on as it should.

It is unfortunate though that once again Stephen Harper has failed the test of leadership and had to have the right decision forced on him. Harper and Clement said they would listen to the evidence and they refused, bending to ideology instead. I would hope at the least that Harper wouldn't be so galling as to spend taxpayer money to appeal this to the Canadian Supreme Court. Shameful actions to be sure, but what matters most right now is that lives will be saved by Insite continuing to operate beyond June 30th.

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Scientists accuse Tories of 'despicable' interference

Nothing new I'm afraid. We seem to just get a new story every day about how this government doesn’t listen to reason, common sense or sound evidence. Insite is just one more example.

An article published in the International Journal of Drug Policy charges that the Conservative government interfered in the work of independent scientific bodies, attempted to muzzle scientists and deliberately misrepresented research findings because it is ideologically opposed to harm-reduction programs.

When you have “22 peer-reviewed papers published on the program and they have all shown a positive benefit to users, such as reduced rates of transmission of HIV-AIDS and greater use of rehabilitation services” it should be obvious that Insite's license should be renewed, but not with this Government.

Pressure has to be heavily stepped up for Clement to renew Insite's license before it expires at the end of next month (June 2008). If the program ends, undoubtedly more people will suffer.

If an election comes in June then I hope this issue will be discussed (and then a Liberal government will keep it from closing as I feel confident we would win a June election), if it doesn’t then the Conservatives will decide if this program continues. Unfortunately, I just don’t have faith in this government to do the right thing (I hope I am proven wrong on this case).

So sadly I’m sure the Conservative war against science, reason, common sense, the civil service, independent officers and regulators, democratic institutions, and anyone else who dares to criticize this government will continue at full steam…

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