This morning, Liberal Party President Alfred Apps circulated the following letter, saying Prime Minister Stephen Harper has “spun the roulette wheel” in relation to public health and then aks “Is the H1N1 pandemic the “Hurricane Katrina” of our own laissez-faire, fend for yourself government??
Liberal Friends:
I am deeply troubled by the ever-growing chaos and public concern that is unfolding over swine flu. As the Official Opposition, we can certainly take no joy in the abject failure of government that we are now witnessing. Nor can we responsibly contribute to any of the public panic related to the events of the past few days.
But we would be remiss in our duty to Canadians if we did not shine a bright and unrelenting light on the root causes of the unfortunate and regrettable situation which is now upon us – a situation that could have been prevented and avoided entirely by the government taking iot seriously in the first place.
It is hard to imagine a more stark contrast between the values of Stephen Harper's Conservatives and those of Michael Ignatieff's Liberals on the question of the role of government in protecting the public than that presented by the current swine flu pandemic.
It is not merely a question of competence, although it is most certainly that. The unfolding confusion reflects a complete and utter dereliction of this government's public duty, the responsibility for which goes straight to the top where the culture is established, the priorities are set and the focus is defined.
One would have thought that even the most libertarian and conservative of governments believes it has a duty to discharge in relation to public defence, public security and public health – that swine flu would have been treated as a top priority file rather than an inconvenient afterthought.
But this Prime Minister – the one who really does not believe in government at all, much less its potential both to do good and prevent harm – has foresworn his duty and spun the roulette wheel with the health of Canadians.
I would like to share some thoughts that have been forwarded to me by other concerned Liberals.
Much like the “buying opportunity” he promoted last fall in the midst of the greatest financial meltdown in 60 years, Mr. Harper said that he didn't know if he and his family will be inoculated against the H1N1 virus.
That single, irresponsible abdication of leadership triggered mass confusion. Now that Canadians are unnecessarily dying, we are all entitled to ask why this government thought it necessary or appropriate to spend tens of millions of taxpayer dollars on slick partisan advertising promoting its pork-barrell infrastructure plan as some sort of credible economic strategy – its so-called “economic action plan” – while at the same time completely ignoring the need to educate the general public about the importance of infection protection and immunization, securing adequate supplies of vaccine and working with the provinces more closely to ensure an efficient and effective delivery system.
Its as though this Prime Minister, despite all the evidence that indicated that a hurricane was bearing down on us, was only reluctantly willing to marshal the resources required mobilize public awareness and respond with a credible plan. Reluctance compounded by half-heartedness. It's as though his strategy, if not to turn a blind eye to the threat altogether, was simply to do the bare minimum and hope the problem would go away. There was no “swine flu action plan” worthy of the name.
The values of this government are unmistakable. In the face of a clear and unequivocal public duty, its approach is to allow Canadians to fend for themselves. Canadians are entitled to wonder if they are being victimized by some clinical cost-benefit analysis premised on the theory that expense could be avoided if demand for the vaccine were suppressed and access to immunization for most was made well nigh impossible.
Health Canada has known about the likely outbreak of H1N1 since May and have been planning for a global spread and even anticipating this to be a pandemic. Incredibly, the Minister of Health, and the Chief Public Health Officer have said that the government's lack of preparedness stems from the fact that, having downplayed the importance of getting vaccinated, it wasn't forecasting the heavy demand we have seen since the death of the 13 year old boy from Brampton. What kind of bizarre ex post fact rationale for negligence is that?
If Health Canada knew that Canadians should get vaccinated, and if they knew that there was confusion, why wasn't there an effort and the resources made much earlier to communicate with Canadians about the importance of getting their flu shots and having the supply in place to deal with whatever demand required?
GSK, a UK-based maker of the H1N1 vaccine, is the one and ONLY supplier for Canada. Why? Who made that decision? On what basis? In the US, there are five different suppliers. Shouldn't we have understood that we are putting the health and safety of Canadians at risk by putting all our eggs in one basket?
Who made the late decision to change the vaccine for pregnant women, and therefore disrupt the production schedule, which inevitably impacted the availability for ALL Canadians?
The minister of health is blaming the provinces for the situation. But the responsibility of the provinces is the roll out and delivery of the vaccine. That's not the problem. They problem has been a- developing the plan; b- approving the vaccine on a timely basis well before flu season; c- getting the supply for all Canadians; and d- communicating the facts clearly to all Canadians. Those are ALL federal responsibilities. In those critical areas the Mr. Harper and his government have failed miserably.
We are told that ample vaccine is available for those people of high risk. Yet, those who are getting seriously ill and dying are not high risk cases, but perfectly healthy people. That's what's caused the surge in demand. They are hearing one thing from the feds, but seeing quite another on the ground. That is what is scaring people and fueling a great deal of distrust of the government.
The attached article “The Broken Contract” was written by our leader Michael Ignatieff in response to the Bush government's utter failure to rise to the obvious challenge to public security, order and health presented by Hurricane Katrina. Is the H1N1 pandemic the “Hurricane Katrina” of our own laissez-faire, fend for yourself government? Read the attached. Reflect on the analogous situation we face. Consider the priorities and values that underlie our own government's response to the threat to public health that this pandemic represents. Recognize that Mr. Harper's government has utterly failed to stand with Canadians and for Canadians in a matter of clear and unequivocal public duty.
Whatever happens, let us fervently hope and pray that the threat to general health and the risk of loss of life flowing from this government's incredible irresponsibility is contained to the absolute minimum.
Sincerely,
Alfred Apps
President, Liberal Party of Canada