Blue Like You

This morning Lorrie Goldstein is accusing Alfred Apps of being a ‘partisan idiot’. He says Liberals are as much to blame for H1N1 vaccine problems.

No kidding!!

In his recent email to “Liberal friends” Apps asked:

…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?

Well you might try looking in the mirror for the answer to that one, Alf.

While watching the National last night Graham Richardson disclosed the fact that the single-sourced contract was courtesy of Jean Chretien’s Liberal Government! And the original company (which was eventually taken over by  GlaxoSmithKline) also made a hefty donation to the Liberal Party at the time.  Canada is stuck with the single-sourced contract until 2011.

Mmmmmm….

Neo at Halls of Macadamia heard the story last night too.  Why isn’t this story everywhere???

Clip now up on CTV website.

Of course the Liberals don’t need to worry because they have Peter Donolo now. He’ll make it all go away.

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Update:

Your Constitution and the flu. Ottawa is responsible for supply while the provinces control the delivery – L. Ian Macdonald.  (H/T Frmgrl)

Votes don’t spring from misery - John Ivison (Props again to Frmgrl)

Sandy makes a great catch here – What Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett said 2 months ago re H1N1 vaccine.  While at Sandy’s, I noticed that Bec recommended checking out Stephen Taylor’s creative response to Alfred Apps’ disgraceful letter.

Well done, Stephen!

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And from the Barrie Examiner:

“The role of pandemic planning is backup, backup, backup,” said Liberal health critic Dr. Carolyn Bennett. Noting the U. S. government ordered vaccine from five companies, she asked, “Why did the Conservative government order two different vaccines and limit Canada to just one supplier?”

Afternoon Update:

Single vaccine supplier no handicap, feds say, despite program hiccups – Ottawa Citizen

Notes on a non-crisis - Andrew Coyne:

- Should the government have relied on a single supplier? Maybe, maybe not. But the Liberals are ill placed to make this point, since the contract to supply the flu vaccine was signed with Ste. Foy, Quebec-based Shire BioChem (later bought by GSK) in 2001, by the Chretien government: a 10-year contract worth $323.5-million. CTV reports the Liberals received a $56,000-plus donation from Shire BioChem that same year…

1.8 million doses of H1N1 vaccine to go to provinces next week – Star

Health care worker fired over Flames flu shot fiasco – Globe (H/T Bec)

Absolute MUST-LISTEN segment with Charles Adler and Lorrie Goldstein. Go to CJOB’s audio vault and click on today’s programming for 1 pm.

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Thursday Update:

Interesting article here explaining some of the rationale behind the original decision to go with the sole-sourced contract – Fears that countries would hoard vaccine in pandemics behind single supplier (CP).