Blue Like You

While Liberals and MSM are gleefully pointing fingers at the federal Government for the current listeria problems, Ontario NDP France Gelinas is honing in on the McGuinty Liberals.

Gelinas was on 570’s Jeff Allan show this morning and blamed the Ontario Health Minister for his slow response to the crisis, even though the story is national in scope. She is demanding a full review of the matter and says the Health Minister has been  ‘missing in action’.

Strategists like Warren Kinsella should be careful about attempting to taint the current Federal Government with a Walkerton-type stigma.

There will be plenty of blame to go around for the industry and all levels of government.

In fact Gelinas also points out that the current Ontario Government has been negligent in an area directly related to the Walkerton scandal:

…New Democrats also accused Queen’s Park of ignoring recommendations made by the Walkerton inquiry to fill vacant medical officer of health positions. (That inquiry looked into tainted water.)

Questions were also raised over the dates when alerts were issued about listeria.

NDP health critic France Gelinas issued a statement saying, "over one-third of Ontario’s public health units lack permanent full-time medical officers of health.

"Especially in light of questions surrounding the public reporting of this listeriosis outbreak, the McGuinty Liberals need to properly support our public health units."

Instead of politicians desperately trying to cover their behinds here, perhaps they should be working together to try to prevent a recurrence of this tragic situation.

Let’s see less finger-pointing and more action. Gelinas has a right to critique Ontario Government response and suggest improvements. But there is a fine line between what she is doing and using the situation for political gain.

Anyone trying to score cheap political points on the backs of dead Canadians should be ashamed of himself.

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Update: This is an unrelated Ontario issue, but I didn’t want it to slip by and I don’t have time to delve into it right now - Choices for our future (Expositor).

It seems that MPP Toby Barrett has been on the receiving end of a lot of pressure - including from Julian Fantino. Democracy in Ontario is in a very fragile state.

Late afternoon update re: Listeriosis outbreak -  Finally we hear from a Conservative MPP!  Bill Murdoch speaks out (via a faithful reader.) Link found at CKNX news.

Oh, and it’s called ‘posturing’.
Apparently Stephane Dion is outplaying Harper (according to Steve.)

Another item for Sandy’s list of Harper accomplishments - The Harper Government will be introducing tougher laws for products bearing the label "Product of Canada" labelling. And if the opposition gets on board, then it will be their accomplishment as well. (CTV - Harper Announces Changes to Canadian Food Labels .)

Ever since I saw CBC’s Marketplace episode, "Product of Canada, eh?" , I’ve been very skeptical of buying any processed food labeled "Product of Canada". Watch the clip and you’ll see why.

Now, instead of being able to say that their product is a ‘Product of Canada’ if "51 per cent of production costs were incurred here and the final transformation of the product was in Canada", manufacturers will have to be more honest and accountable:

…Under the new rules, a "product of Canada" label will mean that virtually all of the contents are Canadian in origin.

Harper said the new labels would reflect whether some of the ingredients in a Canadian-made product come from another country.

This is excellent news for the Canadian consumer, good news for the environment and great news for the Canadian food industry.

Read the comments at the end of the CTV article. This is a winning policy and most people are saying that it’s about time!

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Update : And this just isn’t fair…

St. Catherine’s MP Rick Dykstra was on a local talkshow this morning trying to allay fears that have been stirred up by the natural health products industry regarding Bill C-51 (An Act to Amend the Food and Drug Act ). As previously noted , Cambridge MP Gary Goodyear is also trying to address concerns.

This Bill has caused quite a fuss in our family because there are a few members who are very into natural health products, and quite suspicious of the ‘Big-Pharm’. Others of us believe there is a place for both natural remedies and prescription drugs.

Anyway, Rick Dykstra’s message basically was that this bill would not prevent Canadians from purchasing their beloved natural health products - it would merely attempt to force them to support the claims they make as to effectiveness, and ensure that the product is safe. All this seems entirely reasonable to me.

Rick mentioned the Government website healthycanadians.ca as a resource to obtain more information. Specifically, there is section dedicated to answering questions about this Bill. Many of the urban legends floating around lately are dealt with on this site.

What interests me in all this is the animosity between the pharmaceutical and natural products industries. The degree of suspicion and almost religious zeal on either side is astounding. ‘Big Pharm’ is probably concerned about the increasing popularity of natural health products, and producers of the latter are likely concerned that government red tape may affect their bottom line.

And the bewildered consumer is caught helplessly in the middle.

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Update : Concerns raised about proposed bill - Star .

I’ve written to several Conservative MPs expressing readers’ concerns (and my own) about Bill C-51 and am very pleased to have received this response from Cambridge MP Gary Goodyear (whose assistant gave me permission to post his reply):

…Thanks for taking the time to get in touch with me regarding Bill C-51 an Act to amend the Food and Drugs Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts.

There is a tremendous amount of misinformation circulating about what the bill says and proposes. I am currently working directly with the Minister on this bill. I am unable to make a final decision on my position until I have heard from all my constituents who wish to express a valid position to me and I have seen the final version of the bill.

Thank you again for taking the time to contact me with your concerns. Your input is very valuable and will be taken into consideration during my deliberation process.

Kindest regards,

Gary Goodyear, M.P.
Cambridge/North Dumfries

Thank you , Gary.

To my readers, I suggest that If you have concerns about this bill, now is the time to express them to your own MP or the Government. Please let me know if you receive a reply and if you have obtained permission to have it posted on this blog. Thanks.

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Saturday Update : Natural health products facing tighter regulation - CTV:

…The bill was put before Parliament on April 8, and is an attempt by the government to update regulations for food, drugs and cosmetics and includes "medical devices, drugs, cells, tissues, organs, vaccines and veterinary drugs, as well as natural health products," Health Canada spokesperson Paul Duchesne told CTV.ca.

One main point of contention is that the word "drug" would change to "therapeutic product." That will fold vitamins, supplements and herbal products into the same category as prescription medications…

…"Under Bill C-51, Canadians will continue to have access to natural health products that are safe, effective and of high quality. The Bill will not limit access to natural health products nor does it call for a change in their regulatory status (from over-the-counter to prescription)…"

I have received numerous requests from concerned readers, friends and family to examine the implications of Bill C-51 - An Act to amend the Food and Drugs Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts .

If you listen to some of the fear-mongering (note the ‘Nazi Germany’ reference) permeating the blogosphere, this Bill is designed to topple the natural health product industry, and even go so far as to "warrant action against a person who would give another person an unapproved amount of garlic on the recommendation that it would improve that persons health."

Uh-huh. The hyperbole is astounding. And it’s having the desired effect - Some Conservative bloggers have even gone so far as to abandon the party over this bill!

All this hype reminds me of the Urban Legends and other nuisance emails everyone gets warning that if they don’t forward this email to to five other people who need a hug, have cute pets, want to solve world peace or whatever else they’re told, then the universe will implode or at the very least they will have ten weeks of bad luck.

To me, this Bill is about safety and regulations - so that a natural health remedy actually contains what it says it does, and will have the benefit it advertises without unexpected side effects (eg.addiction)

Here is a portion of debate on C-51 from Hansard (April 30 @ 15:30):

Mr. Paul Szabo (Mississauga South, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, Bill C-51 is a long bill of some 75 clauses and it affects a number of other acts.

Members are already receiving correspondence from their constituents concerning natural therapeutic products. It will be a very significant issue for the government and Parliament to address with regard to the implications of the bill to these natural therapeutic products.

One of my constituents specifically wrote about her son who suffers from Lyme disease and requires certain drugs. It is not that these drugs would cure the problem, but they help in terms of quality of life or in the ability to control the effects of the disease. It is a very serious situation, and I know the minister is aware of that.

At the outset, there must be a declaration of the government that the implications of Bill C-51 will not be draconian in regard to the pricing or availability of natural therapeutic products so those who believe that those products are necessary for themselves or their family members will continue to have reasonable and appropriate access with appropriate health safeguards.

Hon. Tony Clement :
Mr. Speaker, I am happy to address the member’s comments at this time. I state categorically and for the record, there is nothing targeted to the natural health products industry in the bill. There is nothing that is draconian in terms of the effects of pricing and availability in the bill. Indeed, we seek to ensure that natural health products are available to Canadians.

Of course we are always concerned about safety and efficacy, particularly safety. Natural health products, just as prescription drugs and certain other therapeutic products, have to be available in a safe way to Canadians.

I would say for a purveyor or manufacturer of a natural health product, if what is on the label is accurate and if what is claimed about the natural health product is accurate, there is nothing to fear from the legislation. Indeed, our government and our caucus want more natural health products on the marketplace for more choice for Canadians, but we will not stand by if there is a dangerous product .

I issue warnings practically every week about this or that dangerous product, some of which are natural health products, which can have an impact on cardiac arrest, strokes or liver damage. Things can have this kind of impact. We do not want those products available. We want Canadians to be warned and we want them to be safe …

Doesn’t sound all that nefarious, does it?

If you still have concerns, I would recommend that you call or write to your local MP as well as the Health Minister, Tony Clement. Talk to your health care provider and pharmacist. Try to get the facts from a variety of informed sources. Don’t rely on scare tactics and misinformation.

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Update : This article from the Globe - A Bill Worthy of Our Support - is about as balanced an assessment as I’ve seen so far: (The font size is very small, but it can be adjusted via the ‘view’ function in your browser.)

…Within minutes, critics - consumer advocates, industry, academics and journalists - pounced on the proposed legislation like a pack of wild dogs thrown a hunk of raw meat.

The new law, we were told, would:
-Weaken the drug review process;
-Allow for the rubber stamping of new drugs and turn Canadians into a nation of unwitting guinea pigs;
-Throw the doors open to direct-to-consumer advertising, transforming us into drugged-out zombies clamouring for every pill touted on TV;
-Place an unfair burden on the poor, beleaguered pharmaceutical companies by making even more onerous demands of them;
-Limit consumer choice by over-regulating "alternative therapies" as a sop to Big Pharma.

This type of criticism is legitimate, though many of these views are uttered by rote and don’t represent the law fairly. More concerning is that the piecemeal attacks obscure the big picture.

The stark reality is that the existing Food and Drugs Act is dated, toothless legislation that has not been meaningfully amended in half a century. The status quo is indefensible …

…Bill C-51 - all 62 pages of legal jargon - provides no shortage of material for nitpickers with an agenda.

But, when all is said and done, it does a pretty good job of balancing competing demands and it should ultimately do a pretty good job of protecting consumers ….

Ironically, I found that link off this site . Well, at least they included one voice of reason.

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Additional links - Natural Health Products - Health Canada .

Natural Health Products Directorate - Health Canada.

Interesting tidbits here - How long before C-51 moves past the Blogsphere? - NetNewsledger.com

(Is it a conspiracy among the bureaucrats at Health Canada?)

Interesting debate going on at Cherniak’s about how he feels that gay men are being discriminated against by the Canadian Blood Services.

In this country where political correctness reigns supreme, I can only guess that the reason gay men are not allowed to donate blood is that the math and science must indicate the the risk is too great.

Yet some still rail on against it.

In Jason’s comments section, a reader mentions a gay columnist who had the courage to disclose the truth. I found the article - A bloody disgrace by Richard Burnett.

It closes with this line:

A ban on gay blood will continue to save lives. And just one life is worth it.

Straight (?) from the horse’s mouth, as it were.

It’s interesting how we are getting all this man-on-man sex pumped at us in the media lately, but when it comes down to it, there continues to be some medical issues about safety.

I know those on the left will have a field-day with this post. I have been purposely avoiding this issue for a while. However, some things need to be heard.

Like the truth.