The Canadian Minister of Health Fears of Evidence
Canadian activists disrupt the speech of the Health Minister of Canada, who refuses to accept the evidence that harm reduction works – watch our new video!
The Canadian Minister of Health, Leona Aglukkaq, is not popular among AIDS activists: she does not accept the evidence that harm reduction programs, like Insite, the first safer injection site in North-America, effectively reduce the risks of HIV transmissions and overdose deaths. Her Conservative government listens to fake-scientific crap instead, like papers produced by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America. She expressed her disappointment when the Supreme Court decided in favour of Insite – even if the court declared that attempts to close the clinic were “grossly disproportionate” to the benefits for drug users and the community. She is responsible for recent cuts for a federal program that provides extended health-care benefits to refugee claimants. Watch our video showing activists disrupting her speech at the AIDS 2012 conference!
Her refusal to even touch the paper on the evidence-base of Insite, delivered by activists, is a symbolic act: is she afraid that evidence is infectious? If she is, she is right. Evidence is just as infectious as HIV! The fear of evidence is a curable disease, Ms. Aglukkaq!
Posted by Peter Sarosi
