New Controversy Flares Over Tory AIDS Funding
Posted August 15, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Oil and water.
The record companies and downloading.
Gas prices and motorists.
The federal Health Minister and Toronto’s AIDS Conference.
They’re all things that at one point or another all seem diametrically opposed to each other.
The latest example came Monday when Tony Clement showed up at the giant confab, supposedly to make an announcement about a huge government cash infusion designed to help fight the disease.
But not long after outspoken public criticism from the stage of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s absence, the event was abruptly cancelled.
That didn’t do much to ease the tension and wound up only serving to increase the criticism aimed at the Tories on the issue. One B.C. protestor was waiting to hear Ottawa make a commitment to invest in Vancouver’s controversial safe injection sites. He was disappointed.
“We’ve been trying to meet with Tony Clement, but every time we meet, he runs away,” complains Mark Townsend.
But Clement contends his government has already committed $4.3 million to vaccines and research against the disease. And despite the reaction at the conference, he vows there’s more to come.
“They’re very appreciative of the Canadian government’s participation in this conference,” he maintains. “We obviously sunk in some money on behalf of the people of Canada to make this conference a success.”
Clement notes that delayed announcement he was supposed to make earlier will be revealed this week. And he believes it could turn those jeers into cheers.
