Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Tony Clement - All-Canadian Embarrassment


Tony Clement, just another one of Harper's subprime ministers, has done it again.

Ignoring reality altogether, this jackass showed up yesterday in Mexico City to repeat the groundless and disproven claim that safe-injection clinics aren't a mode of harm reduction but, in fact, a form of "harm addition." Even the term he coined is - well, it's stupid.

Now here's the kicker. From The Globe & Mail:

"While the minister's views on Insite are well known, Mr. Clement repeated them Tuesday at an event where he was endorsing and promoting a new WHO “how-to” guide on battling the epidemic, which promotes needle exchange and safe injection sites. The Health Minister's comments left officials from the agency flummoxed and red-faced.

"Teguest Guerma, associate director of the HIV-AIDS department at the WHO, who was clearly uncomfortable about the exchange between the minister and reporters about the apparent contradiction in Canada's position, would only say: “The WHO supports harm reduction.”'

"Apparent contradiction?" C'mon, really, this is a stooge minister from Canada's first-ever, red-meat, neo-con federal government. The very notion of hypocrisy and contradiction never made it into their playbook.

Besides Subprime Tony is, as the name suggests, subprime - a dull and awkward little creature given to babbling nonsensically but always ready to parrot the official line no matter how stupid.

11 comments:

Johnathon said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
The Mound of Sound said...

Johnathon, after you maliciously slagged me and the memory of my recently departed father, you no longer have any voice on this blog. Crawl back under your rock.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
wilson said...

As soon as a Minister of the Government of Canada holds a view other than that of the lefties in the LPC, that Minister is immediately degraded to a piece of crap by Libloggers.
This is why Liberals will lose the next election,
a Total disrespect for their opponents.
So caught up in the '64% of Canadians didn't vote Conservative', that they fail to see that 70% didn't vote Liberal.

Liberals can not put their ear to the ground
because they insist on keeping their noses in the air.

Perhaps a rename:
Rolling WITH the Tide of Extremism
is more in keeping with your opinions,
which you are entitled to.

The Mound of Sound said...

Wilson, bag it. Clement has made a fool of himself since he surfaced under Mike Harris. His performance on the Chalk River fiasco was deplorable. His own ministry staff endorse the merits of safe injection facilities such as Insite. Our provincial government and the City of Vancouver back it as a proven harm reduction facility. Only this arsehole - and those who eat this brand of crap - indulge in the pure sophistry of attacking these programmes as "harm addition." There's the crap Wilson - here's your fork.

wilson said...

While that's your opinion,
many Canadians and BCers agree with the Gov'ts stand on Insite.
'harm addiction' vs. harm reduction needs to be debated.
Tony delivered the news, that doesn't make him a doo stuck to your shoe.
I have a loved one that was addicted ot drugs.
I am thankfull there was no place for him to go to get his drugs 'safely'. Had there been, he would have taken the path of least resistance, and still be addicted instead of beating it.
true story.
It's my opinion that the Government of Canada should not be an enabler.

Anonymous said...

MOS,

Apparently there is still the NAOMI study on the distribution of prescription heroin that has not been shut down
http://www.naomistudy.ca/

Would you support extending Insite to include the regulated distribution of these controlled substances?

Anonymous said...

Wilson,

Why don't the Harper government table a bill in the House of Commons calling for the MANDATORY death sentence by hanging with regards to the possession of heroin for trafficking purposes? Be sure to make it a confidence motion. Note the word MANDATORY.

Shows the logic which you guys run on. It is time to put up or shut up.

The Mound of Sound said...

The purpose of Insite isn't to make drugs available. It provides clean needles and a safe, hygenic place for users to shoot up. It's an alternative to Vancouver's back alleys and you should troll through them before you pass judgment. I'm sure you won't find Harpo or Subprime Tony going there to hang with the dopers.

Insite doesn't provide drugs but it does help in stemming the spread of lethal diseases such as HIV/Aids and Hep C associated with sharing contaminated needles.

Don't think for a moment that these diseases don't spread further into the non-drug abusing population. They do. Their spread is pernicious and every infection chain that can be stopped by something as simple as Insite must be stopped.

The other benefit of Insite is that it's staffed by professionals who can offer counselling and assistance to those addicts who finally want to quit. You don't find that either in our back alleys.

I have had the unpleasant experience of walking these alleys. I've seen gthese wretches shooting up in grotty doorways. Sorry, but I've completely missed the social benefit to keeping them in that condition. I suppose it's apparent to you.

Does it strike you as curious that this cabinet minister can't bring himself to address these issues? He won't because the facts totally undermine his ideologically driven, utterly empty and pathetic position.

By the way, "many" Canadians can be said to agree on just about anything. Define "many".
The issue of decriminalization of drugs is separate and apart from the Insite programme.

Anonymous said...

I have seen the effectiveness of a safe injection site in Manchester, England. The site has its merits. Not only does it serve as harm reduction, it also provides the opportunity for drug addicted prostitutes to hide from their pimps. The results of this have led me to expand it a bit further by offering prescription heroin at the same time. If you can control the drug habits of these prostitutes, maybe they can lead a much healthier livelihood than one which leads to exposure of sexual abuse, STDs etc. Drug addiction is a mental health issue not a law and order issue. Just something to add to your point.

Maybe the Harper government should pass a law putting a mandatory death penalty on individuals living on the avails of prostitution, or whatever you call it. Shows the ideological idiocy of their position in full force.

The Mound of Sound said...

A lot of Vancouver police officers share your view that drug addiction is primarily a health issue, not a criminal matter. Drug trafficking is viewed by them as a serious criminal problem but they're able to see a clear line between the sellers and the users.

There are a lot of convincing arguments for decriminalization of possession but the Insite debate stands alone.

Reaching the addict population is far more beneficial to society than driving these people underground.

Thanks for your input 'Shroom.