Paying for HIV prevention

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Paying for HIV prevention

Imagine moving from one province to another and finding that the costs of your prescription medications aren’t covered in your new home. While the Canada Health Act provides for comparable levels of medical care from province to province, the same is not true when it comes to paying for life-saving medicines, including HIV meds…NDP health critic Libby Davies says if the Martin government had attached funding conditions for a pharmacare strategy back in 2004, the Harper government wouldn’t be dragging its feet now. Still, she says, the Conservative government should move forward on the matter now. “I think it’s very unfair, and in fact one could argue that it’s very discriminatory and completely contrary to the Canada Health Act, that depending on where you live or on your income, that you may or may not get the drugs that you need for HIV/AIDS,” says Davies. “To me, that’s structural discrimination. It’s more evidence of why we’ve got to fix this, and we shouldn’t be waiting until 2014.”

The original article, Paying for HIV prevention was published on July 8, 2011 in Xtra! News. Author(s): Dale Smith

Open Letter to Justice Minister Rob Nicholson on Extradition of Marc Emery

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Posted on 2008.03.28

Open Letter to Justice Minister Rob Nicholson on Extradition of Marc Emery

The Honourable Rob Nicholson
Senior Minister of Justice
105 East Block
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6

Dear Minister Nicholson,

I am writing to express dismay that the Canadian government has apparently blocked a sentencing deal negotiated between Mr. Marc Emery and the U.S. government. According to media reports, both Mr. Emery and the U.S. government have agreed to a deal that would see Mr. Emery serve a 5 year prison sentence, most of it in Canada, for charges arising from Mr. Emery’s mail-order distribution of marijuana seeds to the U.S.

While it is already unjust that Mr. Emery will be serving a multi-year prison sentence for activities apparently not considered worthy of prosecution by Canadian authorities, it is doubly problematic that the Canadian government has become the primary obstacle to a negotiated resolution of this case.

What possible harm is there in Mr. Emery serving most of his sentence in Canada, when it is my understanding that even U.S. authorities have agreed to this deal? In lieu of any other plausible explanation, it appears that the Conservative government is taking this position because of their own unrealistic, ideologically-driven approach to drug policy.

I strongly urge the government to reconsider its position on this case, and quickly reach an agreement with Mr. Emery and his legal team.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Yours Sincerely,

Libby Davies
M.P. Vancouver East

C.C. The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister; Joe Comartin, NDP Justice Critic

B.C. MPs recall terror on the day a gunman stormed Parliament Hill – Libby Davies

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B.C. MPs recall terror on the day a gunman stormed Parliament Hill

Police shouted. Glass shattered. Doors were barricaded as hundreds of people hid in their offices on Parliament Hill two months ago. A picture of the chaotic scene has been revealed by NDP Vancouver-East MP Libby Davies after a masked gunman stormed the Centre Block building in Ottawa on Oct. 22. “SWAT teams made a hell of a commotion. Police came to office doors. If nobody answered, they banged the door down. Staffers were lying on the floor with guns pointed at their heads,” she said. Davies says authorities spent 12 hours securing the area, checking every nook and cranny in the six-storey, Gothic-style edifice. She says the authorities had no time for niceties as they went about their grim business.

The original article, B.C. MPs recall terror on the day a gunman stormed Parliament Hill was published on December 25, 2014 in The Province. Author(s): Kent Spencer

Government to fund MS trials

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Government to fund MS trials

OTTAWA – The Conservative government will fund clinical trials of a controversial multiple sclerosis treatment — often referred to as the "liberation treatment" — after it heard new scientific information this month…NDP health critic Libby Davies said she expects public and political pressure to mount because people want more details about when trials will begin.

The original article, Government to fund MS trials was published on June 29, 2011 in The Toronto Sun. Author(s): Kristy Kirkup

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