Prime Minister Harper’s Absence from International AIDS Conference ‘Shameful’

Prime Minister Stephen Harpers’ refusal to attend the 16th International AIDS Conference in Toronto next week is shameful and a slap in the face to the estimated 20,000 global participants attending, Liberal Critic for the Canadian International Development Agency Bernard Patry said today.

“There is no bigger human rights issue right now than the AIDS epidemic ravaging Asia and Africa, yet this government is snubbing the international community as it gathers to fight this plague,“ said Mr. Patry. “We are embarrassed and ashamed that our prime minister can’t squeeze this important event into his summer schedule. All Canadians should be outraged.” AIDS activists, scientists, researchers and people living with HIV/AIDS will attend the conference, being held August 13 to 18.

Liberal Leader, Bill Graham and UN Special Envoy to Africa on AIDS, Stephen Lewis will also attend. “This is an excellent forum for participating nations to examine their responses to this crisis, which claimed 25 million lives last year and left millions of children orphaned. Bill Gates and Bill Clinton both feel this is important enough to attend, but for some reason our own prime minister doesn’t,” said Mr. Patry.

In advance of the conference, Mr. Lewis presented Prime Minister Harper with a four-point platform to stop the disease from spreading and improve the quality of life of people living with HIV/AIDS, including a call to double research and development funding for tools such as microbicides and vaccines. He appealed to the prime minister to accept these points as “a direct challenge to Canada to move to taking a stand …“In response, Prime Minister Harper has said he will not attend the conference. “The former Liberal government recognized the importance of this issue and, through CIDA, pledged more than $800 million to help fight it.

Canada was also the first country to adopt legislation – Bill C-9 – to enable poor and developing countries access to affordable life saving drugs,” said Mr. Patry. “Now we have a Conservative prime minister who can’t even bring himself to attend a conference. It is appalling,” he said.