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Jason Kenny the Premier of Alberta is making the definitive case for the Federal Government to take over handling public health decisions during a pandemic event. Captain Clownshow is making noises about ending public health measures early (*again* – Open for SUMMER!!!?!).
“As COVID changes, our response to it must change as well. That is why early next week, Alberta will announce a firm date to end the Restrictions Exemptions Program and to do so in the very near future,” Kenney said.
“We will also lay out a simple, phased, plan to remove almost all public health restrictions later this month, as long as we see a trend of declining pressure on our hospitals.”
If our Premier had a record of exercising the precautionary principle I just might believe his last sentence. He doesn’t, so I won’t. Open For Spriiiiiiiiing! is the next UCP foray into overtaxing our healthcare system and letting more people become COVID-19 statistics.
“Kenney faced political pressure from many directions Thursday to both ditch restrictions immediately and keep them in place.
A week ago, he said a plan to remove restrictions would likely come “by the end of March.” Five days later, he changed the timeline when he said he hoped to relax measures this month.
On Thursday, a UCP statement said the premier will begin lifting restrictions “within days.”
Since Saturday, a convoy has been protesting vaccine rules, and occasionally blocking roads and a border crossing in southern Alberta.
“It certainly gives the impression that Mr. Kenney is caving to the far right, rural fringes of his political base,” said Keith Brownsey, a political scientist at Mount Royal University.”
Yep, because this is what good government looks like – allowing the vaccine skeptical science deniers make public health policy. Pandering to the false populist fringe in Alberta on important public health matters goes quite beyond the pale. It’s like asking Flat-Earther Society for their ‘facts’ for a science textbook.
Ludicrous.
“A political scientist said it certainly looks like the truck convoys and MLA demands are forcing Kenney to dump restrictions quicker than he originally planned.
“All you have to do is look at the timeline,” said Duanne Bratt from Mount Royal University. “It is not about COVID, it is not about health, it is about politics.”
Alberta had a pandemic high of 1,648 patients with COVID-19 in hospital on Thursday, and although new cases appeared to be dropping, the province’s doctor warned it was still too soon to move to an endemic response.”
This is what happens when stupid gets enough people together peddling the same bullshite at same time – they start to dictate the public agenda despite expert medical opinion and medical facts. It is fucking scary.
Unfortunately it’s my home province that is ground zero for this second public health clownshow fiasco sponsored by Jason Kenny and the Alberta UCP.
What a time to be alive!
Hey, lets stuff burning stuff into our orifices, think magical thoughts, and *poof* feel better. Let’s go along with Concordance as he takes a bit more time to explain exactly inane ear candling is and why, at the same time rational people still do it.
Just like using Vitamin C to treat cancer…
“It’s a case that has Canadians and the legal community buzzing.
Earlier this month Ontario Judge Gethin Edward ruled in favour of a First Nations girl and her family, who stopped chemotherapy to treat her acute lymphoblastic leukemia, choosing traditional medicine instead.
The judge rejected an application from McMaster Children’s Hospital that would have required the Children’s Aid Society to intervene in the case.”
Buzzing indeed. Let us be clear up front – evidenced based medicine works. Anything else is just a fine grade mixture of bullshit and the placebo effect that happened to work in that specific case on that specific day. We can safely assume that “Traditional Medicine” falls into the later category and most definitely not the former.
“Edward ruled that it was the mother’s aboriginal right — which he called “integral” to the family’s way of life — to allow her to choose traditional medicine for her daughter.
While many hailed the decision as a victory for aboriginal rights, others call it a failure in the protection of child welfare”
While others like myself would be calling this a death sentence for the child in question. Treating cancer with magical mumbo-jumbo almost always ends in tragedy.
“I’ve never seen a judge recognize a broad right for a First Nation like the Mohawk Nation to have their medical practices — their traditional ways of life regarding health and healing — protected by the Constitution under Section 35,” said Larry Chartrand, professor at the faculty of law.
“Chartrand specializes in aboriginal governance and health, and while he states that this decision is positive in terms of aboriginal rights, “the unfortunate circumstance is that it revolved around a fact situation where a little girl’s life is potentially at stake. So that makes the decision very difficult to appreciate.”
The ‘decision very difficult to appreciate my ass’ – Leave it to lawyers to miss the point. We have this thing called medical science, it is the justified, tested and reviewed methods of saving lives. Denying a child access to life saving treatment is neglect.
“McMaster doctors said she has a 90 to 95 per cent chance of survival on chemotherapy, but that they didn’t know of anyone who had survived acute lymphoblastic leukemia without the treatment.”
Traditional methods of healing in this case means death for the child.
“I understand the mother’s decision. I have a 12-year-old son, and I’m not sure I would make that decision myself under the circumstances. But I understand why, because of the impact of colonization, the distrust of the mainstream system, and the need to protect Mohawk culture — sometimes at all costs.”
If protecting Mohawk culture means sacrificing your child to woo, it may be time to rethink that aspect of Mohawk culture. If the child dies because of this fanciful foray into neglect the parents should be charged with child endangerment and neglect causing death. Welcome to the other end of the legal system – the one where murdering children, even for cultural reasons is against the law.
“A Florida health resort licensed as a “massage establishment” is treating a young Ontario First Nations girl with leukemia using cold laser therapy, Vitamin C injections and a strict raw food diet, among other therapies.
The mother of the 11-year-old girl, who can not be identified because of a publication ban, says the resort’s director, Brian Clement, who goes by the title “Dr.,” told her leukemia is “not difficult to treat.”
Vitamin C? Raw Food?… To treat lymphoblastic leukemia? *shakes head* Using woo to treat cancer, this is going to end badly for everyone.
Orac over at Respectful Insolence says it best:
“My view is that what matters the most is the life of the child and making sure that child is given her best shot at life by being treated with the best science-based medicine has to offer. Everything else is secondary and, to me, important only inasmuch as it helps or hinders achieving the goal of saving the life of the child. I don’t care much about whether I offend by criticizing a religion that would allow a child to die. I don’t care much if it bothers anyone that I criticized a racial, ethnic, or cultural group that facilitates the medical neglect of children. And I don’t really care that much, in the context of this case, about the historical grievances native peoples have based on past transgressions of the Canadian government. That’s not to say I don’t recognize them as important; rather, it’s that I do not accept them as valid reasons to let a child die.”
[Source 1: cbc.ca – Aboriginal right to refuse chemotherapy for child spurs debate.]
[Source 2: cbc.ca –‘Doctor’ treating First Nations girls says cancer patients can heal themselves.]
One video, sixteen minutes equals deep insight into how American society runs. (Hint: Most likely not for your benefit.)
I grow tired of hearing arch-conservatives rail on about the evils of regulation and how it stifles industry. People die because of deregulation and lax standards – but somehow the profit motive trumps all that human welfare shit, almost every time.
bleatmop
Mystro
Dead Wild Roses 
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