VICTORIA (CUP) — Hundreds of doctors, scientists and
policy-makers from around the world descended on Toronto Aug. 13-18 for the 16th
International AIDS Conference. This is the single largest conference of
its kind in the world, and represents a convergence of the leaders of
the fight against the virus.
One prominent expert on the global
crisis is Canadian Stephen Lewis. Lewis is the UN Secretary
General’s Special Envoy for AIDS in Africa, and he recently
described Canada’s
response to the crisis as “delinquent beyond delinquency.”
The very scale of the humanitarian
disaster leaves Lewis struggling to describe its magnitude — and
for good reason. If anyone were to put the vastness of this disaster
into words, it would be Stephen Lewis; his inability leads to the
conclusion that it is an event the scale of which defies encapsulation
in the English language.
There seems little point in trying to
render comprehensible the facts and figures that are used to fix the
scope of the virus. Instead, why not consider what’s not being
said about AIDS at the conference.
A good place to start would be with
another famous Canadian named Stephen. Unlike Lewis, who is known for
his words, Mr. Harper is known for his lack thereof. Particularly
noticeable is the Prime Minister’s decision not to attend the Toronto
conference.
Indeed, not only is the conference
attended by the who’s who of international health and
humanitarian aid community, but top billing this year went to Bill
Gates, who recently donated $500 million to the cause, and Bill Clinton,
who waived his $200,000 speaking fee. Harper’s no-show remains a
black mark on Canada’s
self-styled image as international do-gooders.
Or does it? In a sense, Mr. Harper’s
decision not to attend a major international humanitarian conference in
Toronto
is consistent with the views of Canadian politicians and their
constituents.
Happy to pay lip service to the
importance of this crisis and the urgency with which it must be dealt, Canada
has been, well, delinquent, when called to action. The ongoing and
consistent pattern of Canadian hypocrisy when confronting the AIDS
crisis is shameful and embarrassing.
The numbers speak for themselves. Since
the inception of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and
Malaria in 2000, Canada
has pledged $100 million US (plus additional aid in Canadian dollars). While
this may sound like a significant sum, in global terms it is a pittance.
Canada’s
contribution has been dwarfed by countries such as Spain and the Netherlands,
never mind Gates and Canada’s
G8 cousins.
Our country’s contribution has
been remarkable only for failing to meet its potential.
