Manufactured Ado
Some harried civil servant made a poor decision when he decided to pack an abundance of body bags in with the usual stock of related protective medical supplies that regularly go out to First Nation communities. Causing the recipients to take a deep breath of dismay, wondering whether there was a message inherent in the inclusion, and whether they should become very worried. Among the face masks, gloves, gowns and hygienic hand-wash, there were body bags, in themselves not unusual, simply the numbers provided.
What might that individual have been thinking, in deciding to throw in additional body bags? Likely not very much, just mechanically tossing in whatever was close to hand. Yet the Liberals now have another cause with which to bludgeon the Conservative government, already on high alert over its need to be seen to be in control when the H1N1 virus hits Canadian communities all over the country, this fall and winter. There have been some early hits in aboriginal communities, identified as early signs of H1N1.
Most of those affected have simply shaken off the symptoms just as they would any other flu symptoms, and got on with their lives. A few have had to be hospitalized. But these are aboriginal communities and a heightened sense of alert is raised when these communities are affected deleteriously by just about anything. And they are, often enough. Doctors treating these patients consider the cases to be mild. But right in line with the media that loves to inflate problems, the Canadian Medical Association Journal chose to publish an article bemoaning a major outbreak of H1N1 near Vancouver Island.
"We have been very transparent", according to Dr. Charmaine Enns, a medical health officer with the Vancouver Island Health Authority: "There is no story there." This health professional stated her professional and first-hand opinion of CMAJ exaggeration. Pointing out that of a population of 800 to 1000, the community of Ahousat has had roughly one hundred people affected by H1N1, six of which cases were lab-confirmed, and no deaths attributed to the virus. But didn't the media take the story and run with it?
Enabling the Liberals to shout for joy as they accused the government of gross insensitivity and failure to address the needs of Canada's aboriginal populations. With Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health, avowing how upset she, as an aboriginal Canadian, is by the thoughtlessness of the bodybag transfers and what they might imply. With the Liberals accusing her directly of incompetence. And newly-elected Assembly of First Nations Chief Shawn Atleo, denouncing the situation, stating his outrage that First Nations peoples do not benefit from adequate medical treatment.
Where, he ventilated indignantly, during a news conference, were the ventilators and other needed equipment, the medical specialists to look to the needs of his beleaguered people? Well, people who choose to live 'traditional' lifestyles in isolated communities, simply do not have access to quite the same quality of hospital care as urban-dwellers, and the same holds true for on-reserve Indians as it does for white folk who choose to live as far from urban centres as they can possibly manage. Country folk too haven't the same access to medical care.
As for ventilators, even hospitals located in densely-populated urban centres have a dire shortage of them for emergency treatment of badly afflicted H1N1 sufferers, with no one able to make the intellectual leap theorizing just how bad things may get - or not at all. It's just as well that everyone has stopped running around like Chicken Little; that Leona Aglukkaq, and Chuck Strahl, Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs - along with Chief Shawn Atleo have reached an understanding leading to an agreeable protocol of communication. And calm is restored.
Leaving the Liberals to splutter and accuse to their dark and shrivelled hearts' content.
What might that individual have been thinking, in deciding to throw in additional body bags? Likely not very much, just mechanically tossing in whatever was close to hand. Yet the Liberals now have another cause with which to bludgeon the Conservative government, already on high alert over its need to be seen to be in control when the H1N1 virus hits Canadian communities all over the country, this fall and winter. There have been some early hits in aboriginal communities, identified as early signs of H1N1.
Most of those affected have simply shaken off the symptoms just as they would any other flu symptoms, and got on with their lives. A few have had to be hospitalized. But these are aboriginal communities and a heightened sense of alert is raised when these communities are affected deleteriously by just about anything. And they are, often enough. Doctors treating these patients consider the cases to be mild. But right in line with the media that loves to inflate problems, the Canadian Medical Association Journal chose to publish an article bemoaning a major outbreak of H1N1 near Vancouver Island.
"We have been very transparent", according to Dr. Charmaine Enns, a medical health officer with the Vancouver Island Health Authority: "There is no story there." This health professional stated her professional and first-hand opinion of CMAJ exaggeration. Pointing out that of a population of 800 to 1000, the community of Ahousat has had roughly one hundred people affected by H1N1, six of which cases were lab-confirmed, and no deaths attributed to the virus. But didn't the media take the story and run with it?
Enabling the Liberals to shout for joy as they accused the government of gross insensitivity and failure to address the needs of Canada's aboriginal populations. With Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health, avowing how upset she, as an aboriginal Canadian, is by the thoughtlessness of the bodybag transfers and what they might imply. With the Liberals accusing her directly of incompetence. And newly-elected Assembly of First Nations Chief Shawn Atleo, denouncing the situation, stating his outrage that First Nations peoples do not benefit from adequate medical treatment.
Where, he ventilated indignantly, during a news conference, were the ventilators and other needed equipment, the medical specialists to look to the needs of his beleaguered people? Well, people who choose to live 'traditional' lifestyles in isolated communities, simply do not have access to quite the same quality of hospital care as urban-dwellers, and the same holds true for on-reserve Indians as it does for white folk who choose to live as far from urban centres as they can possibly manage. Country folk too haven't the same access to medical care.
As for ventilators, even hospitals located in densely-populated urban centres have a dire shortage of them for emergency treatment of badly afflicted H1N1 sufferers, with no one able to make the intellectual leap theorizing just how bad things may get - or not at all. It's just as well that everyone has stopped running around like Chicken Little; that Leona Aglukkaq, and Chuck Strahl, Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs - along with Chief Shawn Atleo have reached an understanding leading to an agreeable protocol of communication. And calm is restored.
Leaving the Liberals to splutter and accuse to their dark and shrivelled hearts' content.
Labels: Canada, Crisis Politics, Health, Human Relations
posted by Pieface | 6:01 PM
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