Fit To Serve

"As you know, Senator Fairbairn has dementia of the Alzheimer's type.

"She has declined significantly over the past year and is no longer able to look after herself, having had 24-hour, full-time care for the past eighteen months.

"Senator Fairbairn has considerable difficulty carrying out any of her duties as senator and will not be returning to Ottawa for the foreseeable future."  Patricia McCullagh Senator Fairbairn's niece

Not that the Liberal leadership really wanted to be reminded to be alert to that inconvenient fact.  In point of fact, they chose to overlook the triviality that Senator Fairbairn was no longer mentally competent to serve her usual meaningful function in the Senate of Canada.  For at least three months following the Senator's dementia diagnosis and the medical declaration that she was legally incompetent, the Liberal leadership in the Senate oversaw her voting on legislation and Senate expenditures.

Senator Joyce Fairbairn, despite her unfortunate deterioration and her inability to function as a result of advanced Alzheimer's Disease attended Senate sittings and continued to vote along party lines before the Upper Chamber was dismissed for the summer. This, in spite of her geriatric psychiatrist having diagnosed his patient with Alzheimer's dementia, along with the declaration of legal incompetence.

Patricia McCullah, Senator Fairbairn's closest relative, spent the summer with her aunt in Alberta, and was witness to her ongoing deterioration.  She also shared Power of Attorney for her aunt with the chief of staff of the Senate Liberal leader James Cowan.  And she undertook to write to the Clerk of the Senate to warn of that continued loss of mental health, with a copy sent to the Speaker of the Senate and to Mr. Cowan.

It is beyond disturbing that months beyond the medical declaration of incompetence Senator Fairbairn voted a dozen times in the Senate, authorized over $85,000 in expenses and generally was permitted to act as though nothing was amiss.  There are some who might argue that there are other senators sitting in the Upper Chamber who do not suffer from a medical condition who are also incompetent to continue voting and spending public money but this is quite beside the point.

Her niece, spending part of the summer with Senator Fairbairn at her home in Lethbridge, discovered that the senator's memory had deteriorated over the previous month and her awareness was similarly affected.  Her niece has stated that Senator Fairbairn has required 24-hour, full-time care for the past eighteen months.  This, in and of itself testifies to the extreme gravity of her condition.

It is ironic that she focused much of her work in the Senate on the issues of literacy and disability.  Those suffering from Alzheimer's dementia experience confusion, impaired cognitive abilities and memory loss, these issues becoming ever more severe over time until the mind and body shut down completely. This woman is in an advanced state of Alzheimer's Disease.

That she has been encouraged to continue in the Senate as though nothing unusual has occurred, the Liberals eager and willing to exercise this empty charade for the purpose of maintaining another Liberal seat is contemptible beyond words.