(Canscene) –Prime Minister Harper’s decision not to attend to offer Canada’s official welcome to delegates at the opening of the recent International AIDS Conference in Toronto is another blot on the escutcheon of the man who during the last federal election begged us to “stand up for Canada.” The excuse that he was “committed” to the Arctic visit was lame; he could have postponed it until a later date.

Harper not only drew sharp public criticism from conference co-chair Mark Wainberg, but also from actor Richard Gere. His representative, Health Minister Tony Clement heard catcalls from the audience at the opening ceremony.

With a party still permeated with many former members of the Reform and Alliance parties and with his personally professed firm opposition to same sex marriage, there’s small wonder Harper ducked the conference. It is quite obvious that many of these intellectual geniuses behind Harper still regard AIDS as “the homosexual disease.” And with all the fire and brimstone mentality of bedrock fundamentalists they regard AIDS as just punishment for “transgressors.”

With the same kind of blinkered vision as their idol to the south, they refuse to look at the facts, in this case that AIDS does not recognize sexual orientation. I wonder what Harper would have done, if George W. Bush had agreed to attend the conference? Some hope of that!

Birds of a feather……..
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