[Viva] PLEASE contact these mps TODAY and let them know this is unthinkable

Fri Oct 29 12:17:32 PDT 2010

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Ross Harvey <rossh at bcpwa.org>
Date: Fri, Oct 29, 2010 at 11:28 AM
Subject: FW: Urgent Call to Action: Help Save Reforms to Canada's Access to
Medicines Regime
To: BCPWA Group <BCPWAGroup at bcpwa.org>

 FYI

Ross Harvey

Executive Director

BC Persons With AIDS Society

1107 Seymour Street, 2nd Floor

Vancouver, BC   V6B 5S8

t. 604.893.2252

f. 604.893.2251

c.604.788.9111

1.800.994.2437

www.bcpwa.org

*From:* Lindsey Amèrica-Simms [mailto:lsimms at aidslaw.ca]
*Sent:* October-29-10 11:29 AM
*To:* Ross Harvey
*Subject:* Urgent Call to Action: Help Save Reforms to Canada's Access to
Medicines Regime

You have all been so supportive of the call to action alerts we’ve been
distributing this week – John Baird’s office told us this week that they
were being overwhelmed with phone calls and letters. Thank you for your
patience and dedication. We know we've been asking a lot lately, but it's
because this is it: with the last committee meeting on Monday, bill C-393
will either be gutted of all useful clauses and die, or it will proceed, as
it is, to the House of Commons.

<< Please disseminate widely >>

* *

*Urgent Call to Action: Help Save Reforms to Canada’s Access to Medicines
Regime*

*CALLS TO MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT NEEDED BETWEEN NOW AND MONDAY MORNING!*

* *

*See below for telephone numbers**.  **You can download the full call to
action here:
http://www.aidslaw.ca/EN/camr/documents/ActionAlertOct292010-EN.pdf. *

In Ottawa yesterday, the Parliamentary committee studying Bill C-393, which
would fix the flaws in Canada’s Access to Medicines Regime (CAMR), extended
their clause-by-clause discussion of the bill by announcing a new session on
Monday, November 1st at 10 a.m.

During yesterday’s 2-hour meeting, some MPs (particularly from the Bloc
Quebecois) ran out the clock on the time for discussion at the meeting, and
others (particularly Liberal MP Marc Garneau, with support from Conservative
MPs on the committee) were pushing for amendments that would remove the "one
license" provisions of Bill C-393, essentially gutting the bill and leaving
the current flawed CAMR unchanged.  At the end the committee meeting, NDP MP
Brian Masse sought unanimous consent from the Committee to extend the time
for continuing the clause-by-clause debate and initially the Conservative
MPs refused.

Grandmothers, who had showed up in force at the committee hearings,
disrupted the meeting at that point and began shouting their disgust at the
shameful behaviour of some Committee members, before walking out of the
committee room and leading an impromptu demonstration on the street outside
the building.  Watch a video of their demonstration here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMT--lMJQgY. Committee members subsequently
decided to schedule an additional meeting for Monday morning to continue
their debate on the bill.

What this means is that the Committee will resume where it left off –
including discussing Liberal MP Marc Garneau’s amendment that would gut Bill
C-393 by removing its proposal for a “one-licence” mechanism in a reformed
CAMR.  That means we have a limited window to try and influence the
discussion planned for Monday. *We therefore encourage you to call the MPs
listed below to tell them you want them to support Bill C-393 as it is now*.

Please make your calls as soon as possible, and before Monday morning at 10
a.m.  Even calling over the weekend is fine, as long as you make sure to
leave a message.

*PRIORITY #1:  Leaders of the Liberal Party and the Bloc Québécois**

**Michael Ignatieff, Leader of the Liberal Party* **

*Message*:  You told the grandmothers you support improving CAMR, 80% of
Canadians support this bill, former Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin
supports it, and a majority of Liberal MPs do too.  Please ask Marc Garneau
to withdraw his amendments that will gut this bill.

Contact Mr. Ignatieff’s office by phone and email at:

    - Parliamentary office:  tel 613 995-9364
      - Constituency office (Etobicoke, ON): tel 416 251-5510
      - Email: Ignatieff.M at parl.gc.ca

*
**Gilles Duceppe, Leader of the Bloc Québécois * (Note: It’s only worth
calling if you live in Quebec or if you can get relatives/ friends from
Quebec to call.)

*Message*: Why are Bloc MPs supporting the Conservatives on Bill C-393, and
filibustering at the Industry Committee to kill this bill that so many
Quebecers support? Ask your MPs to support the current version of Bill C-393
at the committee on Monday.

*Note*: A nationally-representative poll was done last year showing 80% of
Canadians overall support reforming CAMR.  Specific numbers among those
polled in Quebec found the following:

·         97% of Quebecers said it was very important or somewhat important
for Canada to help people in the developing world who need access to
medicines for things such as AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria;

·         50% of Quebecers said the federal government is not providing
enough help to developing countries in making medicines more affordable;

·         64% of Quebecers support the proposals to fix CAMR to help
developing countries get more affordable medicines;

·         90% of Quebecers say it’s more important to ensure that CAMR has a
simplified process allowing quick sale and delivery of affordable medicines
to developing countries than to protect patents of brand-name drug
companies;

·         74% of Quebecers support the basic proposal of Bill C-393 to
simplify CAMR so that only one licence is needed to supply various
developing countries with more affordable generic medicines.

·         54% of Quebecers agree that the fact that CAMR has only been used
to supply one drug to one country (Rwanda), and the generic drug company
that has tried this one use of CAMR is unwilling to use it again, makes them
even more supportive of reforming CAMR.

·         After hearing various arguments *against* reforming CAMR, 77% of
Quebecers still say they are support reforming CAMR.

Contact Mr. Duceppe’s office by phone and email at:

    - Parliamentary office:  tel 613 992- 6779
      - Constituency office (Montreal, QC): tel 514 522-1339
      - Email: Duceppe.G at parl.gc.ca**

*PRIORITY #2: Individual MPs on the Industry Committee***

Contact the MPs who are members of the Industry Committee (excluding NDP MP
Brian Masse who is a full and active supporter of Bill C-393).

*Message:* What happened at the Industry Committee this week with Bill C-393
was embarrassing.  Ignoring facts and evidence from multiple experts, and
then trying to push through amendments that would gut Bill C-393, is wrong.
Please listen to what the experts are saying on this bill and the 80% of
Canadians who support CAMR reform and support the current version of the
bill.

*Mike Wallace (Conservative)*
Parliamentary office:  tel 613 995-0881
Constituency office (Burlington, ON):  tel 905 639-5757
E-mail: Wallace.M at parl.gc.ca

*Mike Lake (Conservative; Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Industry,
Tony Clement)*

Parliamentary office:  tel 613 995 8695

Constituency office (Edmonton, AB):  tel 780 495 2149

Email: Lake.M at parl.gc.ca

*David Sweet (Conservative; Chair of the Industry Committee)*

Parliamentary office:  tel 613 996 4984

Constituency office (Dundas, ON):  tel 905 627-9169

Email: Sweet.D at parl.gc.ca

*Peter Braid (Conservative)*

Parliamentary office: tel 613 996 5928

Constituency office (Kitchener, ON): tel 519 746-1573

Email: Braid.P at parl.gc.ca

*Gordon Brown (Conservative)*

Parliamentary office: tel 613 992-8756

Constituency office (Brockville, ON): tel 613 498-3096

Email: Brown.G at parl.gc.ca

* *

*Dave van Kesteren (Conservative)*

Parliamentary office:  tel 613 992-2612

Constituency office (Chatham, ON):  tel 519 358-7555

Email: VanKesteren.D at parl.gc.ca

*Luc Malo (Bloc Québécois, point-person for BQ on Bill C-393, leading the
party’s position at the Industry Committee)*

Parliamentary office: tel 613 996-2998

Constituency office (Varennes, QC): tel 450 652-4442

Email: Malo.L at parl.gc.ca

* *

*Robert Bouchard (Bloc Québécois; Vice-Chair of the Industry Committee)*

Parliamentary office: tel 613 992-7207

Constituency office (Chicoutimi, QC):  418 698-5648

Email: Bouchard.R at parl.gc.ca

*Serge Cardin (Bloc Québécois)*

Parliamentary office: tel 613 943-7896

Constituency office (Sherbrooke, QC):  819 564-4200

Email: Cardin.S at parl.gc.ca

*Dan McTeague (Liberal)*

Parliamentary office: tel 613 995-8082

Constituency office (Toronto, ON):  416 287-0110

Email: McTeague.D at parl.gc.ca

*Anthony Rota (Liberal)*

Parliamentary office: tel 613 995-6255

Constituency office (North Bay, ON):  705 474-3700

Email: Rota.A at parl.gc.ca

Obviously please feel free to express in your own words. For more background
information please visit www.aidslaw.ca/camr.

Thank you.

-- 
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"CAMR Reform Campaign" group.
To post to this group, send email to camr-reform-campaign at googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
camr-reform-campaign+unsubscribe at googlegroups.com<camr-reform-campaign%2Bunsubscribe at googlegroups.com>
.
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/camr-reform-campaign?hl=en.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.resist.ca/pipermail/viva/attachments/20101029/f97da717/attachment.html>