CANADIAN PM EARNS IRE FOR SKIPPING AIDS MEET

TORONTO: Controversy kicked off the 16th International AIDS
Conference on Sunday with co-chair Mark Wainberg and Hollywood
superstar Richard Gere openly lashing out at Canadian Prime Minister
Stephen Harper for giving the conference a skip during their
inaugural addresses.

Harper chose to tour a military base north of the Arctic Circle, over
attending what is surely the biggest gathering in the conference's
21-year history.

Wainberg told TOI that Harper was scared of being booed off the stage
for being against same sex marriage and also trying to abolish the
needle and syringe exchange programme. According to Harper, the
latter would encourage the consumption of drugs.

Wainberg said: "Canada has been running the needle exchange programme
successfully for the past 5 years. Now, Harper has been proposing to
shut it down, fearing young people will take up drugs.

Also, his absence from such an important conference clearly shows his
non-commitment to the cause and his lack of concern for the millions
dying of the disease.

Does the PM not understand that the exchange programme actually saves
lives?" Strong protests were also lodged by scientists, researchers,
community workers and people living with HIV/AIDS against Harper not
being present for the conference in which delegates from 132
countries are participating.

Delegates shouted slogans, booed him and held placards to lodge their
dissatisfaction.

Harper, also the director of McGill University of AIDS Center and a
professor of medicine and microbiology, instead travelled to Iqaluit,
where he promised to build a deep-water port and a military training
centre in Nunavut as part of his government's commitment to secure
Canada's claim to Northwest Passage.