Originally posted on January 13, 2010
59 notable Canadians from the worlds of politics, development, law, medicine and the arts, are publicly calling on parliamentarians to reform Canada’s Access to Medicines Regime (CAMR). Among those signing the letter are former Prime Minister Paul Martin, former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario James Bartleman, former UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa Stephen Lewis, past International President of Médecins Sans Frontières Dr. James Orbinski, arts leader Karen Kain, environmental activist David Suzuki, author Sally Armstrong, former Members of Parliament, and numerous leading researchers, national leaders from various faith communities, labour leaders and members of the Order of Canada.
Their call amplifies the opinion of 80 percent of Canadians who support the key changes proposed in current legislation, according to a recent poll done by opinion research firm Pollara for the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, Canadian Crossroads International and UNICEF Canada.
“Now is the time to act,” said Richard Elliott, Executive Director of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network. “People in the developing world, including hundreds of thousands of children with HIV and other illnesses, have waited long enough for Canada to fulfill its promise. They are literally dying for drugs.”
The letter signed by the 59 VIPs and complete poll results, along with further background, can be viewed at www.aidslaw.ca/camr.