To the Editors,
Normally, I enjoy reading the letters submitted by Dunnville’s Doug Wadel, but I found his missive of December 15 somewhat disjointed.
Firstly, he stated that I was “not very knowledgeable” for condemning Leslyn Lewis and the Conservatives because they failed to solve the shortage of children’s flu vaccine. I don’t have my letter of December 8 in front of me, but I believe I asked if the Shadow Cabinet, of which Ms. Lewis is a member, had put forth any ideas of their own before castigating the Liberals. It would be silly of me or anyone else to place any blame on a party not in power, since they have no responsibility for government policy. Perhaps he can re-read my letter, this time with his glasses on, or refer me to the entries in Hansard, where such suggestions would be recorded.
He then points out that the shortage is also prevalent throughout the United States and many other countries, as anyone with “half a brain” could discover. Assuming the Shadow Cabinet belonged to his “half-a-brain” group, were they aware that the shortage extended beyond our borders? If so, then why did they invest the time and money into producing a lengthy video suggesting that the blame somehow lies with Canada’s minority government? And if they were not aware of it, it might suggest that they perhaps lack Mr. Wadel’s “half a brain”.
He also mentioned that 92% of children’s medicines are produced in China. Presumably, much of the remaining 8% comes from India, the second-largest producer. He fails to elaborate on his point, but I think it’s safe to conclude, with those numbers, that the “free world” that he mentioned is doing next to nothing to alleviate the problem, which might go a long way to explain the shortage.
He also seems to be upset that Canada is sending financial aid to Ukraine. Would he prefer that we sit by and watch them be attacked by a larger country that covets what they have, without doing anything?
He also made a passing reference to Pierre Trudeau, but I failed to see the connection to our 15th Prime Minister, who died, just short of his 81st birthday, in the final months of the 20th century.
Bruce Burton,
Metropolis of Canfield