Edmonton Journal, August 19, 2010

Canada cannot be a free-for-all entry point for people who want to immigrate. This would be utterly unfair to our taxpayers and to those who are trying to enter Canada by established, legitimate routes.

The people we are seeing on these boats are just the tip of the iceberg, as 90 per cent of people claiming refugee status enter Canada via our airports.

Most of the boat people we see are coming from Southeast Asia, many from Sri Lanka. Some are legitimate refugees fleeing persecution, many are economic refugees trying to find a faster way to a better life.

The key for us is to separate the two — protect and process the legitimate refugees, while sending those who are not refugees back to their country of origin to apply through normal channels.

(more…)

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As published in The Nanaimo Daily News

VICTORIA – Why on earth would Prime Minister Stephen Harper choose to take Canada out of the business of producing nuclear isotopes for medical use?

This decision is a veritable repeat of the Avro Arrow fiasco when Canada terminated this project thereby giving up our lead in aeronautical engineering. The loss of jobs, knowledge, and capabilities in this area eliminated Canada from being a world leader in a burgeoning industry.

The same situation is recurring right now due to the abysmal decision Harper made last week.

Canada has been the leading producer of medical isotopes for decades. This is an area of excellence for us that provides life-saving products used in nuclear medicine.

The National Academy of Sciences in the U.S. said last week that the only real solution to deal with the worldwide crisis in access to isotopes is to get Canada’s Maple 1 and 2 nuclear reactors working. Rather than doing this, Harper has chosen to throw up his hands and evict the field, leaving us without a domestic supply of isotopes and abandoning a field that provides high paying jobs.

This is not leadership, this is a national tragedy.

Rather than walking away we should expand our capabilities so that Canada remains the lead producer of these life-saving products. If we don’t, the extraordinary Canadian scientists who work in nuclear medicine will leave the country for other nations that will surely fill the void and become the new leaders in this industry. Why would we allow this to happen?

Dr. Keith Martin,
MP Esquimalt – Juan de Fuca
Health Promotion Critic for the Liberal Party of Canada

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Please have a look at the Letter to the Editor below that was published in the Prince George Citizen today and the Edmonton Sun yesterday. Thank you.

-Keith

What’s Government Smoking?

It has become clear that the war-on-drugs approach has failed to undercut the violence and substance abuse tied to the illegal drug trade that plagues our cities.

While the World Health Organization (WHO) has stated its support for harm-reduction strategies, the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs is currently meeting in Vienna to discuss adopting the approach and the U.S. appoints a prevention-focused national drug policy chair, the Canadian government is looking the other way and is refusing to listen to the science on the issue of drug policy and harm-reduction strategies. (more…)

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Success in Afghanistan
Edmonton Sun
Dr. Keith Martin
November 3, 2008

Re: “Afghan peace depends on negotiating,” Oct. 31, by Lyn Cockburn.

Despite the heroism of our troops, our Afghan mission will fail unless we deal with the following four areas irresponsibly neglected by NATO. (more…)

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Insite criticism based on ideology, not science
Dr. Keith Martin
National Post
August 23, 2008

Re: Clement Slams CMA Over Insite, Aug. 19.

Despite federal Health Minister Tony Clement’s outrageous comments, the reality remains, the B. C. Supreme Court has given Vancouver’s safe injection clinic the green light to stay open. It has also essentially told the federal government to change the nation’s laws so that other cities could open up similar programs. (more…)

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Thoughts on safe-injection sites
Dr. Keith Martin
National Post
June 2, 2008

Re: A Better Way To Treat Addicts, Tony Clement, May 30.

More than 25 peer-reviewed scientific studies have proven that Vancouver’s supervised injection site, Insite, saves lives, reduces harm and decreases crime. That the B. C. Supreme Court stated that supervised injection sites are an essential health care tool to treat those who have IV addiction problems underscores these facts. (more…)

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Nothing for Gaza Strip
Montreal Gazette
January 20, 2008
Dr. Keith Martin

The recent controversy over Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Bernier’s statements regarding Israeli settlements misses important realities of Gaza. The reality is Canada has offered little to Palestinians in the way of humanitarian assistance. (more…)

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