Chantix and BC Liberals

Eight firings of BC Health Ministry Employees. Devastating the ministry drug researchers. One was so humiliated he went into depression and took his own life. And now those who are interested say it is shocking that there are hardly any records to indicate what really happened. And not a soul within the cadre of insider Liberals will admit to anything? Can you imagine this 'I didn't do it' attitude in private business? Hard to imagine anyone voting for these people.
But same old works both ways, if the BC Liberal Government refuses to tell us what they are doing, then we begin to speculate.

One of the drugs that some researchers were studying when fired, was the Pfizer product Chantix.
You might have seen one of their advertisements on CNN. They are usually two minute commercials with about 8 seconds telling you the product drug will help you stop smoking, with the remaining minute and fifty-two seconds warning you about what the side effects of using it are. And they still need one of those 'fast speaker' guys to get it all in.

As it goes, one of the fired ministry researchers is suing the BC Government. He was researching the product Chantix, (varenicline) to find out, one, if it worked, and two, whether the BC Government taxpayer should pay for it through the Health Ministry.
The suggestion here is that big Pharma has a lot to gain by skewing the results of the research. And that the reason the eight ministry drug researchers, were fired was because of Pfizer's fear of their understanding of the product. And what might be concluded because Pfizer already knows things because of their constant dealings and rulings within the US FDA.
And because we have little knowledge or the advantage of checking the work done by these eight people, (due to the John Gotti methods of the BC Liberals to keep no records at all) or access to any conclusions the eight might have drawn about Chantix, the firings can only bring about speculation and what we THINK the Christy Clark led BC Liberals actually did. Although NO ONE seems to know exactly who might have issued the direction to fire these researchers. (and of course there are a few reporters right now trying to follow the money, you know, that fat brown envelope so often involved in conversations about BC Liberals) Were email destroyed again?

Maybe we need to make our case the easiest way possible, and that is to remind you about the product itself, in particular the so-called side effects of using Chantix.  Here are a few things you might have been reminded of on those US TV ads:

In addition to its needed effects, some unwanted effects may be caused by varenicline (the active ingredient contained in Chantix). On these they say contact your doctor or pharmacist promptly. 

They being careful not to use the word immediately, that may be reserved for other scary side effects - read on, folk,

- difficult or labored breathing, hyperventilation, tightness in the chest, Here are some more, with the note that incidence is unknown - Anger, anxiety, behavior changes, discouragement, feeling sad or empty, feelings of panic, irregular heartbeats, irritability, loss of interest or pleasure, mood swings, restlessness seeing, hearing, or feeling things that are not there, thoughts of killing oneself.

Smoke and die or stop and die?

Enough awready?

Here's more - Abnormal dreams, bloated or full feeling, change in taste, difficulty having a bowel movement (stool), dry mouth, excess air or gas in the stomach or intestines, general feeling of discomfort or illness, headache, lack or loss of strength, loss of taste, nausea, passing gas, stomach pain, trouble sleeping, unusual tiredness or weakness,

and less common - Acid or sour stomach, belching, body aches or pain, chills, cough, decreased appetite, dizziness, ear congestion, fever, heartburn, increased appetite, indigestion, itching skin or rash, loss of appetite, loss of voice, nightmares, sleepiness or unusual drowsiness, sneezing or sore throat, stomach discomfort or upset, stuffy or runny nose, trouble concentrating, unusual drowsiness, dullness, or feeling of sluggishness, vomiting.
Note that in fairness to the Chantix product, not ALL these effects may occur in everyone or be less than severe when or if they do. And anyone who has a vertigo lean towards hypochondria has a wonderful choice of complaints.

I know you didn't read them all and I'm not sure if lack of concentration is even on the list. If you're old like me, you probably have half of these symptoms anyway! And some of you may have decided to just keep on smoking as the lesser evil and hope for a lung cancer cure soon!

But the very fact that this could be the result of using the drug, and that Pfiser may have a huge interest in getting you, the British Columbia taxpayer to PAY for it through the BC Medical system speaks volumes for whatever sneaky tactic might have happened between SOMEONE at the Health Ministry OR the BC Liberal government and the Pharmaceutical Corporation Pfiser. It is the very reason that people are beginning to wonder if yet another and more serious scandal is arising within the BC Liberal party once again?

Please don't let them find out.

(I'm still on the BC Rail scandal where the BC Liberals, because they could not manage our economy, sold off OUR railroad to balance their books, then went and sent 430 millions dollars to the Germans to build BC Ferries!)

We need a public inquiry where people speak under oath, are questioned and cross examined. It may prove nothing but the fact that Christy Clark's government does operate like John Gotti's criminal organization, see no evil see no paper trail.

But wouldn't that be damning enough?

Why not just stop smoking cold turkey!  Once you've quit, you might find a cool side effect: that of being calm and collected in the voting booth!

Coast Guard?

This is what Prime Minister Harper said in the summer of 2012 when he dictated that our BC Coast Guard base on Kitsilano point be closed - "the closing of a Vancouver coast guard station is in keeping with his government’s emphasis on public safety."
And they closed it in Feb 2013. And they sold off the Coast Guard boat and the inflatables that worked with it. This reallocation is 'best for the public'. The Coast Guard station would be moved to Richmond and serviced by one lumbering Hovercraft that takes over 30 minutes to get around Point Grey to be of any good to distress calls from English Bay. And there is another Station in Stanley Park that would have the same response time going into Burrard Inlet and through Lions Gate before getting to English Bay. The very idea that the False Creek Station was closed indicates a lack of understanding about the Vancouver area geographics. Have the Feds ever even looked at a chart?

In summer, and indeed, most of the year, we have many many boats in English Bay, including these world traveling freighters. We are not the frozen port of Montreal or Halifax where people keep their boats moored for 10 months. Vancouver Coast Guard was the busiest base in Canada. And we have yet again seen the reaction from a Federal Government in Ottawa that has no idea what lies across the Rockies. And if they do know there is a thriving port here they choose to ignore us. Yet again. We wonder if they know there is an actual province out here! But then our BC votes don't actually count in Federal elections, do they?

Cutting costs has resulted in a delayed response to our oil spill. If the Kitsilano Station was still open at the entrance of False Creek it might have taken 5 minutes to have a boat checking out that spill. As it was in fact, no one was active for 6 hours after the spill was detected. And the City of Vancouver was not told that our precious waters were fouled for 13 HOURS! And then when the Richmond Coast Guard was contacted they responded that 'we don't do oil spills!'

So now Vancouver Mayor, Gregor Robertson is telling that the response is inadequate and shows lack of leadership with the Federal and Provincial governments. We think he should be screaming bloody murder!  Christy Clark, our beloved Premier, covering her own ample ass, and stuttering away when asked what her government has done so far, says Mayor Robertson 'doesn't understand how the 'unified command works'.  How much do you need to know about a toxic oil leak contamination our pristine waters?

Federal Industry Minister, James Moore, commenting from the high towers of Ottawa, says the spill is 80% cleaned up, but from aerial film, it looks like it is all over the English Bay, from Kitsilano to West Van beaches. Even into Georgia Straight. And it seems like 80% is the standard figure for media consumption. Moore says the West Coast people are making political jabs without having the facts. We wonder what you can see of our waters from 3000 miles away?

So we have people saving ducks on our shores.  We have agencies warning us not to swim in our water. Don't even touch it! Recently we had Orcas in English Bay, thrilling people everywhere. Humpbacks are nearby, our water is so clear and fresh. Now we have it spoiled. And the worst is yet to come when Prime Minister Harper pushed through the Northern Gateway oil pipeline and the Kinder-Morgan double pipeline to Burrard Inlet. And already those oil corporations have spun is with crap about how responsible they are. And how there is no danger to Vancouver area or our whole western coast.

What'll happen now? Minister Moore is telling us the ship owners based in bankrupt Greece will pay for it all. Sure. You cannot sweep oil spills under the rug, because they tend to seep through. We bet the taxpayer will be on the hook for this one for lack of Federal Leadership and the guts to enforce the bill. Business trumps everything in Conservative governments.
What will it do to Vancouver's image? Do tourists want to come to a place where people are warned not to go near the water?  Do they want to sit on a beach with oil rings around the rocks? Or dead oily birds washed up?

What about the provincial government? Clark's stammering response tells you a lot, she just wants out of here, maybe another trade trip to India.
Whatever happens in the next while, we need to pay attention. And see if the promises get followed through. We think Harper will simply tell media to stop reporting. And they will.
We think that appropriate action would be to refuse to elect toadies in the BC Federal Conservative Party that turn against British Columbians on the first plane to Ottawa. We need to punish them gravely.
And trusting Christy Clark with our beautiful city and coast is a non-starter, it is she that doesn't understand.

This spill is only a starter and is an omen of things to come. Does anyone still believe shipping companies can respond to a spill of bitumen in
You can take action, but you must have a memory of things when you go into that voting booth. That is where your power begins. Vancouver is a treasured jewel in Canada, and most of the people here think that way.  Get rid of those who don't understand.

addenda: James Moore has stepped away from politics, so we won't get answers there. But we all know he'll be back to try to recover the Conservative Party after Canadians toss out Harper. The suspicious thing here is that the Federal Government closed BC Coast Guard stations, while KNOWING they were going to open new ones on the East Coast. More votes there. Sort of pokes you in the eye doesn't it?