H1N1 vaccination priority
Hedy Fry believes that there should be a special clinic on Parliament Hill to vaccinate Members of Parliament and staff. Meanwhile, most people in Ottawa will have wait as the first two weeks of vaccinations are rationed for those of us that need it now such as those with respiratory conditions, young children and pregnant women, among others with special needs.
Fry argues that parliamentarians are a special case as they “shake hands, I don’t know how many times a day with people”. Do you agree with her?
UPDATE (11/2): The National Post publishes an op-ed
This entry was authored by Stephen Taylor at 01:04 PM | Tweet this | View Comments
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Stephen Taylor is a scientist, political analyst and a blogger. Taylor writes here regularly and is the founder of bloggingtories.ca. Taylor has contributed to Macleans, CTV, talk radio and has been a featured speaker on new media at numerous events including the Western Standard Cruise and the Forum for Public Policy. In December 2008, Taylor organized Rally for Canada, a series of rallies held coast-to-coast to protest the proposed coalition government.
October 29th, 2009 at 11:48 am
The time honored parliamentary tradition to chant of 'shame' is applicable if not nearly strong enough for this situation. Unbelievable that one of our elected leaders would say such a selfish thing.
I will stop now before I say something rather more appropriate and much less dignified, not because it is unwarranted but because I wouldn't know where to stop.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Hedi Fry is above standing in a line with commoners….
October 29th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
Dear Hedy,
Don't shake hands. No one will care.
By the way Hedy, line up like the rest of us commoners if you are that concerned and then you can talk to REAL people as long as you never admit, who you are or why you thought that you were more important than them because after all Hedy, those folks ARE YOUR BOSS. You are NOT THEIRS!
Sincerely,
Bec
October 29th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
If she wanted the shot first she should have gone to the jails in BC, seems prisoners are more important than MP.
October 29th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
when will the liberals get rid of this woman. hedy,the burning crosses in you riding will kill the virus.and this woman is a doctor? god help us all if this is the best the liberals can give us.
October 29th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
She is, as usual, on crack.
October 29th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
I shake hands with lots of people everyday and I'm not getting special treatment for the vaccination. Why should she or anyone else in Ottawa be put in front of women and children or even me. Although I don't get an outrageous salary like she does, I do pay taxes.
Who the hell does she think she is?
October 29th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
well she needs her hands to write illigal prescriptions for her patients or was it to light the fires in Prince George, the hotbed of the KKK.
The woman should just pack it in and leave.
October 29th, 2009 at 6:42 pm
People vote for her……… !
October 29th, 2009 at 6:42 pm
Hedy (crosses are burning in B.C.) Fry is perhaps the most tangible personification of the continuing myth that the liberal party has a divine right to rule Canada and have first dibs at whatever goodies are available in the public trough. Not particularly surprising, given the Liberal propensity to regard themselves as entitled to their entitlements.
October 29th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
She sounds like a very cross woman.
October 29th, 2009 at 7:31 pm
She is entitled to her entitlements!
October 29th, 2009 at 7:32 pm
'' I would even support giving it to Tory MPs/Staffers.''
the vaccine or the flu?
October 29th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
Ha ha, excellent!
I was in a huge lineup today with my daughter and her 6 WEEK old and 22 month old. People just KNOW better than to touch during times like this but was my daughter having a meltdown because of the babies? No, she was acting like a well informed and intelligent Canadian, WAITING for their vaccination and enjoying the freedom and experience to do so.
We also thank our governments for providing the vaccine and the manpower.
Everyone need to just quit yapping and band together. Hedy Fry, is NOT the Canadian to emulate. She is completely disconnected.
October 29th, 2009 at 7:39 pm
''They are masters at this finger pointing game.''
This isn't a game,
except to Liberals, who continue to politicize H1N1
(finger pointing)
with bodybag 10%ers (hedy Fry)
and accusing the government of Canada of killing people because the PROVINCES can't deliver vaccine fast enough in response to the media induced panic (Bob Rae)
October 29th, 2009 at 7:41 pm
with bodybag 10%ers (hedy Fry)
that should read Caroline Bennet
October 29th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
The persons very likely to contact H1N1
are those clerks who grab your debit card for a swipe.
October 29th, 2009 at 8:00 pm
HERPES
October 29th, 2009 at 8:10 pm
Are you volunteering to share yours? What a disgusting comment for you to make. I can only hope Stephen follows Steve's lead and bans you.
October 29th, 2009 at 8:19 pm
What a miserable, brain-dead, selfish, clueless…battleaxe, haggard, self-loathing…skanky, donkey raping, hosebag mouthbreathing…um…what was the story about again?
October 29th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
Hedy Fry is an MP. That means she was elected as an ordinary citizen, to represent the other ordinary citizens who elected her. Canada has about 32 million more just like her. Get in line like the rest of us Hedy. You are nothing special.
October 29th, 2009 at 8:29 pm
What proof does she have this time? Do pictures exist of someone actually shaking her hand?
October 29th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
Supported. Another vote here for a permanent ban.
October 29th, 2009 at 9:32 pm
And what I don't understand…….. is that people still vote for this flake
October 29th, 2009 at 10:37 pm
Hedy Fry has proved and continues to prove that she is a pathological liar, a cheat and a self-centered individual who would steal a life-saving solution from a baby in order to satisfy her own “needs”. I wonder if crosses are still burning on the lawns of Prince George?
October 30th, 2009 at 12:06 am
Lighten up!!! Jeez can you never ever see humour in things. Then again as they say about angry tories………
October 30th, 2009 at 12:15 am
maybe this from another blog (BCL) might help put some lipstick on the nonsense being posted here:
“In the midst of a pandemic of as yet unknown severity, one thing that you would think you would want to work smoothly would be your national government, wouldn't it? And since that in our case is a parliamentary democracy, said government would encompass MPs and their staff, wouldn't it? Since health care professionals are calling for a spike in workplace absenteeism as the 2nd wave of H1N1 kicks in, wouldn't you want to take precautions to avoid a situation where…oh I don't know…the government falls by accident because too many legislators are at home puking, or legislation deleterious to the well being of the nation gets passed?
I would hope so. I mean, the phrase “making government work” keeps echoing through my head. Dunno who said that first.”
October 30th, 2009 at 12:44 am
Enjoy your newly earned ban for a week. Come back on November 6th and give it another try.
Your next ban will be for a month.
October 30th, 2009 at 1:14 am
You're a whimp, lame where are my posts?
The government you support is falling, and corupt.
Climate change is causing these releases of viral threats.
Not Hedy Fry. You mongrels.
This is a much larger issue than an opposition mp's statement.
Publish this on your blog? Be real man!.
October 30th, 2009 at 4:11 am
What can you expect from someone who was trying to convince people that there were crosses burning in Prince George . A classic case of someone who doesn,t belong in politics.
October 30th, 2009 at 5:01 am
I agree. Maybe midweek or something. But you don't complain in public while high risk people are waiting for their shots.
Flu-gate? Shotgate?Needlegate?Prickgate?
October 30th, 2009 at 6:23 am
Do you think it would be a percieved as a “cheap shot” or appropriate rebuke to include the recent “gems” from the Liberals reminding Canadians they are playing games with such a serious matter?
The behaviour from the Liberals seems more erratic or desperate as of late but I don't see the CPC interested in “teaching them a lesson” through another official poll.
What is puzzling the Liberals polling around 25-28% in not unusual, they were polling around this range for before the election last October and have returned to their new level of support.
October 30th, 2009 at 6:33 am
Don't forget that Hedy Fry needs to remain healthy so she can go out and count all those burning crosses…
October 30th, 2009 at 8:28 am
“CDC Encourages Flu Shots, Dispels Fears” Read it at http://wp.me/pC3Xj-8c
October 30th, 2009 at 8:48 am
This is the typical Liberal 'me first' attitude. Is Ms. Fry saying that she as a Liberal MP's should cut in front of pregnant women, the elderly and the sick to get this vaccine?
October 30th, 2009 at 8:56 am
No surprise here…she's entitled to her entitlements! Kerry, I agree that I wouldn't even be able to stop either.
October 30th, 2009 at 11:47 am
Hedy Fry is a total embarrassment to B.C. The people who voted for her should be ashamed.
October 30th, 2009 at 11:54 am
It was Liberal David Dingwall
October 30th, 2009 at 11:54 am
Actually most of them could just stay slopping safely at the trough and get vaccinated later. What a pompous self indulgent, self important ****. Shows just who has the “panic” bug.
October 30th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
It's a valid point. There should be more clinics in public places like tourist attractions, government buildings and community centres. If you think that there are 306 MPs or so who shake and average of 90 general public hands per week (not including the staff they have around them) and assume each of those general public folks have 10 friends or family they are in contact with, that's 275,400 people a week which turns into 2,203,200 million people in 8 weeks…a conservative estimate. The point being, there should be more clinics and more vaccines available, especially to people who spend a lot of the time with the public; like MPs, Healthcare workers, Teachers, tourist attraction and hospitality/travel staff.
October 30th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Yes, we do. However, we're talking about rationing limited resources.
October 30th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
Ignatieff should put a sock in Bob Rae's mouth, Rae is causing panic when there is no need, makes me sick to see a MP politicising H1N1 at the expense of Canadians.
October 30th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
Hmm, would have been nice to have this clip a little longer, makes me wonder what Kirsty Duncan's views are on the matter, she's a more credible spokesperson than her caucus colleague.
October 30th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
I guess she feels she is entitled to her entitlements.
October 30th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
Fry Hedy.
October 30th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
but, she works at a House of Commoners…
October 30th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
MPs should get their vaccine in their own riding so they can truly set an example for their constituents in person. Of course, they should line up with the rest of them. That's also how they vote, no?
October 30th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
I have no comment that falls within the parameters of decorum. However, I have many that come to mind which fall quite outside those boundaries. Suffice to say, I have 2 words for MP Fry, and they aren't Happy Birthday or Merry Christmas!
October 31st, 2009 at 7:15 am
By the way, PM told Graig Oliver in an interview that he, the prime minister, and his family will not be seeking peferential treatment . The PM and family plan to stand in line like the rest of us canadians.
Dr. Hedi Frye and Dr. Bennett should stop behaving like lunatics and act more like doctors at a time like this by easing the public fears and not create a panic.
October 31st, 2009 at 7:41 am
'FEAR' is what the liberals have always created and used on people to get votes.
October 31st, 2009 at 7:54 am
How on earth does this idiot keep getting elected
the same way the other liberals get elected With the help of the media.
Can you imagine Dr. Hedi Frye in the 'TITANIC'
October 31st, 2009 at 12:03 pm
Wow………why am I not shocked.
I mean Liberals already think that they know what is best for Canadians and want to engineer our lives. It of course follows that they are special and need to be protected better than the peons.
November 2nd, 2009 at 3:15 am
I believe that all MPs and MLAs who vote for giving the public untested medications should be mandated to take them at least a couple of months ahead of anyone else, particularly when there have been no real trials completed for public safety as is the case with the H1N1 vaccine.
Until we start hearing the numbers of deaths from ALL causes each day, quotes of how many die from Swine Flu are irrelevant as a reason to expose oneself to a drug that seems to escape the government's own mandatory listing of warnings and contra-indications in all promotional materials (noting the government brochure recently mailed out to all Canadian addresses at great cost – that lists no warnings, contra-indications, nor possible side effects).
Hedy can have my shot.
November 4th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
I am not surprised that politicians would put themselves ahead of the people of their country. If they are worried about handshaking then they should react like most Canadians and cease handshaking until this danger has passed. No one should put themselves against those individuals who are at risk medically. I work in the public system with children and I and my colleagues have not yet received the vaccination. I feel I must wait to allow those who need the vaccine can get it.
November 4th, 2009 at 11:47 pm
ya this figures. As the Calgary Flames have their doctor fired for giving them the vaccines. Why anyone thinks they are more important to “the public” than others is beyond me. I work in a school with adults and students why aren't i more special. Instead of making loud noises lets just do what we have to do and let the public health deal with this as best as they can, and all will work out.
November 6th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Can't believe anyone would willingly shake hands with Hedy!
November 6th, 2009 at 11:27 pm
Can't believe anyone would willingly shake hands with Hedy!