Mr. Speaker, this summer the Prime Minister embarrassed Canada on the international stage by refusing to attend the international AIDS conference.
We know that the Prime Minister has a strained relationship with the city of Toronto, which does not seem to cater to his voter base. It seems the only time he wants to come to Toronto is when he wants to snub Premier Dalton McGuinty in favour of his buddy, John Tory, but even John Tory had the decency to attend this conference.
During the conference, the Prime Minister indicated that he was not attending because it had become “too political”. This is a pretty weak excuse coming from a politician. It is almost like a hockey player not wanting to go to the rink because it is too icy.
In the words of Stephen Lewis, the Prime Minister's refusal to attend the AIDS conference was “a slap in the face to the international community”. Canadians are quickly realizing that health care is not a priority for the government. However, the Prime Minister had a chance to take some real action and show some real leadership by attending and he failed.