February 11, 2010

It's Thursday February 11th.

The United States Senate had to cancel hearings on Global Warming because of the worst snow storm in years.

Currently ... Because of that, The US Weather service has issued an extreme irony advisory.

This is The Current.

Judging Giambrone

We started this segment with a clip of Adam Giambrone. He's a 32-year-old Toronto City Councilor and now-former candidate for the Mayor's office. He pulled out of the race yesterday, after admitting that he had "intimate relations" with women other than his partner. Until this, Mr. Giambrone had been viewed as something of a boy-wonder on the city's political scene.

But now, he joins a legion of political powerhouses tainted by their extra curricular sex lives such as former US Presidential candidates John Edwards, South Carolina governor Mark Sanford, former New York governor Elliott Spitzer, former U.S. President Bill Clinton, former Toronto mayor Mel Lastman ... the list goes on.

In his apology, Mr. Giambrone acknowledged that "deceit" in his private life had undermined the "integrity" of his public life. That too has become a standard part of the script. Given how often we hear such stories, we're asking whether the standards used to judge our politicians are actually working for everyone. Do the rules need to change?

For their thoughts on the subject, we were joined by Shari Graydon. She's a media analyst and the former press secretary to now Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh in the days when he was the Premier of British Columbia. She was in Ottawa. And Howard Moscoe is a long-time Toronto City Councilor. He was in Toronto.

Listen to Part One:

Haiti + HIV

We started this segment with CBC's David Gutnick speaking with a pharmacist in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. She is sitting on the grass at a makeshift drug counter outside the Gheskio Center, an HIV-AIDS clinic. Haiti has the highest prevalence of HIV-AIDS of any country in the Caribbean. Before the earthquake, the country had made significant progress in addressing the problem.

In 2001, an estimated 6 per cent of the population was infected with HIV-AIDS. Today, that number is down to two percent. But the earthquake may have jeopardized those gains. Like everything else, the Gheskio Center was hit hard. Staff can't go back into the building for fear that it will collapse. So they're treating people out in the open, as best they can. And with so much attention diverted to rebuilding infrastructure, some worry that funding for their work will be hard to come by.

In the aftermath of the earthquake, a number of humanitarian organizations are trying to help Haitians with HIV/AIDS. International Child Care Canada is one of them. Dr. John Yates is the organization's International Director. He has just returned after spending two weeks in Haiti and he was in Toronto.

Last weekend, the CBC's David Gutnick caught up with former U.S. President Bill Clinton in Haiti. We aired a clip with what President Clinton had to say about the battle against HIV-AIDS.

Listen to Part Two:

Letters

Time now for our weekly look at the mail. And our Friday host, Bob McKeown has slipped away from the Fifth Estate to join Anna Maria in studio to help read the mail.

Physician Assistants: The chronic shortage of doctors in Canada is leading the way to a new kind of health care professional. They're called physician assistants. They aren't doctors or nurses. But they are trained professionals who supplement doctor's services. In hospitals where wait times grow longer, it seems like a good idea. But not everyone is on board. And after hearing our segment on this, we heard from former CBC Reporter Maureen Taylor and others with their experience.

Maternal Health: As Prime Minister Stephen Harper talks up maternal and child health as one of the priorities of this year's G8 summit, critics say he should start by looking in his own backyard. A study published last month in the Canadian Medical Association Journal reports that Inuit infants are three-and-a-half times more likely to die than babies born in southern Canada. And the risk of a stillborn child in Canada's north is almost twice the national average. Monday on the program, we heard from Doctor Isaac Sobol, Nunavut's Chief Medical Officer of Health. And we also heard from 19-year-old Silver Barrens. She lives in Berens River, Manitoba. And she had to travel nearly 300 kilometres south to deliver her baby in Winnipeg. After hearing from them, we heard from you.

Natsiq Kango is a traditional midwife who has been helping women in her community give birth since 1976. She is also the President of the Midwives Association of Nunavut. Natsiq Kango joined us from Iqaluit this morning.

Wild Dogs: It's been almost two weeks since 10-year-old Keith Iron was buried. He was mauled by dogs in the community of Canoe Lake in northern Saskatchewan. Band officials are under fire for not doing enough to control the wild dog population. And other bands are experiencing similar problems with dogs that often start as pets, but end up running wild and forming packs. Lesley Sheppard is trying to change that. She is a veterinarian in Regina and the founder of the Remote Area Veterinary Services Program -- a portable veterinary service that travels to remote areas to educate people and neuter animals. This segment prompted many listeners to write with their thoughts on wild dogs and safety.

Haiti: Last week, the CBC's David Gutnick and Anna Maria co-hosted a special edition of The Current with David in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. David's time in Haiti is coming to an end this week. He joined us from Port-au-Prince before he departs.

Last Word - Nelson Mandela Anniversary

We gave the last word to Nelson Mandela today from a speech he gave 20 years ago today, immediately after his release from prison.

Listen to Part Three: