Free AIDS meds snarled in red tape....you can help.

Canada's senate committee is currently considering a bill to simplify the process for AIDS drug manufacturers who are willing to send AIDS -relieving drugs for free, to Africa. Currently, though the companies are (at least somewhat) willing to provide the drugs, the approval process is so bureaucratic that ONLY ONE SHIPMENT EVER has left this country. Check out the article below.

Would you write a short letter to the Senators' banking committee to urge them to pass this bill? They are dithering because, they say, "it is a trade issue". You can copy or modify either of the drafts (I got the template from the Grandmothers to Grandmothers campaign).

http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/article/709020--the-aids-drug-shuffle

The letter template:

The Clerk & Members of the

Senate Standing Committee on Banking,

Trade & Commerce

Senate of Canada

Ottawa, ON K1A 0A4

Dear Clerk and Committee Members:

Bill S-232

I am a __________ in Vancouver, British Columbia. I write to you urgently with respect to the provisions of Bill S-232.

You know the facts. You know the urgency of the situation. And you know what you need to do about it.

This issue has been characterized as a ‘trade’ issue. Are we now ‘trading’ our Canadian compassion for some benefit in an economic dispute?

People are dying. You can prevent that by your actions, with no downside to Canadians. Surely that is all you need to know.

Please support Bill S-232 without changing its model.

I look forward to you’re your confirmation that you will support Bill S-232 with no significant changes.

Yours truly,