Re: Oswald pushing national MS trial, Aug. 17:

NDP Health Minister Theresa Oswald’s attempt to appear as though she is acting on the concerns of Manitobans suffering from Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is nothing more than a smokescreen.

Oswald’s letter to the health ministers of other provinces requesting support for a pan-Canadian clinical trial is a typical NDP delay tactic.

The reality is that coordinating the efforts of all jurisdictions and coming to nationwide agreement is only going to slow down the process of researching the potential link between CCSVI and MS. This is a disservice to the 3000 Manitobans with MS and their families, for whom this research represents the first real glimmer of hope they’ve had since their diagnosis.

Rather than deflecting responsibility and passing the buck to her counterparts in other provinces, the NDP Health Minister could have and should have shown leadership on this important issue by partnering with Saskatchewan to move ahead with clinical trials – as I publicly called on her to do weeks ago.

As a global “hot spot” for MS, Manitoba should be leading the charge, not lagging behind.