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Liberal leadership allowed ‘legally incompetent’ senator to vote months after dementia diagnosis
National Post ^
| August 27, 2012
| Glen MacGregor and Jordan Press
Posted on 08/29/2012 11:11:49 AM PDT by Loyalist
OTTAWA The Liberal leadership in the Senate allowed a veteran senator to vote on legislation and spend public dollars for four months after she was diagnosed with dementia and declared legally incompetent.
Sen. Joyce Fairbairn regularly attended Senate sittings and voted along party lines before the Upper Chamber rose for the summer at the end of June.
Fairbairn was diagnosed with dementia of the Alzheimers type by her geriatric psychiatrist in February, according to a letter sent to Senate officials by her niece, Patricia McCullagh.
It is unclear when the Liberals knew about the diagnosis, but by April, the top aide to Liberal Senate leader James Cowan had co-signed a declaration that Fairbairn was legally incompetent, according to a letter from McCullagh, obtained by Postmedia News.
McCullagh, Fairbairns closest relative, wrote to the Clerk of the Senate Gary OBrien in August to warn of the senators worsening health, copying the letter to Cowan and Senate Speaker Noel Kinsella.
As you know, Sen. Fairbairn has dementia of the Alzheimers type, McCullagh wrote.
She has declined significantly over the past year and is no longer able to look after herself, having had 24-hour, full-time care for the past 18 months.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.nationalpost.com ...
TOPICS: Canada; Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: dementia; joycefairbairn; liberal; senateofcanada
Seeing as how so many members of both houses of Congress are of advanced age, one wonders if similar situations have taken place where caucuses and staffeers have let mentally incompetent colleagues continue to sit and vote on issues they can no longer understand.
1
posted on
08/29/2012 11:11:58 AM PDT
by
Loyalist
To: Loyalist
Initially, I was thinking it was OUR Senate, and they were referring to Frank Lautenberg.
2
posted on
08/29/2012 11:14:45 AM PDT
by
ScottinVA
(If Obama is reelected, America will deserve every mockery that follows.)
To: Loyalist
Strom Thurmond and Sheets Byrd come to mind.
Since no one read Obamacare before it was voted on, how could anyone say they understood the legislation?
3
posted on
08/29/2012 11:16:07 AM PDT
by
Night Hides Not
(The Tea Party was the earthquake, and Chick Fil A the tsunami...100's of aftershocks to come.)
To: Loyalist
Happens on both sides of the aisle. Even Nancy Reagan noticed her husband slipping in the 1984 Presidential Campaign, but of course, Ronald was a long way from dementia at that point.
But one that wasn't: Strom Thurmond. Dude was gone by the time they wheeled him back home.
4
posted on
08/29/2012 11:19:30 AM PDT
by
Lazamataz
(Communist Party = Democrats. Socialist Party = Republicans. WE NEED A CAPITALIST FREEDOM PARTY!)
To: Loyalist
Boy, those Canadians are really different from us, huh??
Here in the Good Ol’ U. S. of A. Congress, a diagnosis of ‘dementia’ is considered a resume enhancer...
5
posted on
08/29/2012 11:25:58 AM PDT
by
Uncle Ike
(Rope is cheap, and there are lots of trees...)
To: Loyalist
"Fairbairn is not scheduled to retire from the Senate until November 2014. It is unclear why she is taking sick leave rather than stepping down, as seriously ill senators have done in the past."
Duh! Canadian Senators are appointed by the Prime Minister. The LIEberals don't want another Conservative appointed.
(BTW, P.M. Harper has been doing everything possible to change to a system of elected senators. The Opposition parties have done everything possible to thwart him.)
To: Loyalist; Clive; exg; Alberta's Child; albertabound; AntiKev; backhoe; Byron_the_Aussie; ...
Canada Ping!
7
posted on
08/29/2012 11:38:14 AM PDT
by
Squawk 8888
(Tories in- now the REAL work begins!)
To: Loyalist
...one wonders if similar situations have taken place where caucuses and staffeers have let mentally incompetent colleagues continue to sit and vote on issues they can no longer understand. Back in the late 1980s and early 1990s US Senator Quentin Burdik (D-ND) was almost completely senile and it was revealed his staffers were voting for him. There was almost no outrage from the population of North Dakota and the press buried the story.
To: Loyalist
Sen. Joyce Fairbairn regularly attended Senate sittings and voted along party lines before the Upper Chamber rose for the summer at the end of June.
Voting along Party lines in Canada would be caused by dementia?
We better check out Harry and Nancy to see if they got Dementia!!
Don't you need a BRAIN for that thou??
9
posted on
08/29/2012 1:22:54 PM PDT
by
ExCTCitizen
(Yes, Obama, I had help with my business. MY CUSTOMERS!)
To: Loyalist
how can they tell which have dementia?
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