WEDNESDAY March 6, 2013 Vol. 28•No. 18 ••• $1.25 inc. H.S.T.
COMOX VALLEY
ARTS
SPORTS
A tenor with a ‘voice of liquid gold’ joins Sarah Hagen next week at the Sid Williams Theatre. page 13
Stuart Robinson of Comox advanced to the finals of the 2013 World Stand Up Paddle-Surf Championships. page 15
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Liberals creating cynicism? Erin Haluschak Record Staff
Facing a room full of supporters Saturday, provincial NDP leader Adrian Dix called the Liberal ‘ethnic-gate’ scandal a source of creating even more cynicism in politics, and blamed the entire Liberal government on the issue. During a brunch fundraising stop in the Comox Valley at the Best Western Plus Westerly Hotel, Dix addressed many campaign issues during a half-hour speech to show support for Comox Valley NDP candidate Kassandra Dyke, but discussed the Liberal’s ethnic outreach vote-wooing scandal. “The multicultural document presented and the strategy that the government employed doesn’t reflect the way you want to see our government act and it hurts everybody and creates more cynicism in politics,” he told media after the event. “I think the review and the investigation has to be brought (forward) and has to meet the test. This isn’t about one person but it’s about a government that has decided to go on a path that most people would say is the wrong path.” He added very strong efforts were taken on the part of the government to keep the documents from public scrutiny. Dix noted he respects Premier Christy Clark and his party should not be focused on “tearing other people down.” “The problem with what the Liberals have done here is that
... see CAMPAIGN ■ 2
COMOX VALLEY MAN Isaac LeBlanc, 27, is at St. Joseph’s General Hospital after over one year of time spent in various B.C. hospitals with a mysterious illness, leaving him paralyzed among other things. LeBlanc’s family will hold a fundraiser this spring in an effort to renovate LeBlanc’s home so he can leave hospital care. PHOTO BY RENÉE ANDOR
Mystery illness keeps man in hospital Renee Andor Record Staff
“I’ve been wanting to go home for awhile,” Isaac LeBlanc says as he grins at his big understatement. LeBlanc, a 27-year-old Comox Valley resident, has been in hospital care for well over a year, after he started suffering from neck pain in late 2011. His condition quickly worsened
and within a matter of weeks he was unable to speak or move his body from the neck down. LeBlanc spent time in hospitals in Vancouver and Victoria as medical professionals tried to diagnose what was wrong. According to his mother Wendy LeBlanc, Isaac has been diagnosed with a rare form of multiple sclerosis called Marburg, but she adds there’s still a “big question mark” beside the diagnosis.
Isaac is now at St. Joseph’s General Hospital and is able to speak — though with obvious effort — and move his arms and hands. However, he still cannot move his lower body, basically from his chest down. Slowly, but steadily, Isaac has been improving. Wendy notes he recently had some sensations in his feet for a short while, and he’s building his strength back through physiotherapy.
She adds Isaac can’t live in an apartment or house unless it has wheelchair access, and she hasn’t been able to find suitable accommodation in the Valley. Thus, she says, doctors suggest Isaac go to a long-term care facility during this part of his recovery. “They want to send him to an old folks home — which is not good,” says Wendy. “He’s like ‘I ... see MOTHER ■ 2
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