Junior Minister Brenda Locke issued a news release on November 15th to call attention to "Addictions Awareness Week". Locke, who formerly lobbied on behalf of BC's pubs to allow smoking, may be relieved that the news media will rarely focus on her.

According to the news release "Government, communities and health care professionals are working together this week to create awareness on reducing the harmful effects of problematic substance use and addictions across the province". Oops, not so quick! Locke was hammered by Joy MacPhail and Jenny Kwan in the short fall legislative sitting. They went after Locke on gambling addiction. Asked what she does to earn an extra $25,000 per year as a Junior Minister, Locke responded by saying "I am responsible for over a billion dollars of mental health and addiction services delivered through the Ministry of Health Services and the health authorities. Also, my role is to advocate for mental health across government to fulfill our commitment to making mental health a priority." She finally retreated saying that Solicitor General Rich Coleman is responsible for dealing with gambling addiction, not her. Isn't that rich! The same guy who is responsible for expanding gambling in BC is responsible for dealing with the addicts.

The Campbell government has expanded gambling, although before the election it led people to believe it would do the opposite. Even when confronted with evidence on increased revenue from gambling, the Campbell gang denied that they've expanded it, just like they denied selling BC Rail. Ontario's Problem Gambling Research Centre issued a report indicating that "about 35% of Ontario gaming revenue is derived from moderate and severe problem gamblers".

Perhaps the Campbell government should take Addictions Awareness Week seriously. Some say that attempts to perpetually mislead people may suggest a disorder, perhaps an addiction to falsehoods.