I’m tired of the term “whistle-blower.” It’s so diminishing. It makes them sound like they have a troublemaking gene, plus maybe ADD.

I’m muttering about a nasty piece on Nancy Olivieri in the current Maclean’s, based on a new book on the medical-ethics case. Author Miriam Shuchman starts by saying she thinks drug maker Apotex was wrong for trying to stop Dr. Olivieri from publishing critical research on its drug — which makes you wonder why she wrote the book, since it’s the only real issue in the Olivieri case. Then she suggests the doc is responsible for deaths since that same drug is not widely used here, though she adds that regulators make those decisions, not Dr. Olivieri.

“More troubling still” (than death!), says Maclean’s, is an “unflattering portrait” of “interactions with colleagues.” Right. As if you couldn’t tell tattle about people at Maclean’s or Random House, the book’s publisher. The book relies mainly “on unnamed sources and anonymous quotes” because people “were worried about being sued.” Why didn’t they just say: Don’t quote me, I may be lying. At the end, Maclean’s notes that Dr. Olivieri won “substantial legal settlements” from her hospital and university, and was “vindicated” by inquiries at hospital, university and professional levels. So you imply scuzzy things you can’t prove, then take them back so you can claim you didn’t say them. And end with the useful thought that whistle-blowers shouldn’t be put “on a pedestal.”

I consider Nancy Olivieri a friend, and was bothered by the charge that she neglected patients to pursue her cause. I don’t know her patients, but I know people who have sought her medical advice. She dropped everything (which was a lot to drop) to get help. I’ve heard her speak soulfully and anxiously about patients and say that what gave life some meaning during the mauling she took in the corridors of power (hospitals, courts, universities, media) was her work with them and with impoverished thalessemia victims she often travels to Sri Lanka for. Oh, and if writing about a friend seems like a conflict — I’ve argued publicly with far closer ones than Nancy Olivieri. Friendships survive not because you agree but in spite of your disagreements.

So what is Nancy Olivieri if not a whistle-blower? I’d say she is a significant figure in a major issue of our age: globalization. That is a vague term for a specific phenomenon. Twenty years ago, great global corporations set out to reduce public, democratic controls so they could pursue growth and profit unimpeded. For that reason, deregulation and privatization were central to their agenda, along with huge tax cuts, which deprived governments of the resources to act. In return, companies said they would regulate themselves, no problem. Big Pharma, as drug companies are known, was a key player.

Nancy Olivieri got involved in this struggle, first by trying to play by the new (non-)rules, then by exposing them. She became a sort of global poster girl for it. John le Carré based a character on her. That opposition grew into protests in Seattle, Quebec City and elsewhere and won its biggest victory by defeating the Multilateral Agreement on Investment in 1998. Lately, the conflict has been overshadowed by 9/11, but it persists. Just this year, some of Dr. Olivieri’s tireless efforts bore fruit.

Now look at that Maclean’s cover. The Olivieri article is there, but the main story is The Real Stephen Harper: how he’s not icy or inflexible, “up close.” What did Stephen Harper find “disgraceful” enough last week to force an election over? Cancelling corporate tax cuts in favour of public programs like housing. He can live with gay marriage and abortion, but government action drives him wild. His heart is with globalization and the corporate agenda. He considers Canada a “second-tier socialist country.” Halvai, some of us might say in Hebrew: If only.

He is a fellow traveller with Ken Whyte, Maclean’s new editor, formerly of Conrad Black’s National Post. What is Nancy Olivieri doing on that cover? She is the foe, their enemy needs a face. Welcome to the new era at Maclean’s. La lutte, as they say, continue.

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Rick Salutin

Rick Salutin is a Canadian novelist, playwright and critic. He is a strong advocate of left wing causes and writes a regular column in the Toronto Star.