The irony is, indeed, complete.

Via Impolitical, we have the money quote from The Star:

Keen also said she finds it ironic that Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt and the government are downplaying the shutdown by saying isotopes are available elsewhere and are not always necessary anyway. In contrast, the 2007 was described as a life-or-death situation, which is why Parliament voted to overrule her decision.

"The irony is complete," she said.

And now, we wait for the Blogging Tories to post incredibly deranged and deluded crap about this. Give it time ... you know it's coming.

AND AWAY WE GO: Exhibit A.

OH, THIS IS PRECIOUS. Let's recap The Politic's Charles Anthony's pissing and whining:

There is hope but this facility stunted technological growth. I offer the Chalk River nuclear facility — a Crown corporation — as an example of the failure of government intervention monopolizing the market place. We do not need an inquiry to figure this out.

The reflexive socialists often attack free market economics by claiming that it will invariably produce monopolies that will raise prices and restrict supply. Currently, that is exactly what government has fostered in the medical market. Blaming Stephen Harper and the Conservatives is short-sighted and displays a profound ignorance of industrial economics.

And yet, via Politics for the People and a little Googling, we learn:

OTTAWA - Clinics are paying two to three times more for medical isotopes after a supplier abruptly hiked its prices this month - just before the Chalk River reactor shut down and caused an isotope shortage.

Doctors fear the higher costs may force some clinics to delay tests used to detect cancer and heart ailments, lay off staff or even close.

Lantheus Medical Imaging, a Massachusetts-based company that supplies clinics with 'generators' used in medical imaging, notified its customers last week of the price increase.

OK, and why the sudden price hike?

Earlier Wednesday, a spokesman for AECL also confirmed that MDS Nordion is Lantheus's only supplier of isotopes. "That would be MDS," Dale Coffin said.

Coffin also confirmed that AECL has not raised the price of the isotopes it supplies to MDS Nordion.

So, if I read this correctly, Lantheus isn't paying any more now for its isotopes, but has arbitrarily decided to jack up the price. There's your free market in action, Charles. Now, how about you shut the fuck up? Seriously.