Steven Fletcher

[Supply, November 23rd, 2004]

Mr. Chair, while I am pleased the minister admits that the department has not been implementing the Auditor General's recommendations, I can only assume it is because the Liberals do not have the political will to protect taxpayers' dollars and they are fine with government waste.

I would like to move on to the issue with hepatitis C. Yesterday I was on CTV with one of the minister's colleagues, the parliamentary secretary. In the conversation, the parliamentary secretary explained that it took quite some time and quite a bit of convincing for the minister to get cabinet to agree with the hepatitis C compensation, or at least agree to look at it. Can the minister confirm that?

[Supply, November 23rd, 2004]

Mr. Chair, I understood that the Auditor General had said that the issues of privacy did not necessarily affect her recommendations. Why has the government refused to implement the recommendations from the Auditor General twice or three times before? It seems like we have just heard more stalling tactics as we move forward. It is just shameful.

[Supply, November 23rd, 2004]

Mr. Chair, the bottom line is that the minister and the Government of Canada have filed against the plaintiff who is suing big tobacco, therefore, the government is on big tobacco's side.

I would like to shift gears if I may. Today the Auditor General released a report indicating that the federal government had collectively overpaid approximately $17 million for drugs used to treat stomach ulcers. There has been a huge overcharge in the dispensing of drugs. Why has the Department of Health done nothing after it had already been warned three times about this? No action had been taken. Why is that?

[Supply, November 23rd, 2004]

Mr. Chair, I would ask the minister to keep his answer to approximately the length of my question.

The bottom line, if I understand the minister, is that the government is siding with big tobacco and is basically going against the plaintiff. Is that not the bottom line?

[Supply, November 23rd, 2004]

Mr. Chair, when the hon. minister was Premier of British Columbia, his government favoured a lawsuit against big tobacco dealing with the issue of light and mild labelling.

As Minister of Health, the same minister and his government have taken the side of big tobacco on this very same issue in the courts. I wonder if the minister can explain this hypocrisy?

[Supply, November 23rd, 2004]

Mr. Chair, I would like to thank the minister for coming out this evening. We have some very important issues that we would like to raise. My first question for the minister is, when you were Premier of British Columbia, you favoured--

[Health, November 23rd, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, those are hollow words. There is nothing that the minister can say to take back all the lives lost, and the suffering the victims of tainted blood have endured over the last six years. This scandal is a perfect example of the number one Liberal Party policy: politics before people. Liberals care more about their political futures than about people suffering with hepatitis C from tainted blood.

When will the minister, on behalf of the Liberal Party, apologize to the victims? Do the right thing and apologize.

[Health, November 23rd, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, the government has no compassion. Apparently it takes a minority parliament for the Liberals to even think about changing their policies. It would not have taken us six years to compensate the victims of hepatitis C due to government negligence.

The minister said yesterday that opening the discussions was the right and responsible thing to do. Why was it not the right and responsible thing to do six years ago? Why, after punishing the tainted blood victims for six years, has the government decided to cave in and do the right thing now?

[Health, November 22nd, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, that is an astounding response after the government has, time and time again, delayed and filibustered compensation.

The government has denied hepatitis C victims for six years. Hundreds of people have died and many families have been destroyed.

Will the government apologize for six years of unfairness to hepatitis C victims?

[Health, November 22nd, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, six years ago the Liberal government voted against an opposition motion to compensate all the victims of hepatitis C. For six years these victims were left to fend for themselves while the government racked up huge profits from the interest on the hepatitis C compensation fund.

Finally it appears that the government is preparing to cave in and do the right thing.

Why did it take so long? Why have the Liberals opposed fairness and compensation for the hepatitis C victims for so long?