Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you also to our officials and to the minister for coming today.
I think it's a positive development that they're here for the opioid study. It's a very terrible thing that's happening in our country.
Thank you to the government for making it a priority to address this. However, Minister, as you know, I've asked you three times in the House about thalidomide. We have a December 9 notice of motion by Rachael Harder—I'm subbing in for her today—and that motion is:
That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the Committee immediately undertake a study on thalidomide that: (a) focuses on the forgotten survivors of thalidomide; and (b) examines the effectiveness of the 2015 Thalidomide Survivors Contribution Program.
Mr. Chairman, that motion is in order, and I'm now going to speak to it.
I'm happy to speak to this motion that is essentially asking the committee to examine the effectiveness of the thalidomide survivors program. From the evidence that I've seen, I believe that at the end of the study, the committee will be calling for fair treatment of, and compensation for, the forgotten thalidomide survivors who cannot produce paperwork or witnesses to prove that their mothers took thalidomide. I believe that with the study the committee will find that these people need to be given a personal interview by a qualified professional and then given whatever tests are required to prove that their physical disabilities are not caused by a genetic anomaly.
I'm aware that there is no test that can prove thalidomide use by their mothers. However, the physical evidence they all display, and genetic testing to prove that it isn't something else, can go a long way to drawing the conclusion that thalidomide is the cause of their disabilities.
I believe that as a result of the study, this committee will recommend that Crawford victim services, the company making the decisions about whether or not to compensate these survivors, try to include people in the compensation package, not exclude them—which I believe, from the evidence I have seen, is their current practice.
On several occasions in the House I have asked the Minister of Health to address this situation, and she has been asked the same question by the media. She continues to refuse to act compassionately for these survivors, so I'm asking this committee to use its independence to undertake a study to determine what can be done to help these folks.
On October 25 a number of the forgotten survivors were here in Ottawa as my guests to address the media about the unfairness of the current compensation process. I want to quote extensively from remarks that were given by Mr. Terry Bolton, who is here in the committee room today, but before I do that, I want to note that Mr. Bolton lives in my community of Gananoque, Ontario, and I have known him since we were both young children.
To see Mr. Bolton, if you know anything at all about thalidomide, you can clearly see that he is a victim, or survivor, of the drug. That is the first thought that crosses your mind when viewing his physical condition. He has phocomelia—from the Greek words phoke, meaning “seal”, and melos, meaning “limb”—in which the hands or feet, or both, start immediately from the main joint, like the flippers of a seal. This is the limb malformation most traditionally associated with thalidomide. He also has an extra thumb that was amputated at birth, another dead giveaway marker of thalidomide.
Allow me to tell his story in his own words.
He said:
In 2012, I found out that my Mom had taken “the morning sickness” drug: Thalidomide, while pregnant [with] me in 1962. I confirmed this with her two surviving sisters. Up until then I had been led to believe that I was a “gift” from God and made “special”.
I set about to educate myself on everything related to Thalidomide. Upon doing research I discovered that my deformities and internal organ problems were “side-effects” caused by Thalidomide.
I had numerous operations as a child. My intestines were bleeding from somewhere, but they never really determined where “exactly”, but proceeded to remove my appendix as well as my Meckel's diverticulum.
My internal ear organ on the left side is missing parts resulting in tone-deafness since birth. I'm now considered legally deaf in both ears.
I was also born with a left deformed arm and hand and with an extra thumb on my right hand. This was surgically removed at birth.
I was also born with very deformed toes on both feet, which resulted in surgery to remove a “double bone” in one of my toes.
I also had heart surgery to correct what is referred to as Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. Basically my heart has an extra valve that was causing it to do more work than needed.
This was believed to be a contributing factor in the 40% mortality rate of Thalidomide babies.
I got lucky and lived with my “murmur” for 49 years.
I tried diligently to obtain my birth records and medical records as requested by Crawford.
I remember my orthopedic Surgeon, Dr. John Hazlett telling me as a child of 8 or 9 that “We have enough x-rays of you to make 6 complete skeletons”.
Well according to my birth Hospital, all records and x-rays have been destroyed due to their “retention policy”.
I researched to find out there was a fire in their records building between 1975-79.
There were also two fires in my hometown of Gananoque that destroyed the Pharmacy that my parents used, as well as my Family Doctor's Office.
I believe [every one of the forgotten survivors] has, as well as the other survivors', similar stories to tell.
This now comes down to why we are here. We, Canada's Forgotten Thalidomide Survivors wish to be recognized and compensated for the tragic mistake the Canadian Government made in 1959 when they allowed Thalidomide into OUR country.
It's time to right a very big wrong.
That is the end of his remarks, and he said that on October 25.
Now, living in Gananoque, I can verify personally that the fires that he mentioned in his presentation occurred as he stated. I do remember both of those fires that happened when I was a teenager. I talked with each and every one of those victims who came here to Ottawa who were here on October 25, and their stories are truly heartbreaking. They have all suffered all of their lives because of their exposure to thalidomide, and now they are being denied even the decency of an in-person interview to see if they have the effects of thalidomide. They've all had extreme health issues, medical issues that continue to this day. These issues have required hospital stays and operations. Many suffered from abuse and cruelty from other kids.
Many, like Mr. Bolton, have taken as much training as possible, but have been unable to work or even find employment. One woman, featured on a recent W5 report about the forgotten survivors who have survived a lifetime of rejection, lives alone in the backwoods of British Columbia.
As I said, their stories are heartbreaking. The thing that really bothers me—