Mr. Speaker, the ministers of health of Canada looked at this situation, made a difficult decision and said that the principle of who should be paid cash or compensation should be determined by who was infected at a time when it was avoidable, if we had acted as we should have.
Every commentator who knows about this chronology, who looked at it, has said that the beginning of 1986 was the time when we could have taken steps to avoid the infection. Before that it was a risk in the system, like all the other risks people face. That is what sets the period apart.
In answer to the member's question—