Mr. Speaker, it is really important to continue the debate on this issue. It seems we have not yet been able to change the government's mind on this and we hope to continue to raise the issue until we have it convinced it is wrong, that it is dividing Canadians into different groups on the basis that the day before yesterday some contracted hepatitis C and some did today and so they do not qualify for help.
In 1993 the federal government commissioned an enquiry to examine what happened, to look into the regulation, management and operation of the blood system. It issued a report and made some recommendations, among them that there should be compensation paid to those who suffered as a result of it. They are suffering. They are suffering a lot.
They have not come to Ottawa for a holiday. There is no place to take a holiday right now. They are here because they are hurting.
It is not our rhetoric that matters. It will not betray us for what we are. What betrays us is our actions. High flown words and intentions do not do anything. It is our actions that speak loudly.
The Minister of Health said: “We Liberals feel deep sympathy for those who were infected prior to January 1, 1986”. That gets them nothing. They cannot take that to the bank. They cannot live it in health. They cannot work because somebody felt sorry for them. They cannot put their children through university. Their wife, who may end up being an early widow, that is not any help to her. It is not going to help them to and from hospitals and all the expenses. This makes me sick.
Eighty-seven per cent of Canadians want hepatitis C victims to be compensated for loss of health, livelihood, years of life, enjoyment and productivity. Canadians know what is right. Over there they do not know what is right.
What do they get from the Liberal government? Back alley brutality. I think it needs to be made clear just what constitutes the government in this country. When I came here as a rookie there were seminars held for rookie members of parliament. What did they say? In Canada we have the government within the parliament and particularly the government is drawn from the party with the most members elected. This time it was the Liberals. The way they are going it will be the last time.
I think it would be a real good idea if we painted all those chairs another colour so that those members of the governing party who are not members of the government would be able to see who they are and see what their relation is in policy development in their party. That way everybody would know. Everybody would be on the same line.
I want to draw a couple of parallels since our Minister of Health was in the previous parliament minister of justice. When gun control legislation came up, what did he do? He said it is the right thing to do. They set aside money for it. They have alienated half the country. There is a constitutional challenge on it. The government forged ahead in the face of all that opposition. It said $85 million. Now it is up in the region of $600 million. This has not stopped the government one bit from forging ahead with its plan to implement gun control. It is the reason the Liberals lost western Canada. It is the reason that the oppositions combined almost equal the government.
They acted on principle and money was no object. But now when it comes to hepatitis C and people have been hurt and they are going to be for life disadvantaged because of their illness, what is the response? Now it is political consideration. We have all the provinces on board. But the government does not have the people of Canada on board.
Yes, it has the provincial health ministers in line just as it is trying to line up its backbench supporters, but I bet a number of them will vote for this.
If the government wants to make this a vote of non-confidence that would certainly please us, but it is not to be a motion of non-confidence. As a previous member said, it is a motion to move the government to action. That is what we want to see.
Earlier when the Liberals were the government they compensated people who had the wrong kind of insulation in their homes because it might injure their health. there was a statistical possibility that it may have injured people's health. But did they know it was a dangerous product when they proposed that it be put in people's houses? Probably not. Did it matter? No. They removed the insulation and compensated homeowners for what was happening.
To get back to my Bill C-68 comparison, the gun control legislation applies not to criminals but to every Canadian who owns a gun. But here the government is saying that is too much to apply a law to those people who have been hurt by tainted blood products. That is all we are asking. Target this thing. The government does not have to pay everybody for everything. We want to see some compassion. There are compelling arguments for it and they have been made time and time again today.
We heard bogus arguments raised against it like tainted insulin, as if lack of having treatment was equivalent to mistreatment. That does not hold water. I cannot understand where the Liberals are going. As I said, they are not under a vote of non-confidence here but they are losing the confidence of the Canadian people. They bring dishonour on this House if they enforce party discipline to defeat this supply day motion. I will be ashamed to be associated with this House if it fails.
I call on members from the governing party to join with the opposition members in doing the right thing and bring honour to this House by supporting the supply day motion next Tuesday.
I trust there will be a groundswell of support, that people will be phoning constituency offices across this country to show their support. I trust that the ministers' fax lines and e-mails will be loaded by Canadians letting them know, that their phone lines will be jammed and their mailmen will walk in like Santa Claus dumping mail on their office floors. That is what we want to see happen across this country between now and next Tuesday.