Mr. Speaker, the Deputy Prime Minister says that there has been no criticism levelled at the provincial governments. It is funny that a federal member of parliament, facing the federal government that has the primary responsibility for being the policemen of the blood system, would criticize someone else.
The federal government has $800 million in the compensation package compared to $300 million from the provinces. Let me make very clear that the federal government is the main culprit in this issue. It deserves the main criticism in this issue.
I have a quote from Krever and this says it plainer than I could concerning the federal bureau of biologic:
During the 1980s, the bureau did not decide independently whether to use its authority to require that measures be taken to reduce the risk of non-A, non-B hepatitis. Instead, it relied heavily on information given to it by the Red Cross—
The very organization it was supposed to regulate.
That is why the federal government is being so criticized for this foolish decision.