Mr. Speaker, what I was about to point out when the parliamentary secretary intervened with his bogus point of order was that when he sat as vice chair on a special subcommittee he was quite effusive on the fact that all victims of HIV, regardless of when they contracted the disease, should be compensated. Now he stands in his place today with a completely different story because the victims happen to have hepatitis C. If that is not hypocrisy I do not know what is.
Sitting in this Chamber and listening to the debate today, I have heard about all the legal and bureaucratic answers that I care to. It is at times like this that I am convinced there are far too many lawyers sitting on the other side, too many lawyers concerned about the many legalities, concerned about setting a dangerous precedent, concerned about the dollars and cents. They are worried about the bottom line rather than being willing to do what is right, because this is the right thing to do. This government damn well knows it.
Because I am splitting my time with my hon. colleague from Saanich—Gulf Islands, I do not have a lot of time left for my presentation today. However, in the time I have left I would like to read into the record just one of the many letters that I have received as the member of parliament for Prince George—Peace River. I believe that this particular letter speaks for the tens of thousands of innocent hepatitis C victims whose only fault was that of trust. They trusted that the blood system in Canada was safe.
This letter was written on April 21 of this year. It reads:
Mr. Hill,
I am writing to express my appreciate for the article you wrote for the Alaska Highway News on April 20, 1998 titled “Grits' health care policies a bloody disgrace”.
On February 26, 1997, I found out that I was infected with Hepatitis C from blood received after the birth of my son on September 27, 1982.
My life has not been the same since. Each day is a challenge, dealing with extreme pain, exhaustive fatigue, constant medications and the frustration of being forced to change my life because I can no longer live the active lifestyle I enjoyed.
Besides the physical manifestations of Hepatitis C, many people are unaware of the emotional havoc such an illness wreaks. It has been a constant strain on relationships with my family and friends. I daily face my partner's pain and frustration at watching my physical health deteriorate and my emotional battle with the frustration of feeling so angry and helpless over my lack of control of how this disease is affecting my life.
Last October, I had to send my 15 year old son to live with his father in Vancouver because I am concerned about him having time to adjust to his new living situation while I am still alive. I have talked to him about the pride and joy I felt at his birth but it breaks my heart to still see him feeling guilty, like his birth is causing my death. My 18 year old daughter has moved back in with me to help provide physical and emotional support.
My mother, who lives in Manitoba, can't speak to me on the telephone without crying. Her faith and prayers have been an inspiration to me. My brother died of cancer on October 26, 1997. I held his hand as he died, him promising to be there to meet me on the other side soon. I miss the close relationships I had with my sisters. They have stopped confiding in me because they feel I can't handle any more “on my plate”.
I have learned that learning you have Hepatitis C is difficult for many others to handle. I am blessed with supportive close friends but other friends and acquaintances don't call any more. I am sure you are quite aware of how fast “word of mouth” travels in a community the size of ours. I also realize that many people are ignorant and afraid of Hepatitis C and its transmission. But that isn't much consolation for the pain of feeling like a “leper”, when others in the community cross the street to avoid being close to you or put themselves between you and their children.
All that is enough, without the feelings of being a burden to family, worrying about how I can financially manage yet another trip to Vancouver for health care, how my children will manage their further education without my support and the constant sense of frustration at no longer being able to work, for the financial and self-esteem benefits of feeling like a contributing member of society.
In the Peace River area, we also have to contend with the expenses of travelling to major centres for medical care. I am trying to see the bright side of that, by knowing I can see my son when I have to travel to Vancouver for medical care. My limited income because of my inability to work and the expenses of my travel have prevented me from being able to pay for his travel to visit Fort St. John during his Christmas holidays and Spring Break. I had no choice in this situation. I have joined a class action lawsuit because I have been forced into a situation of having to fight for compensation.
I want to also express my sincere appreciation of your speaking up for my compensation rights when I feel my weakest.
If you wish to truly represent me in Ottawa, please continue to push for compensation for ALL Hepatitis C victims.
And if you have a chance to speak to [the Health Minister], please ask him to explain to my children how come their mother's life is not considered as valuable as another's.
I talked to this young mother last night on the telephone from my home here in Ottawa and, while she agreed to let me read this letter because I felt so strongly about it, as it did express the views of so many, tens of thousands of victims, she did ask that her name be kept confidential out of respect for the privacy of her children.
I know my two constituency assistants in Fort St. John are watching this debate today. Every day it seems they hear from people like the author of this letter, innocent victims who phone, fax, e-mail and drop by my constituency office. There is nothing that they nor I can do to really help these victims. They certainly lend a sympathetic ear and I try to be the voice of those victims in Ottawa. Other than that there is precious little we can do to ease the suffering.
The reality is that it is up to the people on the other side of this House to do something to ease that suffering. It is up to the health minister and the Prime Minister. When the vote comes down on this motion to compensate all the victims that have received this terrible disease through tainted blood, it is up to the backbench Liberals to break ranks and vote with their conscience and with their heart. For God's sake vote for these victims.