Mr. Speaker, we are waiting and hoping today for the federal, provincial and territorial health ministers to do the right thing, to decide today to compensate all victims of hepatitis C. It has been a long, hard struggle for the victims of this failure of the blood system.
We must do everything in our power to ensure that such a tragedy does not recur by implementing the recommendations of the Krever report. The report cited a lack of resources at the health protection branch, a lack of clear authority and delays in responding to potential problems.
Justice Krever talked about the need for Canadian self-sufficiency for blood, the need to retain control of our own standards and decision making in the course of harmonization with other countries, and to retain strong federal regulatory authority. These lessons can be applied to many areas in the whole health protection area.
As we wait to hear the outcome of the federal-provincial ministers' meeting, let us recommit ourselves to co-operative federalism. Let us show solidarity for the victims of the tainted blood tragedy. Let us learn those lessons in order to prevent future tragedy.