Mr. Speaker, I am on my feet again on the hepatitis C issue. It is an issue that simply will not go away. Obviously the reason it will not go away is because the government has failed to deal with it in a manner that would be acceptable to Canadian people.
What I am speaking of is the settlement with our hepatitis C victims. Not one nickel of compensation has been received by the victims. It is hard to believe. It has been going on two years since the settlement was reached and not one victim has received a nickel. The only people who have received compensation are the lawyers for the federal government. I know members find that hard to believe, but only the lawyers for the federal government have received payment. My question to the minister a number of weeks ago was why? Why can the government not resolve this issue?
One of the parallels I drew that day is that the province of Ontario has again compensated those victims left outside the package. The package the federal government announced leaves out the victims prior to 1986 and after 1991. The premier of Ontario, although he comes under criticism from the House from time to time, had the courage to stand up and say, “Listen, we are going to compensate those victims regardless of when they became infected. They deserve compensation”.
The Liberal government opposite has not compensated one victim. The only people who have received compensation from the Liberal government are the lawyers representing the federal government in the suit.
We in the Progressive Conservative Party are asking the government to move on this issue and compensate the victims. Canadians want them to be compensated because they truly are victims. We want some action on the part of the federal government. The issue has dragged on now for a number of years. It has been two years since the compensation scheme was announced. People are still on the outside looking in. They need help. We want action. Will the government move on this issue?