Debates of March 30th, 2001

Financial Consumer Agency Of Canada Act

[Paul Crête, Bloc, Kamouraska—Rivière-Du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Madam Speaker, the Desjardins movement is indeed a very good example of how to provide adequate services to people, through co-op or credit unions, as they exist in other regions of Canada.

I would invite the hon. member to take a look at the relevant legislation prepared by the Quebec National Assembly. For years now, this legislation has allowed the Desjardins movement to develop, to become increasingly competitive and to face the bank network; thus helping to create a better balance between the financial interests that govern the banking world and the more social or personnel interests of community groups.

For us, the Desjardins movement is a good policy insurance. Again, the hon. member should take a look at the legislation, and he should also meet officials from Desjardins to help them improve their contacts with co-operatives in the other provinces, so that all Canadians can benefit.

[Ken Epp, Canadian Alliance, Elk Island, AB]

Madam Speaker, I am both pleased and somewhat distressed to speak on the bill today. The reason I am distressed is that after a long week of sleep deprivation I am not my usual bubbly self. I am struggling with a sore throat and other things. I feel sorry for myself and I am sure the Speaker does too.

Today we are dealing with Bill C-8. I have estimated that to read the bill would take 15 hours. If one were to read it with meaning, in other words read it to understand what is going on and actually verify some of its claims, it would take many more hours.

It is a huge undertaking for us today to go through Bill C-8, an act to establish the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada. The bill would basically set up the way financial institutions in the country are run.

On balance I support the bill, although I definitely have concerns. Ever since 1992 when the then Conservative government changed the rules for banks, there has been a need for revisions and for our banking sector to, if I can use the phrase, get with the times and be able to compete in the international market.

In a sense the bill is much overdue. The government moved very slowly in that regard. To make matters worse, in June 2000, not quite a year ago, the government introduced Bill C-38 in first reading. The bill then sat there and the government basically did nothing about it. It did not call for a debate on the bill in the House. It was a very slow process.

Then, to our chagrin, there was a totally unnecessary election in the fall which caused a great number of bills to drop off the order paper. The bills were enveloped into nothingness with the call of the election. The election was called for only one purpose, and that was a political purpose. The business of the country and helping our financial institutions with a new bill took a secondary position to the Prime Minister's overriding goal of getting yet another mandate. That seems to be so important to the Liberals, hanging on to power.

In retrospect we see that it was a good strategy, politically speaking. It is very much in keeping with a cartoon I saw in which the Prime Minister is shown reading a newspaper that says “Liberals have overwhelming third majority government”. The Prime Minister is saying to the people reading the cartoon “That is the best $200 million of your money that I ever spent”.

It is incredible that the government could drop all the business of the country and hold an unnecessary election one and a half years early, an election which cost the taxpayer $200 million and was conducted strictly and totally for political reasons. The Prime Minister wanted to win and did not care what it cost.

This bill along with many others was dropped and has now been resumed. It is interesting that Bill C-38 became with a few technical changes Bill C-8. If I wanted to reluctantly compliment the government I would thank it for bringing the bill back to the House with some urgency and allowing us to debate the issues in it.

Previous speakers, including my colleague from Prince George—Bulkley Valley, have spent quite a bit of time talking about the structure that is involved. It comes under the broad topic of having a bank we can trust. I really think that is important.

From my life experience and from having been on the finance committee studying this bill and other issues, it is my view that Canada is richly blessed with a financial system that is strong and trustworthy in the big picture.

In other words, we do not have a great deal of fear about our banks collapsing or about financial transactions not being completed in a timely fashion. As a matter of fact, and I do not believe this should be addressed in legislation, we should have a website where people can post their complaints about the banks for everyone in the country to see, unfiltered by the press. That would give huge accountability to the banks.

As a member of parliament I receive complaints, not many but some, about the banks. It says something about our post office that these days I receive more complaints about the banks than about the post office. Neither type of complaint is huge in number, although some are of significance to the people who visit their members of parliament on an issue. However by and large our banks are trustworthy and we can count on them.

We have a banking system in which we can conduct financial transactions and know that everything will work clickety-clickety-click. It is all very smooth. It is a well structured organization. That is due to the combined efforts of the Bank of Canada, which has been well run during the last number of years, and the individual banks that have taken their responsibilities very seriously.

I have a question for the banks if any of them happen to be listening. If I get a cash advance on a Friday it is posted within two seconds, but if I make a payment on that same advance I do not get the credit until the next banking day. Sometimes it takes two days if it is a weekend. I wonder why that is.

The banks should be consistent. If I bring a cheque to the bank I know it has the capability of cashing it and doing the electronic transaction immediately.—

[The Acting Speaker (Ms. Bakopanos)]

The hon. member will have 11 and a half minutes when we resume debate on the bill.

It being 1.30 p.m., the House will now proceed to the consideration of Private Members' Business as listed on today's order paper.

Hepatitis Awareness Month Act

[Peter Stoffer, NDP, Sackville—Musquodoboit Valley—Eastern Shore, NS]

moved that Bill C-243, an act to provide for a Hepatitis Awareness Month, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Madam Speaker, it gives me great pleasure after three and a half years of researching, studying and working with activists to finally bring the bill for debate before the House of Commons.

I wish to thank the following people for their tireless efforts in promoting hepatitis awareness throughout Canada and the world. Mr. Bruce DeVenne and Mr. Neil van Deusen of Nova Scotia have been tireless in their efforts to bring an understanding of the effects of the disease to parliamentarians and to all Canadians. I also thank Mr. Joey Haché from Ottawa who is one of the bravest young men I have ever met and the House of Commons has ever met. Joey and his father, Joe Haché, are with us today and we thank them very much for coming.

Joey Haché has been very effective in raising the profile of hepatitis throughout the country on his bicycle tour across Canada. He has sent numerous e-mails and faxes to high schools and school groups advising children about the terrible effects of hepatitis and how it can be prevented. The House and the country owe young Joey a debt of gratitude.

I also thank the hon. Pat Binns, premier of Prince Edward Island. Through the efforts of young Joey Haché and myself to bring this issue to the attention of Mr. Binns, he and the legislature, without further ado, moved an enactment to make the month of May hepatitis awareness month in P.E.I. We are now trying to do that in the entire country.

We have breast cancer month, cancer awareness month and various months that are designated to bring awareness to the population as a whole. Hepatitis is a disease that is serious enough that parliamentarians at all levels and of all political stripes should do what they can to raise its awareness so that people will not be inflicted with it as they go through life.

I will now give more information about hepatitis. There are seven forms of hepatitis in the world today. Canada's first nations are at the highest risk of contracting hepatitis either through blood contact, sexual contact or, what is most frightening, drinking water.

Everyone knows what happened in Walkerton. Had the people of Walkerton been aware that they may contract hepatitis through their drinking water, the fear would have been even greater. Everyone is concerned about contracting hepatitis from drinking water, from sexual contact or from blood contact. Seven different forms of hepatitis can be contracted through these means. It is estimated that almost half a billion people in the world today may have one form of hepatitis or another.

When I began the debate on hepatitis three and a half years ago, my neighbour came over and told me that she had hepatitis. When I lived in the Yukon, some personal friends of mine called me and said that they had hepatitis. It makes me wonder how many other people in Canada have it?

It is estimated that over 700,000 Canadians are inflicted with one form of hepatitis or another. It is one of the most widely spread diseases and yet it is very rarely debated or talked about, except for hepatitis C which has been discussed at great length, not only in parliament but throughout the country.

However there are six other forms of hepatitis. What is frightening is the number of people who have hepatitis. There are approximately 50,000 people who are unaware that they have hepatitis. Some people find out when they go to their doctor for a blood check or medical treatment. It is very frightening that over 50,000 Canadians are unaware that they may have hepatitis.

We are not asking the government for any money or to stop all the business of the nation and just concentrate on this one issue. We are asking to make the month of May hepatitis awareness month and proclaim it through the House of Commons. That is not very difficult. The reason is that it is only through education and awareness that the disease will stop being spread as easily as it is now.

In all the things we do in life, awareness of a particular disease and education about the particular disease are extremely beneficial to unsuspecting people throughout Canada and the world. There are about six billion people on the planet and half a billion of them have one form of hepatitis or another. It is spreading because many people are basically ignorant of the disease itself.

It is extremely frightening. Some people find their daily lives hardened by this terrible disease, hepatitis C or the other forms. They really have to struggle. I consider myself extremely healthy. By the grace of God, I am very lucky because I do not have a disease like that. Nor do any of my family members. However I cannot help thinking about the over 700,000 Canadians who do.

In the previous parliament I passed around the bill and received 100 signatures in one day. I had over 60 members on the government side sign the bill willingly because they knew people who have hepatitis in their ridings. The official opposition signed it willingly, as well as the Bloc, the Conservatives and ourselves.

It was not a political motive. We are not discussing this issue because of politics. We are discussing it so that all parliamentarians can say to the nation that we recognize hepatitis is a terrible disease and thus will make the month of May hepatitis awareness month, just the same way we do with breast cancer month in October.

There is not a person in the House, either elected or working, who is not proud to wear the pink ribbon for breast cancer. We all know some women and we all have a mother in our lives. Some of us are fortunate to be married to a lovely woman like I am. I have two beautiful daughters and I am very concerned about them ever getting breast cancer, so the attention we pay to it is very important.

Another concern out there is hepatitis, and that is why I bring it forward. Many people over the years have contacted me through the e-mail system or knocked on my door and said that they have hepatitis. They ask me what they can do to promote awareness and education in terms of this terrible disease. I tell them to contact their members of parliament and their members of the legislature or house of assembly, wherever the case may be. I ask them to tell their counsellors, neighbours, doctors or anyone they speak to in order to get the idea across that hepatitis can be easily transmitted through blood, sexual contact or drinking water. Everybody should know about the effects of this terrible disease. Maybe then we can stop it from spreading.

It is too late for the over 700,000 Canadians who have it now. It will be too late for the over 50,000 Canadians who do not suspect they have it. However through awareness and education we can eradicate this disease. I have been an optimistic person all my life and we have the technology to help eradicate this disease. Several drugs companies have contacted me and said that they would like to help to assist in eradicating this disease. They would like to disseminate promotional materials throughout the country

I ask the government to assist in terms of proclaiming the month of May hepatitis awareness month. If we do that it will show Canadians that we recognize hepatitis is a terrible disease, especially after what happened yesterday. I am just as guilty as anyone for entering into the fray and for showing Canadians how silly parliamentarians can be sometimes. I apologize to my constituents and to the House for my own behaviour.

We have a chance to put that behind us and to move forward. We can say to those people who are inflicted with hepatitis that this House of parliament has a heart. It does care and we can proclaim the month of May hepatitis awareness month.

Unfortunately the bill is not votable as I have to wait my turn and it was not made votable. I welcome comments from fellow colleagues at the conclusion of my remarks and I hope to make the bill votable. I will be moving that motion at the end of the debate.

I thank colleagues who have come to me and discussed this issue with me, especially the former health critic for the Alliance who is extremely aware that this disease is very frightening. All members are aware of what we can do by educating people to be more aware of this terrible disease.

It was Mr. Bruce DeVenne of Lower Sackville, one of my constituents, who brought it to my attention. He came to me, not in a panic, a rush or condemning me or anyone else, but to educate me. I cannot thank him enough for that. Mr. DeVenne, Mr. van Deusen and Mr. Joe Haché have diplomatically shown me that there are ways we can work together to put political differences aside and move forward.

I even thank the hon. Mike Harris, premier of Ontario, who addressed this issue very quickly. I thank the other provincial premiers who addressed the issue as well, but we need to do more.

It is quite simple. If we can make the month of May hepatitis awareness month, then quite possibly we can eradicate disease in the near future. We have to think of the children because if we do this for them then we can give them a better life and a world free of diseases.

I know that sounds holistic and it may not happen. The government has been active in terms of financial contributions to the department of health. It has been working on one form of hepatitis, but we need to go a bit further and it does not cost any money.

All it takes is for members to stand and say that they support the bill and that they will make May hepatitis awareness month. Then we can tell Joe Haché, Neil van Deusen, Bruce DeVenne, their families and friends, and those 700,000 Canadians who have the disease that we recognize they have a terrible disease. We can tell them that education and awareness is the way to go and we as parliamentarians will do what we can to assist them in trying to eradicate this disease.

It has been over three and a half years since I first introduced the bill. Many members have signed the bill to make it votable and to move it forward. I will ask again at the end of the debate to make the bill votable.

I welcome remarks from my colleagues in this non-political debate. If we do this we will be doing a world of good for over 700,000 Canadians who are afflicted with hepatitis.

[Yvon Charbonneau, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Health]

Madam Speaker, I take this opportunity to speak about the important issue of hepatitis. I commend the hon. member for Sackville—Musquodoboit Valley—Eastern Shore for his efforts to declare the month of May hepatitis awareness month. I support the principle behind the bill notwithstanding that it has been deemed not votable. I am sure all members appreciate the value of various awareness months. All hon. members would agree that awareness months raise the profile of a particular issue and thus public education opportunities.

Greater awareness about hepatitis will help to create a compassionate and caring public environment for those infected or affected by this disease.

I agree entirely with the member who said that awareness months for different causes or illnesses are a very effective way of raising public awareness on those issues.

I would now like to talk about some particular aspects of hepatitis. Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, mostly caused by one of the five viruses called virus A, B, C, D and E.

It was noted that about 90% of acute hepatitis cases in Canada are caused by viruses A, B or C.

Hepatitis A can cause a liver inflammation, which can become serious but is mild in most cases and disappears fairly rapidly. This inflammation is propagated by contamination of hands, food and water. This is why the virus spreads more easily in areas where sanitary conditions are poor.

Unlike hepatitis A, hepatitis B is not spread by contaminated food or water. In Canada, as in western Europe and the U.S., the majority of infections are acquired during young adulthood by injection drug use and sexual activity.

Although acute hepatitis B continues to be an important clinical problem in Canada, the majority of acute cases will clear spontaneously. Chronic infection accounts for the greatest burden of disease. There are an estimated 250,000 persons who have chronic hepatitis B infection in Canada.

I would like to take the rest of my time to talk about hepatitis C and the initiatives taken by Health Canada to deal with this serious public health problem.

Hepatitis C is a virus that can be transmitted by blood; it infects the liver and can cause serious damage.

Although some people may experience symptoms such as fatigue and jaundice, many others have no symptoms following initial infection. The hepatitis C virus progresses slowly in the body. Symptoms can take 20 to 30 years to appear after initial infection.

Having said that, the federal government, specifically Health Canada, committed $50 million over five years in September 1998 to develop and design a prevention, support and research program for Canadians living with hepatitis C.

Moreover, over the next 20 years, the government will transfer $300 million to provincial and territorial governments so that they provide these people with the medical care they need. That financial assistance will ensure that no Canadian, wherever he or she may live, has to pay for the health care and treatment required.

The hepatitis C program encompasses support for health care and treatment. This component is aimed at increasing awareness about hepatitis C by providing a better understanding of this disease and the related risk factors.

Prevention and community support are also components of the prevention, support and research program for Canadians living with hepatitis C. The community support component includes dozens of programs, hundreds of initiatives aimed at supporting both a strong community response to the needs of persons infected or affected by hepatitis C and a substantial role for community organizations involved in the area.

Moreover, the program supports targeted projects aimed at preventing transmission of hepatitis C to people not currently infected, particularly those with a high risk level, especially injection drug users and young people, for whom risks are high.

This component has funded 27 research projects and 11 training and salary awards through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and has contributed toward the endowed research chair in liver diseases at the University of Manitoba health sciences centre foundation.

Health Canada already supports the Canadian Liver Foundation declaration of “Help Fight Liver Disease Month” for the month of March. Hepatitis C is one of the viruses that can cause liver disease, and Health Canada is a major sponsor of the first Canadian conference on hepatitis C which will be held in Montreal in May 2001.

The Canadian Hemophilia Society, the Hepatitis C Society of Canada, the Canadian Liver Foundation and other non-profit organizations all work in co-operation with Health Canada to ensure that this conference will be beneficial for Canadians.

In conclusion, members will no doubt have realized that the cause of hepatitis in general, and of hepatitis C in particular, is among the first priorities of Health Canada and of this government. The government devotes much attention to this disease and its various forms.

We wish to congratulate the member for Sackville—Musquodoboit Valley—Eastern Shore for having taken the initiative, over the years and again now, to promote this bill and hence this debate, which will have helped once again, at least I hope, to focus public attention on the risks of this terrible disease and on the damage it can cause.

Employment Insurance Act

[Don Boudria, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. An agreement could not be reached under the provisions of Standing Orders 78(1) and 78(2) with respect to the report stage and the third reading stage of Bill C-2, an act to amend the Employment Insurance Act and the Employment Insurance (Fishing) Regulations.

Under the provisions of Standing Order 78(3), I give notice that a minister of the crown will propose at the next sitting a motion to allot a specific number of days or hours for the consideration and disposal of proceedings at the said stages.

That being said, negotiations are still under way. There is at least the possibility of an agreement to a format. It is just that it was difficult to achieve it by the end of the day today. I do not want the House to think that negotiations are not continuing. They are, and even though I am now giving this notice I hope the negotiations will come to fruition at least as is possible.

Such being the case, I would not be moving the motion on Monday. Instead, I would be moving the motion that there has been a majority party agreement, which is still possible at least in theory. I wanted to notify members of that as well.

The House resumed consideration of the motion that Bill C-243, an act to provide for a Hepatitis Awareness Month, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Hepatitis Awareness Month Act

[Diane Ablonczy, Canadian Alliance, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to speak to Bill C-243. I appreciated the remarks of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health today. I hope his remarks mean that he will support my colleague's motion to make this item votable so that we can get on with the job of increasing awareness of hepatitis and all the problems it can cause. It is a preventable disease.

Awareness is very important if we are to get to prevention. As my colleague mentioned, we have with us today Joey Haché and his dad Joe. We acknowledge the work of members of the Hepatitis C Society, including the Hachés who have worked tirelessly and put a great deal of their own money, time and credibility into moving forward public awareness of this very important issue.

As has been pointed out, hepatitis is preventable, but prevention hinges on education and education brings awareness. That is why my colleague has been asking that May be designated hepatitis awareness month.

This is a non-partisan issue. It touches any family, any Canadian. We need to work together to try to address the situation.

Many people are not aware of the great deal of information about hepatitis. For example, there are a number of kinds of hepatitis: hepatitis A, hepatitis B and hepatitis C. We know about hepatitis C particularly, but a lot of people do not know that there are also hepatitis D, E, F and G.

It is interesting to note that chronic viral hepatitis in the United States, and we assume the figures are somewhat comparable here, represents the 10th most common cause of death. We are talking about a very big issue for Canadians and one which is appropriate for us to address in the House.

Hepatitis A can occur from contaminated water or foods being ingested. It can also be passed from person to person and from hand to mouth. That is why the kind of education that would take place in an awareness campaign such as my colleague is proposing would make people aware of these dangers.

Hepatitis A can also result from poor housing, poor water supplies and sewage treatment. These are major factors in periodic outbreaks of hepatitis A. Again that is why we need awareness. Then the public and legislators would be more aware of the need to deal with the issues of water safety, housing quality and poor sewage treatment.

If our citizens are not made aware of the ramifications of some of these issues and some of these public policy matters, they cannot apply the kinds of demand and pressure that provide checks and balances in our system.

According to the Minister of Health it is likely that considerably more than 100,000 Canadians have chronic hepatitis B. That is also a big issue for Canadians. We also have the situation with hepatitis C, which is passed on by the unsafe use of needles especially in drug use and to people who receive blood transfusions.

In 1990 donor screening for hepatitis C began. However, as we know and as we have talked about at some length in the House, there was a real problem with innocent Canadians becoming contaminated through blood transfusions that were not properly screened. Had we had the kind of awareness campaign my colleague is proposing, there would have been a great deal more knowledge that could have prevented some of the tragedies we have been talking about in the House and for which the government is being asked to compensate.

The Minister of Health also pointed out in his public documents that the cumulative burden of hepatitis C was large and its future societal and medical costs were likely to be high. This is another reason all of us should care very much about the hepatitis problem. The cost to society, to our families, and the demand on our medical system are high.

People with hepatitis C are at risk of consequences such as profound fatigue. At least half the people with hepatitis C experience profound fatigue. Some 25% experience sclerosis of the liver and liver cancer after having the disease for a number of years. Liver disease is related to hepatitis C infection and is the leading reason for liver transplantation in Canada. This is another costly procedure that could be prevented.

Then we have hepatitis D. Although 90% of active hepatitis cases are A, B and C, there are others. Hepatitis D tends to enhance the frequency and severity of the symptoms of hepatitis B.

Hepatitis E is often transmitted through contaminated water, and although it is not a huge problem here, it is both endemic and at times epidemic in the developing world.

More awareness can help us provide the assistance and the aid to people in other parts of the world, which could save a lot of lives and a lot of human misery. There is no specific treatment for hepatitis E. Again, prevention is very important. There is only a handful of hepatitis F cases, but again, it is a part of the disease of which we need to become more aware.

Hepatitis G is another uncertain phenomenon. There is uncertainty about risk factors. There is uncertainty about means of prevention. Its transmission through blood transfusion has been documented. We also know there is an increase in the prevalence of hepatitis G among groups that have frequent exposure to blood and blood products.

There are a number of aspects of this disease of which most people are not aware, and that awareness can be a key to prevention and to taking proper steps to deal with this disease and this issue.

In particular, we have had so many concerns about people with hepatitis C, which is the most common form of hepatitis. We need to be aware of the cost to society. When people have hepatitis C they have a very difficult time not only earning a living but getting the kind of insurance they need to protect their families, such as mortgage, life and medical insurance. It is very debilitating.

It also is something that is not properly provided for in our health care system. For example, in the Atlantic provinces there is a real shortage of trained medical personnel. There is money allocated for only one hepatologist in an area where there are 12,000 people infected with hepatitis, one doctor who has a specialty in a disease that affects 12,000 people in only one part of our country, the Atlantic provinces.

There are a number of other examples of funding shortages. If members of the public were aware of the need for better treatment and a better emphasis on prevention, these issues could be dealt with. I support my colleague's bill to declare May hepatitis awareness month and I urge the House to support it as well.

[Réal Ménard, Bloc, Hochelaga—Maisonneuve, QC]

Madam Speaker, I would like to start by congratulating my colleague on his excellent initiative. I understand this is the second time he has tried to raise our awareness of this issue through the means available to him, namely a private member's bill. Should he ask for unanimous consent for his bill to be deemed votable, therefore allowing the debate to continue in the House, he will have the support of the Bloc Quebecois.

I have been the Bloc Quebecois health critic for three years now. I was appointed during the Krever inquiry. I believe it should be recognized that Quebecers and Canadians were made aware of hepatitis C, among others, through the Krever inquiry.

Today we must reflect on the importance of an awareness month. It is not simply an academic exercise when we have an awareness week, month or day, or when parliamentarians want to declare an awareness month just as we have World AIDS Day. Earlier the parliamentary secretary reminded us that there is also a liver disease awareness day and a cancer awareness day.

It is not just academic, since an awareness day, we hope, will lead people in the various communities in Quebec and Canada not only to discover the various forms of hepatitis but to work together to support those who have the disease.

It has been pointed out that there are various types of it. I think we are more familiar with hepatitis C, which is transmitted by body fluids, by the blood. We are more familiar with hepatitis C, of course, because of what happened in Canada's blood supply in the early 1990s.

The first recommendation of the Krever Commission was that there be a no fault compensation package. A person with hepatitis C may have contracted it not only because of what they have done but through circumstances over which they had absolutely no control, such as in the case of a blood transfusion.

As the person receiving the transfusion is not responsible for anything other than for needing a transfusion, for needing blood at one time or another in their life, we do not understand why the compensation package is not universal. However, different types of hepatitis are transmitted in different ways, and in these cases, prevention is necessary. This is the case with food, water and certain health conditions.

If there were awareness days and programs, if the media got involved, if people in the various communities mobilized to get this information out, we as parliamentarians are betting that the more people are informed, the less they will be at risk. This was what we counted on in the early 1980s, when acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, better known as AIDS, was first discovered.

I well recall how, in the early 1980s, the various forms of AIDS, its side effects and methods of transmission, were unknown. There were international conferences. Canada hosted two: one in Montreal, in 1992, and the other in Vancouver, in 1996. Once again, awareness is needed, because awareness leads not only to less risky behaviour, but also to the reflex that is necessary in a certain number of cases of transmission of hepatitis C, where one can be a carrier without knowing it.

The House was reminded earlier that there are 700,000 Canadians with hepatitis C; this is also the figure I had. It is staggering. This means that hepatitis, particularly hepatitis C, is the 10th most frequent cause of death. There is also another reality which governments face and for which awareness is important. That reality is that there are close to 50,000 Canadians who, as we speak, are perhaps at work, perhaps playing sports, are perhaps in a classroom, in a park or with their parents or friends, and who do not know that they have hepatitis.

This is why governments must support any initiative that will promote awareness.

Technology is changing. There are more sophisticated technologies that help to track these people. If my information is correct, the Government of Canada announced in 1999 or in 2000 that $300 million would be provided in the next years to help track, through the blood banks and the hospitals, people who have had blood transfusions.

Governments must implement mechanisms for reaching people and tracking those who, at some stage in the medical chain, may have had access to blood products and may be carriers.

That being said, there is no point in panicking, in thinking that the blood system is not safe. I remind members that the Krever commission, in its report, had come to the conclusion, after the various corrective measures it had proposed were taken, that right now, in Canada, there is one chance in a million that a blood product is not safe.

In Canada and in Quebec, we have a very safe system of blood transfusion, supply, collection and distribution. But as a physician reminded us, there is always some danger associated with a blood transfusion just as there is with an operation. However, statistics show that the blood supply and distribution system in Canada is just as safe an anywhere else.

Also, community awareness can be increased. The example set by young Joey Haché is quite something. Members will surely agree with me that it took a lot of courage to cycle across Canada and visit every community along the way. This young man, still a minor, represented our best hope and gave us our most solid and real example of how community awareness and support can be increased.

Should we not be asking ourselves if someone in the House will continue the remarkable work started by Joey. In a sense, our colleague, the hon. member for Sackville—Musquodoboit Valley—Eastern Shore, is asking us to complete the work started by Joey.

I am quite proud that I was able to remember the whole name of the member's riding. It is more complicated than Hochelaga—Maisonneuve. What our colleague is asking us to do is to continue the work started by Joey.

To conclude, I hope that this bill will be made votable and that we will be able to increase community awareness and support, because that is where our best hope lies.

[Loyola Hearn, Progressive Conservative, St. John's West, NL]

Madam Speaker, it is a real pleasure to support the bill brought forward by my colleague from the NDP, the member for Sackville—Musquodoboit Valley—Eastern Shore, a beautiful area of Nova Scotia that I visit quite often.

I wish to congratulate him on his initiative in bringing forward this bill and I wish to congratulate individuals such as Joey Haché and his father, who have shown great initiative in this field. I look forward to their visit to Newfoundland. Hopefully we can join the hon. member and spend some time there in the near future.

The issue of hepatitis is certainly not a new one for our party. I would like to remind the House that the Conservative Party was the leader on this issue in November 1997 when the member for New Brunswick Southwest raised the issue and debated it for quite some time, as members are aware. The file is now carried by our health critic, the member for Richmond—Arthabaska.

We in our party are proud and pleased to join in supporting the bill, which creates an awareness month for a disease that so many of our friends and neighbours have.

In my remarks I will try to concentrate on hepatitis C. We have been told today that there are many types of hepatitis, but hepatitis C is perhaps what has initiated this bill and is the type that most concerns us.

One of the major concerns we have, despite the agreement of support on the government side, is the government's slowness in reacting to the needs of people affected by hepatitis. People are affected by the government's inability to recognize that many people are outside the four year time frame, from 1986 to 1990. The government should assume responsibility for them.

While the health committee is doing a very good job of moving the file forward, all those people who were not involved in the positive side of the government decision are again facing, as many people have pointed out, great hardships in their lives. Perhaps the government should expand that file and recognize the people who are outside the minuscule time frame that it has set.

All of us have friends and relatives affected by different diseases. We recognize the pressures on them, on their families, on the communities which quite often support them, on the agencies that are directly and indirectly involved and on the country generally. If a disease limits our ability to be a contributing partner in society or within our own families and despite the fact that while we are contributors the costs of trying to deal with our afflictions are above and beyond what we can master ourselves, then the rest of society is involved and has a major concern.

That is what the country is all about. That is what confederation is all about. The rich provinces help the poor provinces, the pendulum swings every now and then and those who were helped find themselves the healthy ones.

It is the same way in society. Many of the people affected by diseases, especially a disease like hepatitis C, are some of the strongest willed individuals. They show us through their determination how to fight such afflictions and are important players in society. It is an example to the rest of us.

The government should recognize that and look for avenues where this should take place, not continue to look for ways of escapism. The word escapism as it relates to hepatitis C should not be a word used by government or by any of us. The government should recognize the fact that people need assistance, they deserve assistance and it should be there to help them. Not only should the government be there to help but to help expeditiously. That is a word the government does not recognize either.

Many people have waited too long for too little. Unfortunately, the amounts that were set aside to help them have eroded through the process, whether it be through the legal process or just by dragging it out. Let us concentrate on the fact that there is a major problem and people are being affected by that. The needs and the wants are there. As a government, let us fulfil our responsibilities, move up to the plate and address it quickly.

We wish the best for those who are involved in this initiative. I say to my hon. colleague that we certainly support the bill. We support his call to make it votable, and hopefully in turn we will see government do its part also.

[Peter Stoffer, NDP, Sackville—Musquodoboit Valley—Eastern Shore, NS]

Madam Speaker, first, I wish to thank all my hon. colleagues who spoke on this important initiative which I brought forward on behalf of many people throughout the country.

I will allow the words of Joey Haché to speak through me to the House. He said that awareness equals prevention. That can save lives, and as parliamentarians we have an obligation to all Canadians.

Joey Haché is a young man fighting a terrible disease. He knows it is too late for him. However he is trying to get some good out of the disease by saying to people throughout the country, especially to teens his own age and kids who are younger, that the disease can be prevented and that it can, with hope, love and optimism, be eradicated. However that cannot happen unless there is awareness, education and prevention. That is all we are asking for.

Hon. members have spoken about the various issues, and I am sure we can all relate not only to hepatitis but to other diseases as well. We implore the government to look into itself and to understand that this is not a political or monetary issue but an issue of love, caring and sharing.

That is especially true for the sectors of our society which are most at risk. These include aboriginal people in coastal and rural communities without proper water and sewer facilities, poor people, and the functionally illiterate who are unaware of the dangers. It is our responsibility to let them know this disease is out there. Again, as young Joey Haché would say, if we can make them aware of it we can prevent it.

I will not take up much more of the time of the House. If I could get on both knees to ask this I would, but I would be hidden under the desk. I ask for unanimous consent to make the month of May hepatitis awareness month. If that were made votable and passed on to the health committee, I would be forever in debt to the House of Commons.

[The Acting Speaker (Ms. Bakopanos)]

The House has heard the suggestion of the hon. member. Is there unanimous consent?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[Some hon. members]

No.

[The Acting Speaker (Ms. Bakopanos)]

The time provided for the consideration of private members' business has now expired. As the motion has not been designated a votable item, it is dropped from the order paper.

It being 2.23 p.m., the House stands adjourned until Monday next at 11 a.m. pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 2.23 p.m.)