Mr. Speaker, there has been much discussion about the rationale used by Canada's governments in deciding on a collaborative approach to hepatitis C assistance. It would be useful to review some of the events of the past to better understand why these years were so significant.
Although an antibody test for hepatitis C was not developed and put into use in the Canadian blood system until 1990, surrogate testing was used in the United States starting in 1986. Since the implementation of specific blood tests for hepatitis C in 1990, the Canadian blood system is considered to be as safe as can be. The 1986 to 1990 timeframe is significant and was the rationale for Canada's government to use in offering assistance.
This government has worked with the provinces and territories and, in March 1998, we announced a plan to provide financial assistance of $1.1 billion to the thousands of victims. By working collaboratively with the lawyers for the class action plaintiffs, we reached a settlement agreement which was approved by the Ontario, B.C. and Quebec courts in December 1999. This was only possible because the Government of Canada went to the provinces and to the claimants and proposed a solution.
Governments and lawyers for the class action plaintiffs reached a proposed settlement agreement and filed it to the three class action courts in June 1999. The settlement was approved by the courts in December and it was recognized that the settlement was far and equitable.
In March 2000, the courts appointed an administrator known as the Crawford Expertises Canada Inc./The Garden City Group. As of October 1, 2004, the latest date that figures are available, 9,424 claims have been approved and slightly more than $387 million have been paid out.
The joint committee, a group of lawyers appointed by the courts to supervise administration of the settlement agreement, has assured the Minister of Health that it is taking every available step to review claims efficiently and promptly.
The latest date that figures were reported was March 2004. The $865 million reported does not belong to the government. It belongs to the beneficiaries of the trust fund established by the courts under the settlement agreement concerning victims infected between 1986 and 1990.
The question as to whether there is a surplus in the trust fund can only be determined by the courts, which they will look into in June, pursuant to the terms of the settlement. Payments to claimants out of the fund may continue for as much as 70 years, either to new claimants who have until 2010 to apply or for new or continuing payments to those who have already qualified.
Some claimants will be receiving loss of income payments for a very long time from the settlement agreement. Other claimants can make claims for additional compensation as their disease progresses.
I would remind members that the government's actions to assist people living with hepatitis C are not limited to the settlement compensation. Following the compensation announcement, the Government of Canada received representation from individuals infected outside the window period of 1986 to 1990. The Minister of Health listened to their concerns and, as a result, in September 1988, a $525 million strategy was announced to assist all individuals infected with or affected by hepatitis C.
As part of this initiative, the government has been transferring to the provinces and territories up to $300 million for appropriate hepatitis C treatment and services for all those who contracted hepatitis C through the blood system outside of the window period.