Mr. Chair, I would like to thank my colleague, the member for Elmwood--Transcona, for sharing his time with me. I will not be able to match his eloquence or his depth and breadth on this subject, but I felt compelled to speak on this issue this evening.
I am appalled, as a new member of Parliament, and ashamed as a Canadian and a parliamentarian that so many years after this original crisis and with so many victims we have still not fully compensated victims of hepatitis C. I am appalled, and I cannot see an explanation for it. I cannot see an excuse for it. There is no reason why these victims have not been compensated. The money is there. The money has been put aside. It is gathering interest, $56 million a year. In a sense, in a very negative and evil sense, we are talking about blood money, money that has come as interest on the principal.
At the same time, 6,000 victims have not been compensated. I do not understand why. I am a new member of Parliament, but all I feel, and I echo the words of the member for Hochelaga, is that we must move quickly, in a matter of weeks, to finally address this issue. I understand that there are extenuating circumstances and it is a complex issue. There is no excuse, though, to my mind, for not promptly and rapidly compensating these victims.
I ran for Parliament because I am concerned about the disconnect that takes place between Parliament and our communities. I have received many letters, as I know other members of Parliament have, about this particular issue. One of the reasons why I wanted to speak to this issue this evening is to read into the record some of the letters that I have received from constituents in my riding of Burnaby--New Westminster dealing with this issue of victims and how they have suffered as a result of hepatitis C.
The first letter I would like to read is from a victim of hepatitis C in my riding who was infected in April 1991 through a blood transfusion after the delivery of a baby girl. After all of that, she has not been able to enjoy seeing her daughter growing up because of the pain caused by hepatitis C. She writes:
Finally I went for treatment for the hepatitis C in August of 2003. Treatment lasted for six months, but for me it felt like I was dying. I experienced weight loss of over 70 pounds, hair loss--I am still almost bald--rashes all over my body, racking pain all over my body, joint pain all over my body, black scars from the rashes all over my body, no appetite, vomiting 24 hours a day and 7 days a week for continuous periods, and diarrhea. To put it honestly, I went through hell. My marriage did not survive. My husband could not take the emotional and physical toll this disease had on me all these years. My family cannot believe how much pain, physically and emotionally, I have had to go through. It is very hard for them to see me suffer.
The second letter is from a victim of hepatitis C from my riding, who was infected in March 1993 through a blood transfusion:
Since contracting this debilitating disease, my health has worsened considerably, preventing me from working and severely affecting my everyday life. Not only am I weakened physically, but as a result of this disease and my disability to work, I must seek financial assistance in order to meet even the basic expenses. Needless to say, the double punishment I have received, infected through government negligence on top of discrimination in compensation, has left me feeling bitter and betrayed.
A final letter that I would like to cite this evening is from the husband of a hepatitis C victim, again in my riding, whose wife died in 1997 after 13 years of struggle with the disease:
My family's loss started in 1984, when my wife Margaret received tainted blood during a heart bypass operation, resulting in her contracting hepatitis C. Her years of suffering ended in her demise on May 6 of 1997, cheating her of a life she so enjoyed, as well as not seeing her grandchildren born after her death.
These are just some of the letters I have received. I know that other members of Parliament have received similar letters across the country. For goodness sake, 6,000 victims in the same situation, with money available now in a compensation fund that has not been allocated to these victims.
I see no reason to continue the suffering. I see no reason and no excuse for the delays. I see no legitimate justification for the continued suffering of these victims.
I rise to speak on this issue this evening to encourage the government. I know the House will fully support that. My colleague mentioned that we are looking at a motion coming forward to this House later this week, and I could only predict unanimous consent for the motion, that this government move rapidly, within a matter of weeks and not a matter of months, to compensate these victims, who have waited and who have suffered long enough.
I believe our function as parliamentarians is to address critical issues. This is a critical issue. I believe that when we have the resources available we must allocate them immediately, not put them in some fund gathering interest, blood money. We need to deal with this promptly. I would encourage the government to deal with it in the next few weeks.