Mr. Chair, in my riding it is hard to accept that there is a woman between the ages of 60 and 65 who is the victim of hepatitis C. She had to send some 5 to 10 letters to the provincial government to have her status recognized so that she could get medication.
Honestly, the federal government has been dragging its feet in this case. The people who were infected between 1986 and 1990 were entitled to receive compensation for hepatitis C.
This reminds me of what happened to the veterans. Wait until some of them die, then it will not cost as much. This is the same thing. It will not cost as much because there are fewer victims. It has been calculated out.
My question is as follows: is the federal Liberal government ready to stop playing games with human lives? We are talking about people in need. Will the government say that it can pass this in a week, that it can resolve the problem once and for all and that it will help these people? These are people who need care and who need to be recognized like the other people who were infected with hepatitis C.
There is no need to wait for next year's statistics. The people in my riding want results now. They are phoning now and asking why there is discrimination between them and the others. They are wondering if they should have been infected between 1986 and 1990. Is that the difference? It is nonsense. A Canadian is a Canadian.
I would like the hon. member's opinion on this.