Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to address the House on an issue the government takes very seriously.
I understand that the NDP has been supportive of the Conservative lead on compensating people who contracted hepatitis C from tainted blood. We will address the needs of those individuals as quickly as possible.
As a government and as a society we have a duty to help victims of hepatitis C to ease the burden of that disease. For some, they may have this affliction for the rest of their lives.
Like many members of the House, I have been deeply moved by the heart-wrenching stories of personal suffering from these individuals who through no fault of their own have contracted hepatitis C through the blood supply.
In fact, when I was health critic in opposition, I had a great deal of success at pushing for compensation for tainted blood. Unfortunately, the previous government did not listen. However, this government will act.
During the last federal election campaign we committed to the immediate compensation of all individuals who contracted hepatitis C from tainted blood as recommended by the Krever inquiry. As the Minister of Health has stated in the House, we fully intend to honour our commitment and compensate the pre-1986 and post-1990 class.
The Minister of Health initiated a policy review of the pre-1986 and post-1990 compensation file immediately upon the swearing in of the new government. Following the review, negotiations must take place between the two sides in order to reach a settlement agreement. I am pleased to report that the latest negotiating session took place only last week and will be continuing again shortly.
Both parties in the negotiations have agreed that the substance of the discussions would remain between them and stay at the negotiating table. I think we can all agree that this is the most effective way to move this forward. I must respect this agreement, but I can assure the House that significant work is underway at the present time to make progress on the final settlement agreement. Discussions are taking place and we will compensate the class as quickly as possible.
As much as I would like to provide some kind of firm date as to when we can conclude the negotiations, given the nature of the negotiation process, unfortunately I am unable to do so. However, I can assure the members of the House that the Government of Canada is ensuring that all necessary steps in this process, that are within its control, are completed as quickly as possible.
I think all of us want to move forward as quickly as possible. We understand that there are individuals and families involved who are waiting for an outcome. Once again, the Government of Canada is doing everything it can to reach an agreement as quickly as possible. As much as we would like to pay compensation tomorrow, we must let the negotiations take place. All parties are working in good faith to reach a compensation agreement as quickly as possible.
I reiterate that this is one of the Minister of Health's top priorities. I can assure the House that after 13 years of non-action we will see action with this Prime Minister's government.