Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada considers it a tragedy that so many Canadians contracted hepatitis C and/or HIV from the Canadian blood system. While the Government of Canada acknowledges that nothing can truly compensate for the loss of life or health, it was the right thing to provide compensation to victims through the extraordinary assistance plans for HIV-infected individuals, EAP-1 and EAP-2, as well as the 1986-90 and the pre-1986/post-1990 hepatitis C settlement agreements.
In 1990, the Government of Canada established the extraordinary assistance plan, EAP-1, which provides financial assistance to individuals infected by HIV through blood or blood products received in Canada. It consists of one lump sum payment of $120,000, tax-free. The estates of deceased persons who would have met the eligibility criteria may also apply to the plan. To date, financial assistance has been provided to 1,105 persons who contracted HIV from the blood system, for a total amount of $132.6 million. The EAP-1 has no official closure date and new applications are still being received. Please see www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/infectious-diseases/extraordinary-assistance-plan-financial-assistance-individuals-infected-hiv-through-canadian-blood-system.html.
The federal/provincial/territorial assistance program for HIV secondarily infected individuals, EAP-2, was announced in 1998. It provides financial assistance to persons who are first-order relatives (spouse, partner, or child) of EAP-1 recipients, and who are HIV-positive resulting from the relationship with the primary EAP recipient. It consists of one lump sum payment of $240,000, tax-free. The estates of deceased persons who would have met the eligibility criteria may also apply to the program. Crawford Class Action Services, a third party organization that operates at arm’s length from governments, administers the EAP-2. To date, financial assistance has been provided to 91 persons for a total amount of $21.84 million. The EAP-2 has no official closure date and new applications are still being received. Please see www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/health-concerns/diseases-conditions/federal-provincial-territorial-assistance-program-hiv-secondarily-infected-individuals.html.
The Government of Canada has set aside approximately $2 billion in compensation for individuals who, tragically, contracted hepatitis C from the blood system. This was done via two court-approved settlement agreements to compensate individuals who contracted hepatitis C from the blood system. Both the 1986-90 hepatitis C settlement agreement, as well as the pre-1986/post-1990 hepatitis C settlement agreement, were approved by the courts and are being administered by Crawford Class Action Services at arm’s length from the federal government.
The Canadian Red Cross Society, CRCS, was granted protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act, Canada, and subsequently proposed a plan of compromise and arrangement to settle litigation arising from contaminated blood. The plan of compromise and arrangement was voted upon, approved by its creditors, and sanctioned by the court on September 14, 2000. The plan of compromise and arrangement included the creation of a number of trust funds for HIV, hepatitis C, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease claimants, “CRCS settlement”. The CRCS settlement totalled $79 million and was contributed by pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, physicians, and insurers. The federal government was not a party or contributor to the CRCS settlement.