Alexa McDonough

[Hepatitis C, May 13th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, in the matter of hepatitis C, the meeting of the health ministers has yet to begin, but the government is already talking about a plan B, which does not involve compensation, another plan B destined to fail.

The government must now concentrate on plan A: compensation for all victims.

Is the federal government prepared to pay out enough to compensate all victims?

[The Economy, May 11th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the government's grasp of the poverty reality is about as real as the Prime Minister's homeless imaginary friend. Maybe the next team Canada mission should be right here at home so the Prime Minister and his colleagues can discover the Canadian reality of growing poverty.

Child poverty in Canada is the highest in 17 years. Will the government recommit to Canada's millennium project, unanimously adopted by the House, namely eliminating child poverty by the year 2000?

[The Economy, May 11th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow the Prime Minister heads off to the G-8 bragging, no doubt, about the rosy economy even though more Canadians are living in poverty than ever, 1.5 million children. What a tragedy.

Will the Prime Minister be explaining to his G-8 colleagues his Liberal government's formula for increased prosperity for the few and growing poverty for far too many?

[Hepatitis C, May 8th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, British Columbia is prepared to do its part for all victims of hepatitis C, if the federal government will put in more money. Other provinces are waiting for a signal from Ottawa to do the same.

Is the federal government prepared to send this signal now? Is it prepared to guarantee today to the forgotten victims that its wallet will be open in Toronto?

[Hepatitis C, May 8th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, last week in the House the Prime Minister told Joey Hache that if he wants full compensation for hepatitis C victims he should go see the Ontario premier, go knock on someone else's door.

Joey Hache did go to see the Ontario premier and the premier put provincial money on the table. Quebec and British Columbia have indicated they are prepared to do the same.

When will the Prime Minister tell Joey Hache that the federal government is ready to end its silence and bring more money to the table?

[Banking, May 6th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, a little less bombast and a little more beef would be appreciated.

Unlike Canada the U.S. is currently holding congressional hearings on proposed bank mergers. In testimony last week before the committee Ralph Nader cited a federal reserve board study which concluded that large banking companies made very few commercial and industrial loans to small business borrowers. These loans are just too small for the mega institutions.

Is the minister afraid to hear from Canadians now because he does not want this kind of evidence to jeopardize his plans to approve the bank mergers in the end?

[Banking, May 6th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Finance. Small businesses in Canada have reason to fear bank megamergers.

According to Canadian Bankers Association data, bank lending to small business decreased from 1995 to 1997. Small businesses in Atlantic Canada and Quebec were particularly poorly served.

The CFIB reports that many small businesses have been “so badly burned by their financial institutions that they would in future operate without bank financing”. If six big banks do not now support small businesses how could the minister seriously believe that two megabanks will?

[Hepatitis C, May 5th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the upcoming health ministers' meetings with hepatitis C victims will only be a success if the federal government is prepared to put more money on the table. Otherwise we will have two classes of victims and an unacceptable Balkanization of compensation, as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health admitted earlier today in debate.

Is the Prime Minister now prepared to put new cash on the table to extend fair compensation to all victims of hepatitis C?

[Hepatitis C, May 5th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, it is encouraging to see that the ministers of health will sit down with representatives of the victims of hepatitis C.

It is also encouraging to see that the provinces will contribute to the compensation of all the victims. However, to ensure that all the governments take part, the next move is up to the federal government.

Is the government prepared to assume the lion's share of the compensation of those excluded?

[Supply, May 5th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I want to say first of all I am very encouraged particularly by the latter comments made by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health. He talked about the importance of avoiding balkanization, avoiding a situation where the victims of hepatitis C in one area are compensated a different amount than the victims of hepatitis C in another area. I am very pleased to hear the parliamentary secretary, I assume on behalf of his colleagues, the 154 other colleagues who voted against really avoiding a balkanized system last week. We all have to be encouraged by that.

I do have a question though for the parliamentary secretary. I listened very carefully to his comments. He is the first intervener from the government side today on the NDP motion. Perhaps it was inadvertent but he appears to have strenuously avoided dealing directly with the motion that is before us.

I remind the parliamentary secretary that the motion before us is to ensure that representatives, consumers as he called them, of the Hepatitis C Society of Canada be invited to participate in the upcoming meetings of the federal, provincial and territorial health ministers to ensure that their financial and health needs are addressed.

The parliamentary secretary himself has made the point that there was consultation with the victims in earlier stages, that their views were sought. Unfortunately the government chose to ignore the views and petitions that the Krever recommendation that compensation be paid to all victims should in fact be the official position. That is why we now have a balkanized situation where some hepatitis C victims have been offered compensation and those outside the 1986 to 1990 window have not.

Would the parliamentary secretary specifically address on his own behalf and on behalf of the government as its designated speaker whether or not he and the government will support the pleadings contained in the NDP motion? Will they agree that the representatives of the Hepatitis C Society of Canada be included as participants at the table when the federal, provincial and territorial ministers of health meet to deal with fair compensation, not on a balkanized basis but on a universal basis?