Deborah Grey

[Hepatitis C, May 5th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the provincial government in Ontario offered a couple hundred million dollars. I think that is pretty substantial.

The health minister has said that abandoning victims was the right thing to do. He felt that for a solid month. He put every single obstacle imaginable in front of these victims. As recently as last night the health minister said “the file was closed, honest to God” it was closed. He closed his mind, he closed his heart and the victims know it. They do not trust him.

Will the Prime Minister today close the file on this health minister once and for all?

[Hepatitis C, May 5th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, for a solid month now this health minister has dismissed the claims of hep C victims as trivial.

It became clear that ordinary Canadians from coast to coast were not buying the government's excuses and the provincial governments right now are reconsidering. They are very concerned about it.

I ask the Prime Minister today, is this file closed or not?

[Petitions, April 29th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed by several people from Edmonton, Alberta who say that the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, the CRTC, on July 22, 1997 refused to license four religious television broadcasters, including one Roman Catholic service and three multidenominational services, but on the same day the CRTC licensed the pornographic Playboy channel for television service. They also say that the CRTC from its founding has systematically refused to license Christian broadcasters, but has consistently licensed sexually explicit and violent programming.

Canadians have a constitutional right to freedom of religion, conscience and expression. Therefore these petitioners pray that parliament will review the mandate of the CRTC and direct the CRTC to administer a new policy which will encourage the licensing of religious broadcasters.

I am pleased to present this petition in accordance with Standing Order 36.

[Hepatitis C, April 29th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, rural Albertans and Albertans in general have a sense of what is right and what is wrong. They would be ashamed to see the behaviour of the government right now.

Joey needs to go to court. Joey needs blood transfusions every week. Instead he is going to have to go to court and the minister said “Oh, no, you won't have to do that”. He needs to spend time with his family.

The Prime Minister hopes this matter is over now but it is not. It will not go away. Does the Prime Minister really expect the victims to just go away and forget about his betrayal to them? Does he want them to just go away?

[Hepatitis C, April 29th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister chose the vote over the victims.

I will never forget that young boy up in the gallery. I never will forget that 15-year old boy, Joey Haché. He had the nerve to stand up to the Prime Minister but his own Liberal MP did not. Hon. members may laugh but Joey Haché has to get blood transfusions every single week just to stay alive. We are blessed that we are not in that position but it does not change his.

Let me ask the Prime Minister, why is he forcing Joey and others like him to go to court for compensation?

[Hepatitis C, April 28th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the government talks about doing what is right. It knows exactly what it has to do to do what is right, that is, to compensate all victims of tainted blood. It did it with HIV. It did it over the years with thalidomide. It could do it today because it knows in its heart what is right.

I want to ask this government one more time: Why does it hide behind legalities and technicalities? Why does it not do what is right and allow its members to vote for hepatitis C victims?

[Hepatitis C, April 28th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, that is not true and this government knows it.

The tears are being shed by all victims of hepatitis C who contracted this disease through government negligence and government negligence alone.

Many of these Liberal backbenchers got involved in politics because they really cared. They really thought that they would go to Ottawa and do the right thing.

They may laugh, but I have one question for this government. When people know what is right in their hearts, why is it they might wear just a little ribbon and say “I love you, but only on my lapel”?

[Human Rights, April 27th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the fact of the matter is that the economic peaceful sanctions against Cuba right now may be questionable foreign policy, but they are not the Holocaust, they are not genocide and they are not the use of biological, chemical or nuclear weapons, as Fidel Castro said they were.

Let me ask the minister again, will he condemn Castro right here, right now, for the disgusting comparisons he made yesterday?

[Human Rights, April 27th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, any discussions the Prime Minister may have had were a pure embarrassment for Canada.

Human rights was not the only thing the Prime Minister was silent on yesterday. He just stood there as Fidel Castro compared the peaceful economic sanctions of Cuba to the Holocaust. During the week in which we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the state of Israel, this disgusting comparison must not be allowed to stand.

I would ask the Deputy Prime Minister, will the government do today what the Prime Minister should have done yesterday and condemn Castro for these disgusting remarks?

[Human Rights, April 27th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, on Friday the Prime Minister offered publicly and promised to bring up the issue of human rights in Cuba. In fact he said “I am not shy”. But in a speech nationally televised across Cuba he failed to mention human rights even once. It appears that he would like to have that little chat behind closed doors where Cubans and Canadians will not hear a word of it.

Why were human rights not at the very top of the Prime Minister's public agenda? Why so shy?