Grant Hill

[Privilege, March 14th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to start this evening by reflecting on a letter I received from my old office nurse. When I was a young physician in practice this nurse guided me in my early years. She was experienced. She was a good friend. She is a very moderate woman, a woman whose advice and ideas I admire. I quote from a portion of her letter:

Grant, I am so fed up with allowing men and women free reign in Parliament to use any means to promote sovereignty. When they do wrong they should be charged with treason.

This from a woman who is so moderate, so kind, so gentle, so typically Canadian. Reformers have placed on the table that charge.

I also quote a recent editorial by Peter Stockland of the Calgary Sun :

Whatever internal squabbling might be racking the Reform Party, we're comforted its MPs still know the real enemy when they see it.

That was demonstrated yesterday when Reformers fought furiously to keep Bloc Quebecois MP Jean-Marc Jacob from taking a-

[Krever Commission, March 14th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, let us compare what happened in other jurisdictions.

In Japan there is a brand new health minister. Immediately there was a public apology to those people in Japan affected by its tainted blood scandal. In France those responsible are in jail.

What happens in Canada? We have legal wrangles. The government is not interested in the truth. The government is not holding those responsible accountable. The government is looking after its friends and subverting justice.

Japan and France have put the Liberal government to shame. Will the health minister advise his justice colleague to stop the legal wrangling and let Justice Krever speak?

[Krever Commission, March 14th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, the minister's attempt to change the focus of the Krever inquiry by his own tainted blood forum he says is comprehensive. The hepatitis C group was not invited. The Janet Connors group was not invited. The Canadian AIDS Society was not invited. Who is invited? His buddies, his friends. What a farce. It is a blatant attempt to divert public attention away from the fact that the government is trying to silence the inquiry.

My question is very simple. Krever knows. Why not let Krever talk?

[Krever Commission, March 14th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, it took $14 million but Justice Krever believes he knows why Canada's blood system failed, why innocent Canadians died and who is responsible.

However, instead of celebrating Krever's success with the families, we are now involved with a government that wants to hold up this inquiry.

What exactly is the reason behind this ham-handed political whitewash? What is the health minister afraid of? Why will he not simply put an end to the legal action, stop the political interference and let Krever speak?

[Krever Commission, March 12th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, the rhetoric is wonderful, is it not? Only the Liberals would spend $14 million on a study and then when they find what the problem is ignore the results.

Canadians only want to know what happened. Canadians deserve to know what happened. Will the health minister admit his new tainted blood forum is simply a method of muzzling Krever? What is the government trying to cover up?

[Krever Commission, March 12th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, Judge Krever is ready to report on the tainted blood scandal in Canada. The judge claims to know why thousands of Canadians were infected with tainted blood. He also knows where this happened. Now he says he knows who is responsible, yet the government will not let him talk.

Why is the government trying to muzzle Krever with a brand new tainted blood forum? Why not just let Judge Krever talk?

[Learning Disabilities Month, March 12th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, March is Learning Disabilities Month and 1996 commemorates the 25th anniversary of the Learning Disabilities Association of Canada.

An organization of dedicated individuals works at the local, provincial and federal levels, committed to improving the lives of people with learning disabilities. The association provides the resources, education and tools necessary to assist children and adults with these problems to lead full productive lives. These courageous individuals, through their perseverance and the assistance of the volunteers at the Learning Disabilities Association of Canada, succeed at work, school and in the community.

Between 10 per cent and 15 per cent of Canadians have learning disabilities. Canadians with learning disabilities and the association joined together to show us the true meaning of co-operation, courage and dedication. I encourage Canadians to wear the lapel pin proudly as a symbol.

I ask my fellow parliamentarians today to join me in a salute to Learning Disabilities Month, and to those outstanding individuals with learning disabilities who strive for a lifetime of achievement and happiness.

[The Budget, March 7th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I finally figured out where the Liberals are getting their advice. They are not getting their advice from medical doctors, they are getting it from spin doctors.

It is time to set the record straight. The finance minister said Reform would cut medicare by $11 billion. The fact of the matter is that these suckers are cutting by $4.3 billion. We would not cut a penny, not a penny from medicare.

How would we do that? We would cut waste. We would cut business subsidies and we would cut pork barrel highway projects.

Will the health minister step down and convince the finance minister to put medicare as the highest priority and stop the cuts to medicare?

[The Budget, March 7th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday's Liberal budget tried to fool Canadians into believing that funding for medicare is being stabilized. Here are the Liberal funding facts: $30 billion, $29 billion, $27 billion and $25 billion.

Will the health minister admit that he is letting medicare funding plunge until 1998 when he will be somewhere else collecting his gold plated pension?

[Committees Of The House, March 4th, 1996]

Unfortunately.