Mr. Speaker, in view of what happened at the National Assembly in Quebec last night, fundamental changes have taken place in the circumstances surrounding this issue. There certainly should be an emergency debate.
House of Commons photoWon her last election, in 2000, with 51% of the vote.
Request For Emergency Debate April 30th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, in view of what happened at the National Assembly in Quebec last night, fundamental changes have taken place in the circumstances surrounding this issue. There certainly should be an emergency debate.
Israel April 29th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, Israelis must build with one hand while defending themselves with the other. That was the message of Chaim Weizzman, Israel's first president on the day the Jewish people re-established a homeland from which they were separated for thousands of years.
Tomorrow, by the Jewish calendar, the people of Israel will celebrate 50 years of statehood.
Today Israel is a diverse, vibrant and modern democracy. Israelis have transformed a tiny, barren land into an economic and technological power. Fewer than one million Israelis became six million. With all their differences they make the desert bloom and democracy work.
As Israel marks its 50th birthday, the PC Party of Canada extends its best wishes and its hope that the citizens of Israel will continue to move toward a just, comprehensive and lasting peace. Shalom, Israel.
Hepatitis C April 28th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, tonight's vote is not about confidence, it is about conscience and compassion. If they are going to do what is right, and if they are going to do it with compassion, we know that we will win for sure.
This is about some Liberal members of the House being forced by the Prime Minister to support an unjust compensation package.
Not one member of the PC caucus would criticize the Prime Minister or a member of the government if this injustice were to be corrected tonight and a motion brought forward to treat all victims equally.
Hepatitis C April 28th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is finally showing some concern about human rights in Cuba, but what about human rights and the rights of the innocent victims of tainted blood here in Canada? What about the rights of elected MPs who are being made prisoners of bad Liberal policy?
The vote tonight on hepatitis C is not about which political party wins or loses, it is about doing what is right.
Why will the Prime Minister not stop tearing the heart and soul out of some of his MPs by forcing them to vote against their conscience and do what is right to correct this injustice?
Hepatitis C April 27th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, on February 6, 1998, the Minister of Health wrote to Mrs. Eleanor Nelson of Ottawa regarding hepatitis C compensation.
The health minister wrote and stated “I wish to assure you that I have no desire to see Hepatitis C victims spend precious time navigating a maze of litigation”.
Why is the minister now forcing those victims to hire lawyers in order to be compensated? This is absurd.
Hepatitis C April 23rd, 1998
Mr. Speaker, the health minister said yesterday that this was the age of class action. It would appear he cares more about the courts than compassion.
The minister also said that his hepatitis C deal was the right thing to do tomorrow, next week, next month and next year. A lot of his caucus does not feel that way. Saying no to people who have been harmed with hepatitis C through no fault of their own is never the right thing to do.
When will the minister admit that he is more concerned about money than the moral courage to do what is right for all—
Hepatitis C April 22nd, 1998
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Health cannot continue to hide behind other governments. Instead he must take a leadership role. There is nothing wrong with anyone in this House who has made a decision standing up and saying “we have made the wrong decision, we are going to correct it”.
If we measure the health minister's words carefully we will conclude the real reason the government will not compensate all the victims of hepatitis C is money. The government wasted half a billion dollars on a botched helicopter deal, three-quarters of a billion dollars on Pearson airport and the list goes on. If money was found for these deals, why is the minister denying compensation to all of the innocent victims?
Hepatitis C April 22nd, 1998
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Health has stated that he is concerned about the integrity of the health care system. It is not the integrity of the health care system that is in question. It is the integrity of this government and the minister which are in question because the compensation being offered to some hepatitis C victims is not the compensation package that the minister promised.
Will the minister do the right thing today and commit to compensating all hepatitis C victims who were infected through no fault of their own?
Hepatitis C April 20th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, the package announced by the Minister of Health is not fair and it is not honourable. Sadly it effectively denies innocent victims fairness and compassion. I want to remind the House that the government has the constitutional authority to correct this human tragedy, to act unilaterally as we did in 1991 with HIV. Will the minister exercise moral and constitutional leadership to correct this injustice?
Hepatitis C April 20th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health. Today in the House of Commons the Minister of Health sounds more like an accountant or a lawyer. The Minister of Health is responsible for the blood system. My question is very direct. Will the minister reopen the hepatitis C compensation package, a package that leaves up to 40,000 Canadians, innocent victims, with nothing?