Allan Rock

[Health, June 11th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the NDP is a little unpredictable. One day the drug approval process takes too long and today it is going too quickly.

The only crisis in this House is the crisis over in that corner. They cannot seem to attract attention to themselves with facts, so they make them up.

One week they tell us that children will die because of phthalates in toys and then they are proven wrong. The next week they tell us that there is a crisis with albumin and they are proven wrong. The next week it is breast implants and they are proven wrong. They ought to do their homework before they come to this House.

[Health, June 11th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, perhaps when the New Democratic Party grows up it will learn to read. When it does learn to read it will take into account the things that have been published which demonstrate that the health protection branch is doing its job and doing it well.

The leader of the New Democratic Party should know that the science advisory board which I appointed some months ago, chaired by the distinguished Dr. Roberta Bondar and including 15 or 20 outstanding Canadian scientists, is now doing an audit of the science capacity of Health Canada. We do our job well. We will soon have independent—

[Health, June 11th, 1998]

I understand that Ralph Klein is a constituent of the Leader of the Opposition. Why will the Leader of the Opposition not do what Ralph Klein says? He is content with the process in place at the moment. Why will he not support his constituent on this?

[Health, June 11th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the member should know that it is not just the federal government that is at the table. There are other governments that have their own positions.

Reform Party members are great champions of constituents. They used to say let us stand and ask a question that was inspired by a constituent.

[Health, June 11th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the government is very proud of the steps it has already taken to deal with those who were injured through the fault of those who were responsible from 1986 to 1990. The government's efforts continue.

As I have said to the hon. member, officials will continue to meet and governments will work away to find a new consensus. Let us let that process continue. Let us let it complete a new consensus to deal with the interests of all those who contracted hepatitis C through the blood system.

[Health, June 11th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I should think that the leader of the Reform Party had trouble enough on his own hands telling his own members what they will be saying all summer when all of them refuse to support the Reform Party.

We shall have enough to say. We shall point to the leadership we have taken. We shall point to the steps that we have undertaken to offer recompense to those who were injured as a result of the fault of those responsible.

Over the coming weeks I assure the Leader of the Opposition that governments will continue to work together to find a new consensus to deal with the interest of all those who contracted hepatitis C.

[Health, June 11th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, it is important for the Leader of the Opposition to remember that until the government came along, until the leadership of the Prime Minister was in place, those who sought recompense for tainted blood were turned away.

The one single answer from all governments was no. As a result of the leadership of the Prime Minister's government some 22,000 who contracted hepatitis C through the blood system have now been offered a reasonable recompense.

A process is now under way with other governments to determine whether a consensus can be reached for dealing with all victims.

[Hepatitis C, June 10th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, there is a process in place between governments to look at all the options for dealing with hepatitis C victims.

Throughout this session of parliament there is a trend that has emerged from the NDP. It is to make suggestions on a daily and weekly basis, a sort of procédé du jour from the NDP. A few weeks ago it was satellites and toys that were going to endanger the health of children and that proved to be wrong. Then there was an international conspiracy in relation to drug testing which proved to be wrong. Two weeks ago it was albumin that was a threat to health and that proved to be wrong.

If the member wants to be taken seriously she should—

[Hepatitis C, June 10th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I have responded on the factual matters to other members of the House just this afternoon. If the member wants to know what the policy of the government of the day was in relation to such tests, perhaps she ought to take it up with the party then in office.

As far as we are concerned we have adopted all the recommendations of Mr. Justice Krever. Seventeen of his 50 were in relation to regulation and safety. We have adopted them. We have every intention of putting them into effect, spending the money, the time and the energy necessary to ensure that we have the safest blood supply system in the world for the future.

[Health Care, June 10th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, we have given a clear answer. We have said that health is our top priority.

We have already taken action in this regard with the budget brought down in February. We invested money in research and restructuring. The problem is that Quebec is investing less money than the federal government in the health sector.