Joe Volpe

[The Kidney Foundation, March 27th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to inform this House and all Canadians that March is kidney month.

The Kidney Foundation of Canada will again be focusing its effort on educating the public regarding the importance of organ donation.

An estimated 20,000 Canadians suffer from kidney failure. Millions of others suffer from kidney related disorders. For many Canadians a kidney transplant is their only option. Nearly 2,400 of 2,800 Canadians that were on the waiting list in 1996 were still waiting for kidney transplants by the end of that year. A strategy to improve organ donation and distribution was endorsed by federal, provincial and territorial health ministers.

I take this opportunity to encourage all Canadians to sign an organ donor card and to support the Kidney Foundation of Canada.

[Hepatitis C, March 26th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, this question is no different from any other. I am glad the hon. member opposite recognizes that the initiatives of the Minister of Health and the Government of Canada, in trying to come up with a compensation package, demonstrate precisely the type of concern and compassion she attributes to all members of the House but in particular in this instance, if I might say so, to the Government of Canada.

[Hepatitis C, March 26th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I remind the hon. member that when Judge Krever submitted his interim report the federal government acted swiftly, immediately, to implement all the recommendations that applied to the Government of Canada and to Health Canada.

The Minister of Health has moved with the same alacrity to ensure that this issue is dealt with honourably and justly so that all affected could be dealt with in the appropriate manner.

I ask him to be patient and to wait until the announcement comes tomorrow so that we can deal with the specifics of the matter.

[Hepatitis C, March 26th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, what I can confirm is what I said earlier. The issue is on the table. It is being discussed as we speak with our colleagues at the provincial level.

When the compensation package is revealed in its entirety tomorrow we will know the specifics. At that time he will be able to judge better whether or not this is proper.

[Health, March 26th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite might gain some comfort in the knowledge that all the people he thinks he speaks for are the ones that are being dealt with today by the Minister of Health and his counterparts at the provincial level.

Under no circumstances would we engage in the kind of politics we are seeing today, which is pitting the emotions of one group of victims against another. It is shameful.

[Health, March 26th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the member probably heard me respond earlier to a question that was similar in nature.

The member's question is based on reports in the press today, reports that are not substantiated by the meetings that are currently being held by the Minister of Health and his counterparts. I might add that all of these men and women are at the table in an effort to resolve an outstanding issue of a tragic period in Canadian blood agency history.

[Health, March 26th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, at the risk of sounding repetitive, the negotiations are still ongoing. The announcement has not been made.

I think it is pretty shoddy politics to try to pit one group of sufferers against another. The government is trying to resolve an issue that has been longstanding. I urge the member to be patient and to address the issues to the House tomorrow. As they come up with specific questions, they will get specific answers.

[Health, March 26th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, as recently as a year ago this matter, regrettable as it is, was not even on the table. The Minister of Health made it his personal objective to ensure that the issue of hepatitis C contamination was brought on the table with his counterparts at the provincial level. They are working together on a package that deals with the issues on the medical side as well as all other issues.

I do not think it is fair for any member of the House to play on the emotions of people who have suffered this terrible tragedy. We are engaging in a resolution that we hope will solve all the problems.

[Health, March 26th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada is abandoning no one. As the Deputy Prime Minister has just indicated, there is communication between the Minister of Health and his counterparts at the provincial level in order to come together with a package that will address all of the issues associated with hepatitis C and the contamination, the unfortunate incidents that happened in the last decade.

We are very serious about the way we are approaching this matter. We are very concerned about all of the factors that are part of it. I urge the member to wait until tomorrow when the announcement—

[Health, March 25th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, that is exactly what is happening right now. The issue is before the Standing Committee on Health. It is holding hearings in Ottawa and has been doing so for the last three months. It will move on to other areas in particular in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec to hear all the stakeholders and consumer groups, including the one that had a press conference yesterday to publicize its own concerns.

All of those issues are being brought forward to the committee. The committee will make its report both to the House and to the minister in short order.