Judy Wasylycia-Leis

[Hepatitis C, April 28th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, today at the hepatitis C rally a 15-year old boy named Joey Haché had this to say about the Prime Minister: “Why is he making political prisoners of the Liberal backbenchers? Why is he forcing them to vote against their conscience?” Joey got hepatitis C through no fault of his own, through numerous blood transfusions. He does not know why he was infected.

Why is this government forcing Liberal MPs to vote against Joey and all blood injured Canadians?

[Depository Bills And Notes Act, April 27th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have this opportunity to elaborate on the question that I posed in this Chamber on March 30 pertaining to compensation for all those who have suffered from the results of contaminated blood, in particular those who are suffering from hepatitis C.

This is a timely opportunity to have a further debate on this issue. It allows all members of this House to think through their positions very carefully before the vote in this House tomorrow evening, a critical vote for all Canadians and in particular the thousands of blood injured Canadians.

On March 30 I posed a question flowing from Justice Krever's report which all members will know resulted from a very long, thorough and in depth review of the tainted blood scandal. In that report Justice Krever said “ The compassion of a society can be judged by the measures it takes to reduce the impact of tragedy on its members”.

I remind all members of this Chamber of those words on this critical evening, on the eve of a very important vote in this Chamber. I appeal to everyone, in particular the members of the Liberal Party who are in a very difficult position this evening as they think through this issue and make a final determination on how they will vote tomorrow. I appeal to those members to listen to their hearts, to listen to their consciences, to act on the basis of principle, the principle if not of their own party, then of the kind of society we believe this country is all about.

I ask all members not to listen to arguments that have no basis in fact. I urge all members not to listen to the speaking notes being circulated to members of the government side which are nothing more than a partisan rag. I urge all members to listen to the voices of those who deal with this disease day in and day out, who have felt they have received no satisfactory response from this government.

Let me very quickly outline the arguments that have been posed by this government which have to be refuted one by one and then let me conclude by referencing a number of constituents of mine and people from across this country who have spoken out so clearly and so passionately to try to move this government to put in place full compensation for all blood injured Canadians.

Let us put aside the arguments around the period of 1986 to 1990, being the period for which this government is legally liable. Let us not forget that the test to determine hepatitis C in the blood supply was available long before 1986 and was in fact recognized by our scientific community as a meaningful test to determine hepatitis C in the blood supply.

Second, let us remember that what we are talking about is not something that is precedent setting but is in fact dealing with regulatory failure and is not to be confused with medical misadventure.

I have a question for the Liberals. If they take that line of argument how can they in fact acknowledge the compensation for thalidomide victims and for HIV victims? Surely it is time to put our hearts and our heads together and agree with the voices of so many Canadians.

I conclude by indicating that many Canadians are worried and concerned. I have received just in the last day 500 names of constituents in the city of Winnipeg expressing their concern and urging the government to employ compassion—

[Petitions, April 27th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be able to present a petition under Standing Order 36 on behalf of a number of constituents of mine.

The petitioners call on this government to reconsider its position with respect to the signing of the multilateral agreement on investment. They are very concerned about this government's haste with which it is participating in discussions to achieve a much more globalized approach to our society. They are particularly concerned about the impact the MAI will have on health care, social programs, culture, labour standards and on the environment.

They call on this government to reject the current framework of the MAI negotiations and to seek an entirely different agreement by which the world might achieve a rules based global trading regime that protects workers, the environment and the ability of governments to act in the public interests.

[Hepatitis C, April 27th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, today in the House the member for Etobicoke—Lakeshore announced on behalf of the government a study of the way in which hepatitis C disease progresses. She talked about training adjudicators and setting up a centre for excellence. That is trifling with the realities of blood injured Canadians. The blood injured do not need studies to tell them how the disease is progressing. They live with it each and every day.

Why is the government offering a dry twig to blood injured Canadians instead of an olive branch?

[Hepatitis C, April 27th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, reports out of the Deputy Prime Minister's office today pertaining to the hepatitis C compensation matter show that the government is really working hard to try to take the sting out of tomorrow's vote. I want members to know that the leadership of the Hepatitis C Society has said that such statements are meaningless and that the requirement for blood injured Canadians is still the same, fair compensation for all.

Will the government reopen the discussions and put in place an agreement that is fair for all blood injured Canadians?

[Petitions, April 3rd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased and honoured to be able to present a petition on behalf of constituents of mine and other residents of Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The petitioners call upon this government to look seriously at its commitment to participate in the development of the Multilateral Agreement on Investment. They express serious concerns to this government about the way in which this agreement will jeopardize democracy, sovereignty and our economic and social institutions in this country.

They believe the MAI is fundamentally flawed in that it seeks to protect the rights of investors without providing similar protection for workers through binding core labour standards. They believe that the MAI is undemocratic and that it will tie our hands as elected parliamentarians for 20 years.

They call upon this government to reject the MAI and to look at globalization and international trade deals on the basis of compassion and humanity.

[Hepatitis C, April 3rd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, given that these discussions will be taking place on the compensation package, it would be helpful for the Minister of Health to address the real question about whether or not 1986 makes sense at all in terms of liability. We do know as previously mentioned there was a study, a report in 1981 showing that surrogate testing was recommended and the department of health and the Red Cross turned it down because of expense.

Is it the minister's position that the victims who were abandoned back then due to the cost of prevention should be abandoned now due to the cost of compensation?

[Hepatitis C, April 3rd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Health is wrong about the health ministers conference call on Monday. It is our clear indication that this meeting has been established to talk strictly about whether or not all the provinces are still on the same page with respect to the serious issue of compensation. It is clearly a concern that is growing as more information is made available showing that this unjust compensation package is based on false information.

Is the Minister of Health now prepared to go back to the drawing board, re-open discussions with the provinces and come up with a fair and humane compensation package?

[Hepatitis C, April 2nd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, let us look at the facts today. At least one provincial health minister said the federal government should have thrown more money into the pot. Another province will act on its own to help the forgotten victims. Today the premier of a third province has said that the issue is not closed.

I ask the minister, will he stop hiding behind the provinces, hiding behind the lawyers and come up with a fair compensation package for all the victims of hepatitis C?

[Hepatitis C, April 2nd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Health says that all the provinces are behind him in his cruel decision to exclude tens of thousands of victims of the blood tragedy, but today we have learned that that is not the case. If that is not the case and it was the federal government that killed the plan for fair compensation, will the minister finally assure the House today that he will go back to the provinces, back to the table and propose a no fault compensation plan as proposed by Justice Krever?