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Last of tainted blood victims see compensa= tion details

CanWest News Service

National Post
Saturday, December 16, 2006

OTT= AWA -- Details of a $1-billion compensation deal for the "forgotten" victims of the tainted blood scandal who contracted hepatitis C were reve= aled Friday.

The= final settlement agreement, reached between Ottawa and the complainants, will n= ow have to go to the courts for approval, Health Minister Tony Clement said.=

The= deal affects people infected with hepatitis C from the blood system before Jan. 1, 1986 and after July 1, 1990.

The= se so-called "forgotten" victims, estimated to number about 6,000, were left out of a $1.18-billion deal announced eight years ago by the fo= rmer Liberal government of Jean Chretien, which limited payments to those infe= cted with blood-borne diseases between 1986 and 1990.

&qu= ot;Two steps remain before these people begin to receive compensation payments," Clement said in a news release Friday.<= /p>

&qu= ot;The first is to seek approvals of the courts in British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec, and Ontario, where the class actions are filed. The second step is the creation of the administrative structure to receive and to evaluate applications."

&qu= ot;It was years negotiating this, so it's quite a good thing that it's finally = done and out in the public," he said. "This is, I think, the most the government was willing to pay. We had to make it work, we're pleased = ;-- the amount is significant."

The federal government will set aside over $1 billion (composed of $962 milli= on for compensation, $20 million in administrative costs, $37.29 million in legal fees plus applicable taxes, and $500,000 in disbursements plus applicable taxes) for the agreement.

Cal= gary hepatitis C victim Brenda Assailly, 46, welcomed the progress made on the settlement, but said the main thing is the acknowledgement that a wrong w= as done.

&qu= ot;It's really not the money, it's more the fact that somebody did a wrong to me = and justice is finally being served."

When Assailly gave birth to her third daughter in December 1978, there were complications and she was given several units of blood.=

Twe= lve months later -- her daughter, Simone, just a one-year-old toddler -- Assailly learned she'd contracted hepatitis C.=

Her= skin turned the unusual orange-yellow colour and she was tired all the time.

Four years ago, after an aggressive treatment that included six daily pills and weekly injections over a 48 week period , she thought she was cured.=

This summer, she again tested positive and has once again started the treatment regime.

&qu= ot;I don't know what the future's going to hold. I might die from this, but I'm not giving up without a fight. I choose to keep going."

In = July, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the $1-billion compensation packa= ge.

&qu= ot;I regret that it took so long to get equal compensation," he said. "We hope it will provide some measure of closure to those who have suffered so much."

Tho= usands of Canadians contracted fatal and debilitating illnesses through transfus= ions of blood that the government failed to properly screen during the 1980s a= nd early 1990s.

The Krever report, which looked into the causes of the scandal, recommended in 1997 that all Canadians infected through the blood supply be compensated, regardless of when they were infected but, in 1998, the Liberals limited = the payments to about 10,000 people.

Just prior to the last federal election in January, the Liberals announced tha= t a deal in principle had been signed to target those left out of the first r= ound of compensation.

For= mer health minister Ujjal Dosanjh said about $1 billion had been set aside, b= ut did not reveal the details of the settlement before heading to the polls.=

Har= per and the Conservatives pledged in their election platform to revisit the issue.

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