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JAMIE KOMARNICKI An Alberta judge
approved Friday a $1-billion federal compensation deal for the so-called
forgotten victims of the hepatitis C tainted blood scandal. The deal includes
almost 6,000 people infected with the disease from tainted blood before J=
an.
1, 1986 and after July 1, 1990, who were left out of an earlier federal
settlement. The settlement is
conditional on courts in Alberta, Quebec, British Columbia and Ontario
signing on. After the lengthy
battle, it’s a relief to have approval in Alberta finally in place,
said Calgary class action counsel Vaughn Marshall. “To have
excluded these people on the dates they were infected was an arbitrary
discrimination against them for all intents and purposes,” said
Marshall. “(The government) certainly saw the inequity there, and
it’s to their credit it is resolved.” The victims in
question were left out of a $1.18-billion deal announced in 1998 by Jean
Chretien’s Liberal government that limited payments only to those
infected with blood-borne diseases between 1986 and 1990. They sued the
government, and, after years of court proceedings and long negotiations, a
$1-billion settlement was reached in December, pending court approval. Now that Court of
Queen’s Bench of Alberta Justice Vital Oullett=
e
approved the settlement Friday, the province’s victims can begin the
process of collecting compensation, Marshall said. “I’m g=
lad
it’s happening. I just wish the process would be a little quicker f=
or
many people,” said Calgarian Brenda The agreement is
designed so people who are the most sick and have suffered the most from =
the
disease receive the highest compensation. One of the advanta=
ges
over the previous settlement is that payment will be made in an upfront l=
ump
sum. Individuals have to
apply for the compensation, and ads of the process will be carried out in
coming days. Calgary Herald |