'Forgotten victims' to get compensation for hepatitis C: report

The federal government is expected to announce on July 24 a $1-billion compensation package for victims who contracted hepatitis C in the tainted blood scandal, the Canadian Press reports.

Health Minister Tony Clement will award compensation to Canadians who contracted the disease before 1984 and after 1990. This group of so-called "forgotten victims" had been excluded from a federal-provincial package in 1998.

An internal government communications plan obtained by CP said Health Minister Tony Clement had been scheduled to table a package on July 6.

However,a source told the news agency, the announcement was delayed to accommodate the schedule of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who was meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush in Washington last Thursday. Harper is expected to participate in the announcement.

Clement's office said it does not comment on "leaks" but affirmed that compensation for the remaining victims who contracted hepatitis C is one of the minister's "top priorities."

Thousands infected

Thousands of Canadians were infected with the virus,which attacksthe liver, and HIVwhen blood was distributed without testing throughout the country in the 1980s.

In 1998, federal and provincial governments announced a compensation package for people infected with the disease between 1986 and 1990. The governments limited the payout to approximately 10,000 individuals infected during this narrow timeframe on the grounds there was no test for hepatitis C before 1986 and therefore no one could be held accountable.

That claim was laterchallenged when it became apparent that screening tests had been available before 1986.Testing of blood donations in Canada was made mandatory in 1992.

"Somebody that was operated on in the 15th of June, and they come out with $150,000. And I was two months later and came out with nothing. So it really was patently unfair, that's for sure," said Truro, N.S. resident Reta Laffin, who contracted the virus 16 years ago when she went in for a hip replacement.

It is not yet clear whether the government will distribute money based on the severity of illness —as was the case with the victims compensated in the 1998 agreement — or whether they'll all receive the same amount.

Durhane Wong-Rieger, an advocate with the Hepatitis-C Network,told CBCthe federal government had dismissed victims' concerns for too long.

"People were forgotten," she said. "They were also given a message: You really don't count; what happened to you is not our fault; we will not be responsible for you."

Wong-Rieger said most victims view the compensation package skeptically.

"For most people, until they actually get that money, people don't believe it's going to happen," she said.

Lump-sum payment worrying

Jeff Rice, the hepatitis C program co-ordinator for the Canadian Hemophilia Society, said alump-sum payment might not meet the true needs of victims, sincethe disease haslong-term effects.

"We're a bit concerned that if people who haven't had any compensation … get the lump sum, they may not use that in the best way," Rice told CP.

"A lot of people will use it to pay off mortgages and stuff, and not realize that they may be OK healthwise now, but down the road people with hep C can become more ill."

Laffin said that if the money comes through, she would like to visit her ailing brother in Yarmouth.

"When I have that money in my hand and go over to the bank and put it in the bank, then I'm gonna believe it. Until that time, no way," she said.

People infected with the disease before 1986 and after 1990 are expected to continue their lawsuits against the provinces that have not extended compensation.