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Judges who are deciding what should happen to excess cash in a fund for people who contracted hepatitis C through tainted blood are inviting the federal government to say it will use the money to compensate other victims who were left with nothing when a second fund ran dry.
But the government is unwilling to make such a commitment, saying only that, if the money is returned to federal coffers, an undetermined amount would be used to pay for initiatives that will help those who are fighting the disease.
“This is a new position and it’s a step in the right direction, but it’s lacking in detail and it doesn’t address the problem faced by the people whose loved ones have passed away – people who were promised compensation, who qualified for that compensation and aren’t receiving it,” said David Klein, the lawyer who negotiated the settlement for Canadians who were infected before 1986 and after 1990.