Anatomy of a scandal

The same trial lawyer who unsuccessfuly defended killer Paul Bernardo at his murder trial now gets paid $50,000 by Ontario Attorney General Charles Harnic to argue his appeal. No one I ever heard of would take a bet on Bernardo's innocence. ‘Generous Charlie’ Harnick, what about $50,000 for family victims of Bernardo to pay legal costs? 

We have poor Linda Gibbons - three-and-a half years in jail trying to save the unborn victims of abortion from being tortured to death in the womb - and whom do they arrest? If you guessed the perpetrators of these crimes - the abortionists - you haven't been reading the papers. No, the abortionists are honored with dinners and gushing tributes from the media - friends and fellow victimizers. And nary a word about the victims.

Now we come to the strangest case in the annals of Canadian history known as the Red Cross Blood Victims Scandal. This happened when the Canadian Red Cross choose to ignore the news from the U.S. that a test to screen against hepatitis C contamination was available to the Red Cross. It was not used. (There are people in jail today in France for what the Canadian Red Cross failed to do). In the recent Justice Kreever inquiry, the Canadian Red Cross spent a fortune trying to duck any responsibility and hide the identity of those responsible for the deaths and future deaths of thousands of innocent Canadian victims.

Some 20,000 Canadians got beat out of even a meagre pay-out recently on a technicality by Alan Rock, Minister of Health, and Elizabeth Witmer, his Ontario counterpart. 

Many were hemophiliacs who got AIDS innocently through blood transfusions and unknowingly infected their spouses and families. And what does former NDP Premier Bob Rae say - acting for the Canadian Red Cross - the victimizers?  Rae says the federal government's to blame! Rae puts the blame on the feds for not being generous with taxpayers' money. And the Red Cross has said that further court action against the agency could bankrupt it. The victimizer becomes the victim. Pity us, they say, spurned by the government and now impoverished by the threat of future court actions. Yeah.

Now I just happened to be in the CEO's office of the Red Cross in Ottawa in 1986, hanging up an immense portrait of Bob Rae behind his desk, when a Red Cross administrative assistant ran into his office and said excitedly: "Mr. Blatherskin! Here's a report from the U.S. that says that they've developed a test to screen out hepatitis C contamination."

"What do those Americans know? Always bragging. It's probably a rumor they've developed something. If I believed in rumours - I'd've fired you years ago, Claphead."

"Yes, sir, I know that, sir. I'm grateful. But they say that contamination from hepatitis C can be stopped if they refuse to take blood from homosexuals." 
 "U.S. don't take blood donations from homosexuals?"

"They consider that a no-no."

"What do you want us to do with all the blood donated by homosexuals that we have on hand? Dump it in the prime minister's swimming pool?!" 

"Maybe not there, sir, but we have to dump it somewhere."

"Are you crazy? Why would we want to smear the homosexuals by saying their blood's no good? What do you think the homosexuals would say when they learn that we've dumped gallons of their blood down the sewer?  What about the rest of the people when they learn that we've dumped suspected blood down the sewer? Nobody would give any blood to the Red Cross. And I'd be back running a hot dog stand at the Exhibition."

"Sir, what do you want me to do with the report?"

"File it under ‘Unfounded Rumors.’ There must be a big pile of those. Remember, Claphead, mum's the word. You never talked to me and I never talked to you. I'm warning you - if this ever hits the papers - we'll be bunking in with Al Eagleson. Make sure that new file clerk files the report away. I haven't been able to find a file that she's filed away yet."

"Yes, sir."

"How many people know about this?"

"Just the two of us."

"Let's all pray that Murphy's Law doesn't come into effect."

"I'll start praying right now.”