cost of living

[deathboy]

Canada Red Cross used HIV blood (which is old news from the 80s, but it's regarding the settlement)

More than 3,000 people have died since getting the tainted blood in the 1980s.

read to the bottom...

The Red Cross now faces a fine up to C$5,000 (£2,180) and will donate C$1.5m (£654,000) towards medical research and educational scholarships.

$500 for a Canadian life?

286 GB pounds?

That's pretty cheap.

Comments

[adrasteah.livejournal.com]

Agreed.

But to demand a higher amount of money is to cheapen the life further IMHO. A punitive fine is appropriate, I don't disagree with that at all. I was referring to suggestions they should pay out a vastly larger sum.

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

If it's just a case of paying off a life I'd agree with you. But a lot of the people affected aren't dead, but they are too sick to support themselves. Some of the ones who died infected family members who are now sick. Some of the money might actually be helping support people who need it.

[adrasteah.livejournal.com]

Fair enough, I think they should be accountable financially for all financial losses suffered as a result of their negligence. This money appeared to be a straightforward fine to punish them if it's going towards research and scholarships.

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

Hang on, you're arguing two different points here;

1. You wouldn't accept "blood money". (Which is certainly your right.)

2. The Red Cross shouldn't be punished.

This particular fine is going to be split between research and an education fund for the victims of the children. There was money paid out to the victims a number of years ago, but I believe that came directly from the government.

I think the Red Cross should be punished. The people in charge willfully made decisions that they knew were going to infect some people with deadly diseases. Some individuals were charged over it, and I wouldn't be unhappy to see them go to jail.

[adrasteah.livejournal.com]

Hang on, I do think they should be punished though. In the comment above I said "A punitive fine is appropriate, I don't disagree with that at all."

I also agree that if specific people can be found criminally negligent they should go to jail, but in the absence of that this financial penalty going towards research and scholarships is good.

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

OK, that's my mistake. I was thinking that your statement, "I hate this attitude that compensation has to be paid" meant that you thought they shouldn't be punished.