Thalidomide victims invited to Ottawa Monday to talk compensation

Health Minister Rona Ambrose says she will meet with thalidomide survivors on Monday, Canadians who were born with severe birth defects after their mothers were prescribed the Health Canada-approved drug in the 1960s.

There are only about 95 survivors in Canada, according to the Thalidomide Victims Association of Canada. The association is calling on the federal government to provide $100,000 a year to each of them. The birth defects include being born without limbs or with shortened limbs.

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"This was an unbelievably, incredibly tragic event and while it happened in the 60s, it reminds me as health minister of why we have to be so incredibly vigilant about drug safety and the drug approval process," Ambrosesaid Thursday at a press conference in Ottawa.

The health minister said she and her officials got in touch as soon as they saw a newspaper feature over theweekend.

"We already have officials working on the request that they've made to see what options would work best," she said.

'The compensation they deserve'

Ambrosedeclined to comment on how much compensation the government is considering.

"We want to talk to them about what their care needs are first and so that's the next step," she said.

The Canadian government kept the drug on the market more than three months after it wasbanned in the U.K., but didn't provide much compensation despite the need for ongoing assistance or care by those affected.

MPson Thursday afternoon started debating an NDPmotion calling on Canada to provide support to survivors.

The vote is set for next week.TheNDP says it anticipates all-party support for the motion.

"Its time the survivors of this tragedy get the compensation they deserve, so they can afford the long-term care they require to live with dignity,"NDPhealth critic Libby Davies said in a news release.