Thalidomide survivor calls on government to boost annual payment
OTTAWA — A Health Canada revamp of a compensation program doesn’t boost annual payments to a level that could make the difference between independence and institutionalization, thalidomide survivor Fiona Sampson said Thursday.
Changes to the federal program announced on Wednesday include an increase to a lump-sum payment for survivors — to $250,000 from $125,000 and an update to eligibility criteria that the Trudeau government acknowledged may have excluded some victims.
Thalidomide was a drug billed as a safe, effective sedative and morning-sickness remedy when it first became available in Canada in 1959 but it was banned in 1962 after it was discovered to be causing widespread birth defects and deaths.