Original subtitles

We didn't get AIDS. They gave it to us.

"My dad said in his will

that you should get his beloved Marlin 336.

He said you would know what to do with it."

The only real option is a liver transplant.

Unfortunately, the government won't allow it

for patients with HIV.

It's going to make a hell of a twist for Dad's new book,

right?

He can't publish without my permission.

- This was a mistake. Excuse me. - Ben...

I want a child.

Someone to continue on in this world with me.

How'd it go?

She thinks it's depression.

What kind of treatment?

Similar to the previous one.

Can't it wait?

I'm up for this big project at work.

Unfortunately, the study starts now.

She's beautiful.

Hey, Mya...

I'm your grandma.

They destroy evidence, and nothing.

Those sons of bitches are going to get off.

I swear, Will, I don't know what I'm going to do.

_

You okay in there?

Oh, sure.

Never better.

Yes, it's pretty good, huh?

Yeah?

Big one, big one, big one, big one.

Mom, leave it.

It's just going to get messed up again.

Well, for five minutes, it'll be clean.

Good morning.

If you say so.

Mya, we have to go!

Hey.

Feel better today.

Thanks. Love you.

Love you too.

Hey, we're gonna be late.

Bye, everybody else!

Bye!

Can I fix you some breakfast?

No.

That's okay, I got him.

Yeah.

Okay.

Only two months left.

I know my whole point of view is being warped by these drugs.

I just...

I don't know if I can take it anymore.

I can barely bring myself to take these.

The treatment is 48 weeks for a reason.

Well, if it was going to work,

it should have worked by now.

I mean, how could a virus survive

when I feel like I'm almost dead?

Think of how much better

you're gonna feel when it's over.

I don't remember what better feels like.

- Synced & corrected by MementMori - -- www.addic7ed.com --

I got my latest results.

My T-cells are still pretty low.

None of these new drugs seem to be helping.

I can't wait till your Aunt Emma cures this thing.

Hopefully before it's too late for Daddy.

Why do you say that stuff?

He doesn't understand it.

Truth is, I'll be happy to make it through residency.

You're the most determined human being I know.

Some days, the only thing that keeps me going

is knowing how hard Mom worked

to get me through med school.

You are her shining light.

You're so annoying.

I still have a loan I'll be paying back

for the rest of my life.

You been following the trial?

Yeah, well, it's pretty hard to avoid.

I'm surprised that you are.

It doesn't seem to be going well,

which I don't get.

I thought Krever had it all laid out.

Well, a federal commission

isn't the same as a court of law.

There's a big difference

between what Krever called "wrongdoing"

and proving criminal intent.

Testimony continued today

in the Tainted Blood criminal trial.

Sources inside the courtroom

say the Crown's key witness may have crumbled.

In short, the Crown would have you believe

that Armour Pharmaceuticals

put more value on Dr. Prince's studies

than Dr. Prince did himself.

Mr. Greenspan!

- Mr. Greenspan! - Mr. Greenspan!

Dr. Rodell and all the top Armour executives

were at the Tuckahoe meeting on October 15th, 1985.

The minutes of that meeting

acknowledge that Dr. Prince's studies showed

that Armour's heat-treatment was not effective.

And Dr. Prince was unable to adequately reproduce

any results from the initial experiments...

Yes, but the conclusion of that meeting, sir,

was that changing the process would cost millions of dollars.

So was it all about money?

At no time did Dr. Prince communicate to Armour

that they were producing an unsafe product.

And furthermore,

none of that implicates my client in any way.

- Thank you. - Mr. Greenspan!

Hey...

I heard you were in Toronto.

The Sun now?

Yup. Yeah.

I've been following your coverage.

Five-year investigation,

and this is the best they can do?

It's a train wreck.

You had the story in '82, and I didn't print it.

Well, you can't rewrite history.

No, you can't.

But for what it's worth,

I'm sorry.

Who knows how many lives it could have saved?

I'm very sorry.

I knew.

I mean, if it had worked,

I'd be feeling better by now.

Yes. The drugs should be out of your system at this point.

The symptoms you're having are because the virus has rebounded.

Your ALTs are quite high.

I knew I should have quit.

Another year of torture for nothing.

The Tainted Blood Scandal of the 1980s and '90s

saw thousands of Canadians infected with Hepatitis C

and HIV.

Devastating, for many it was deadly.

But today,

in a case involving just a few of the victims,

a judge ruled that she saw no crime,

acquitting four senior doctors and a U.S. drug company

on charges of negligence.

"There was no conduct

that showed wanton and reckless disregard.

There was no marked departure

from the standard of a reasonable person... "

"... on the contrary,

the conduct examined in detail for over one and a half years

confirms reasonable, responsible,

and professional actions and responses

during a difficult time."

"The events here were tragic,

however, to assign blame where none exists

is to compound the tragedy.

The evidence taken as a whole

establishes a thoughtful,

careful, and considered course of conduct

by Dr. Perrault

that has no element of blameworthiness."

"Dr. Rodell's words to Dr. Walker of the Red Cross

were relied on by the Crown

to suggest an aggressive stance

or a lack of cooperation.

This comment stands in isolation

and complete contrast to all of the other evidence

about Dr. Rodell's words and actions.

The evidence discloses patience, and thoughtful,

well-reasoned responses.

It is understandable that one intemperate remark

was made at this pressure-packed time.

It does not establish a lack of cooperation or concern"!

I'm leaving you.

Thousands are dead,

and many thousands more are suffering

as a result of what the Krever Inquiry identified

as grave wrongdoing

on the part of those in charge of our blood system.

And yet,

not only did this judge find these men innocent,

she lauded their behaviour.

Canadians should not sleep well tonight

knowing that their justice system has failed,

has left us all knowing

that not only are there no consequences

for the behaviour that led to the death

and suffering of so many,

but instead, lavish praise.

This is a complete exoneration

and absolute vindication of my client's innocence

and integrity.

Dr. Perrault, how do you feel?

I'm feeling well.

Hello.

Any takers?

These are the last copies.

Publisher's going out of business.

Yeah, pretty soon, everything's gonna be digital.

I had a guy stop by,

couldn't have been more than 30.

He asks me what the book is about.

I'd say the title pretty much covers it.

I say, "The tainted blood tragedy."

He says, "Yeah, I've heard of that,"

like he has some vague notion.

Margaret's been talking about petitioning

to have a unit included in the high school curriculum.

The guy sold blood products.

The problem is that no one was ever held accountable.

The Red Cross was condemned by a federal inquiry.

And then the judge in the criminal trial

said they were saints.

Look at these people.

Try to find one not looking at a phone.

Times change.

Tainted blood probably wouldn't have happened

if we'd had the Internet back then.

All I know is that insincere public apologies

aren't enough for what they did.

The entire blood system was overhauled.

Look at the Wall Street crisis.

How many lives were ruined?

None of those assholes went to jail.

As long as they know they can get away with it,

people in high places will always find a way

to screw over the little guy.

The Red Cross, the BoB, the provincial ministers,

all those people infected my son. And yours too,

thousands along with them,

and they all got to walk away scot-free.

- Don't forget that. - Hey!

Do you mind keeping it down?

Um...

I read that, uh...

Perrault is suing his malpractice insurance company.

They're refusing to pay his defense costs.

More than three million dollars.

He deserves worse.

Are we supposed to just stand by and let corruption win?

What's the point of laws

if they don't apply to everyone, hmm?

What kind of world are we willing to accept, Will? Huh?

One where corporations and bureaucrats line their pockets

at the expense of innocent children's lives?

Most people are too busy taking pictures of themselves

to even really know what's going on,

let alone do what's right.

Look, dude!

Everyone's got their own problems, all right?

No one else here gives a shit what you think.

Hey, s... Hey...

What do you give a shit about?

Seriously, what do you give a shit about?

- Just go back to your table. - No, no... Hey! Hey!

- Fuck you! - No, man!

Hey, come on, come on,

it's okay, it's okay. Hey, it's okay.

- It's all right. You're okay. - Asshole.

He deserved it.

Look at everything we've accomplished.

We have safe blood product now.

Billions of dollars in compensation.

Drug practices are more effective.

I just can't help but wonder what Jim would do

if he were still here.

Would he rest knowing

that Roger Perrault goes on living his privileged life?

The things Jim said were meant to provoke us to take action,

to do our jobs better, to work harder.

I don't know.

The man had courage.

And nothing to lose.

You know, maybe...

Maybe punishing someone like Perrault,

maybe that'll make you feel better.

I don't know. But...

if you're not changing things for the better,

aren't you just destroying yourself?

And then he wins.

Again.

What are you looking at?

I know the person who designed that building.

It's ugly.

- You think so, huh? - Yeah.

You could have done much better.

You have a good job.

With my teaching position, we cover our expenses.

Our kids have everything they need.

I know I'm just feeling sorry for myself.

You're allowed.

That position should have been yours.

But there will be other opportunities.

I'm stuck in this rut

of working on other people's stuff.

At a certain point, you kind of get known as that guy.

Perennial number two.

So quit.

Find another firm that will give you a shot.

Or go out on your own.

It's not that simple.

Why not?

I feel like I need to provide what I can now.

It's not like I can get life insurance.

That's only a problem if you die,

so just don't do that.

I could also just get sick for a really long time

and burn through all our savings.

I don't want you to feel like your dreams have been sidelined.

We'll survive.

I'd live in a shack with you.

It may come to that.

As long as we're together.

Mom!

I got it.

Mom...

I don't if I've properly expressed how much I appreciate

everything you do for the B.C. chapter.

Oh, I'm supposed to be thanking you.

I know it sounds terrible, but, uh...

giving money is easy for me.

You're putting in the time and hard work.

And you're one of the biggest donors to the society.

- How's your son doing? - He's okay.

I still can't believe that I'm a grandmother.

Yeah, well, you certainly don't look like one,

that's for sure.

Considering how many co-infected guys

haven't made it,

we have to be thankful that Peter's still around.

Yeah, no kidding.

Finding out I had HIV was devastating.

I can't imagine what it would have been like at 15.

I'm sorry if this is too personal, but...

I read that you almost died a couple years ago?

My liver was destroyed by the Hep C.

Canada doesn't allow transplants for HIV positives.

How many have to die?

We're lobbying hard to change that.

Well, fortunately, I was able to go elsewhere.

And the amazing thing is with a new liver,

- my hemophilia has been cured. - Of course.

Because Factor 8 is produced by the liver.

I still have HIV,

but that seems to be under control for now.

- Touch wood. - Well, thank goodness.

I want you to know that

if there is ever anything you need...

Oh, you've done so much already...

I'm not talking about the hemophilia society.

I'm saying you, personally.

Darby...

What the hell's this doing in here?

Andrew was asking about his grandpa.

The picture on the back

is the only one we have of your father

in this whole house.

Why don't you read it?

There's only so many ways to say it's not what you think.

I don't care.

I know you're embarrassed about how you behaved

- when you were younger. - Darby...

The way the two of you still don't speak,

it's just wrong.

Did you do this?

- I'm calling the police. - Go ahead.

I don't care what the judge said

or what the law says.

I know the truth.

And maybe there were a lot of other people at fault,

but you were in a position to make a difference.

Now, you can tell yourself that you did all you could,

and you can hide behind your science

and all the bureaucratic bullshit.

But I know.

I know that you could have saved lives.

Innocent children's lives.

And you didn't.

You don't know how lucky you are.

You got to write your book.

We could have sued you, but we didn't.

We would have won.

The Krever report was full of inaccuracies.

That was not due process.

He was influenced by misguided and ill-informed victims.

The RCMP were pressured into bringing unfounded charges

by an irresponsible and sympathetic media.

I know what I did!

I did my job, and I did it well!

For decades,

I have been hounded as a scapegoat

for a problem too complex for most people to understand.

The only thing I'm guilty of is not being clairvoyant.

Judge Benetto told the world what really happened.

You think you know the truth?

You don't know anything.

- _ - ? For she's a jolly good fellow ?

? For she's a jolly good fellow ?

? For she's a jolly good fellow... ?

? Which nobody can deny ?

This is all too much.

You're the best. Thank you.

Oh, darlin'.

I don't think I've ever properly thanked you.

Oh, it's not something you need to thank me for.

I was doing my job.

I might not be here today if not for you.

Your wonderful parents deserve the credit for that.

Please.

Just know how much I appreciate

everything you did.

You okay?

I don't know why I'm here.

Well, Ann's retiring, so...

My memory's going, but it's not that bad yet.

Ah, sometimes I think mine is.

- Sometimes? - Whoa, easy, now.

Hey, never mind.

I get it. Why you?

Forget it, all right? Today is not about me.

You're here.

That's all that matters.

And more importantly,

you've done something with it.

Something pretty, uh... pretty special.

Are you seriously crying?

He's such a sucker for this sort of thing.

Dad! Look at my report card!

Dad, are you okay?

Yeah, buddy, I'm fine.

Your ALTs are over 500.

That explains why I feel this way.

We're seeing situations

where Hep C suddenly becomes acute without warning.

You really don't understand this thing at all, do you?

What I know is we have to deal with it.

Your latest liver scan

is out of normal range, indicating fibrosis is occurring.

Liver damage.

If it continues, it will progress to cirrhosis.

Look, the Interferon-Ribavirin combo

didn't work. I'm not going back on that.

There are a couple of different cocktail therapies

being used in Europe with much higher success.

"Cocktail" sure makes it sound like fun, doesn't it?

I suppose it's the wrong word for someone with liver disease.

There are much fewer side effects,

and you only have to take them for three months.

But the big problem is, they're new drugs,

and even though Health Canada has decided to license it,

B.C. provincial pharmacare

hasn't decided it's going to cover them yet.

It has to go through their review process.

Six to 12 months.

And it won't be retroactive

if they decide to eventually cover it.

The bottom line is that I can't wait.

How much does it cost?

$110,000.

Oh, my god.

I've been on the phone for the last week,

back and forth between the drug companies

and my private insurance.

They all say they want to help,

but only as long as the other kicks in first.

What about the class action suit?

That's supposed to cover the prescription drugs

not covered by provincial health care.

They're saying they're going to wait and see

- if Ontario pays for it first. - Right.

And no one is saying they'll pay retroactively.

Yeah, Dr. Bradley is recommending three drugs,

each from a different company.

It's a mess.

Well, we'll help.

Whatever's necessary.

We'll take out a second mortgage if we have to.

Of course I appreciate that,

but you shouldn't have to.

I mean, that's what the class action was for, right?

I expect they didn't foresee

the cost of treatment being so high.

It'll cost them more if I die.

Well, what about all the other people

who don't have parents like you?

Dad never quit trying to get safer blood products.

That wasn't just for me.

And I'm not done yet either.

What are you going to do?

Good job, Andy!

Hustle, hustle!

Jesus, Mom. I can't take this.

It-it's not from me.

There's a man, one of the biggest donors to the society.

I met him through fund-raising.

He's a hemophiliac. Co-infected like you.

Very, very rich.

So not really like me.

You're not the only one he's doing this for.

It's not a gift.

It's an interest-free loan.

How am I supposed to pay it back?

First things first.

You take the medicine and you get better.

The HIV,

combined with the extent my liver is already damaged,

greatly reduces the odds of success.

It's funny,

all these years,

I've been talking about how I was about to die.

Now that it might actually happen...

I'm having a hard time believing it.

Maybe it's because you have something to live for.

Excuse me, Mr. Kaufman?

I'm Ryan Sanders.

I've been leaving you messages.

This is harassment.

You need to approve

the newest treatments for Hep C

- under the class action drug plan. - I'm not a doctor.

That's a medical review board decision.

Just think about what you're saying for one second.

The money in the class action fund

is compensation for people who were victimized

when politicians and bureaucrats passed the buck

and hid behind medical

and scientific opinions that suited them.

My doctor says that these new drugs

are what I need to live.

There are protocols...

Things change fast!

And you have to at least try

to adapt at the same speed,

or people will die.

Look, bottom line,

if you don't get with the program right now,

I'm going to sue you

and all the other board members

for failure to administer the funds as intended.

You're going to sue a class-action lawsuit?

I'm going to sue the human beings

who are failing to do what's right.

Thank you. That's great.

Thank you so much.

That was a woman from the Hep C class action suit.

They've reversed their position.

They're going to pay for the drugs.

That's amazing.

I know.

What made them change their mind?

I don't know. She wouldn't say.

But this means I can pay back that rich guy

that gave Mom all that money.

Yeah.

What?

No, nothing.

Emma?

Okay, I know you're going to be upset

because Mom lied.

Um...

Just please don't hate her for this?

She will kill me if you hate her.

What are you talking about?

The money didn't come from some rich guy.

It came from her...

and Dad.

I'm sorry, it's just, you have to know the truth.

Dad sold the house.

Mom lied because

she thought you wouldn't take it if you knew.

Do you understand?

We love you.

All of us.

Please say something.

She shouldn't have told him.

We shouldn't have lied. Again.

What did he say?

She said that he wasn't angry.

Just disappointed.

You did the right thing.

The house is... was...

half yours.

This money came from us both.

Probably time we sold this place anyway.

I remember the day he was born.

and I remember thinking,

"I just hope he has a good life.

I just hope... "

I finally came to a place

where I understood how he felt.

Not just the hopelessness, but...

the fact that it seemed like

nothing was ever going to make me feel better.

I still feel the anger.

I don't think that's ever going to go away.

But it's different now.

It wasn't your fault.

I wasn't just looking for someone else to blame.

Somebody had to try and make the system work,

get some justice.

Guess I failed at that, too.

You can't keep beating yourself up

about this forever.

I'm the one who gave him the hemophilia in the first place.

No one ever blamed you for that.

We all handled it badly.

I know it's over,

but I just want to say that I love you.

Peter needs to hear from you.

You've both hurt each other.

I know it's hard after all these years,

but someone needs to take the first step.

_

You okay?

It's an odd feeling.

How many times have we gone in for test results?

A million?

And every time, I expected the worst.

And things have been okay.

Look, I know you still don't feel well,

but they said that it might take a while

for the drugs to clear your system.

You're not going to bounce back right way.

Or more likely,

I'm feeling this way because they didn't work.

No matter what, we'll get through it.

There's nothing to be gained from sitting here worrying.

Come on.

Let's go.

Undetectable?

That's... good, right?

It's very good.

Oh, my god...

Oh!

- Okay. - Thank you!

Okay.

- Okay. Sorry. - All right.

I just...

We use the term "undetectable"

because the virus isn't turning up on the test.

- Covering your ass legally. - You could say that.

There's a small margin of error,

but at this point, six months after treatment,

I feel pretty comfortable calling you cured.

Holy fuck!

I'm sorry.

Why don't you look happy?

I am happy.

- Believe me. - Yeah...

I should call my parents.

It's undetectable?

It...

It's undetectable.

Hello?

You still there?

Yeah, we're still here, we're still here.

I'll tell the kids.

- _ - It seems like every day

we are bombarded by new and impending disaster.

Terrorist attacks, mass shootings,

disease, drought, famine,

melting ice caps,

weapons of mass destruction.

It can be overwhelming.

Thousands of people died in this country

because of tainted blood.

Tens of thousands more were infected.

People ask me

if the blood system in Canada is safe today.

I believe it is more safe than it once was,

but... but it's not enough.

In no way is that a constant that we can rely on.

We depend on too many flawed systems,

often because the time and work and cost to fix them

is too daunting, because even the best systems rely on humans

to consistently do the right thing.

I looked at those that I believed were responsible

and saw no remorse,

no admission of guilt.

I desperately tried to effect change,

but watched the legal system,

which should have exacted some justice,

fail miserably.

In many cases, people gave their lives

to get us where we are today,

so we can say "Never forget,"

but really,

what are we supposed to remember?

For me, there are many things burned into my mind...

the look on my son's face

when he found out that his best friend,

also a hemophiliac, died from AIDS.

I remember the anger Peter felt

because we lied to him about his first T-cell test.

I remember brazenly lying to my daughter,

to our family and friends,

in some cases to protect them, but also...

to protect ourselves from the reaction,

from the ignorance and the prejudice.

I remember the shock, the betrayal I felt

at learning that Peter's infection

could have been prevented,

and I watched his emotions spin

from sickening fear to helplessness.

I remember the hurt in my daughter's eyes

when we finally told her the truth,

and I watched my wife suffer through decades

of the greatest fear a parent can know.

But most of all, I remember my son, Peter,

wrestling with his mortality from the age of 15,

and somehow,

maybe even miraculously, managing to survive.

He overcame anger and despair

enough to find love.

Enough to have a child.

He gives everything he can to his son.

What greater sign of hope could there be?

Why else are we here?

Not all tragedies can be prevented,

but as long as we're still kicking,

it's not too late.

We can make things better.

Thank you for letting me share my story.

Dad...

What are you doing here?

I, uh...

I got my results.

I heard that was...

I was going to call you.

How did it go?

Undetectable.

At least, that's what they say.

The Hep C virus doesn't show up on the test.

My T-cells are back up a little bit, too,

responding to the meds.

That's great. That is really great.

I can't believe I'm actually saying this.

I'm very happy for you, Peter.

Listen...

Mom's throwing a party.

Actually, right now.

It's just a couple people. Do you wanna...

Do you want to come?

Meet your grandson?

I know he'd really love that.

I'd love to.

What are you smiling about?

Well, the truth is,

we didn't rent the boat for the day.

The ownership papers.

It's yours.

- No... - No, we can't... no.

I just landed my first big client.

He's gonna design a 30-storey tower.

I'm gonna help.

Congratulations.

Thanks.

We still can't take the boat.

We-we can discuss it.

Oh, come on.

There's nothing to discuss.

I'll never be able to thank you guys enough

for what you've done for me.

No different than what you'd do for your kids.

Can we go sailing now?

You bet.

- Let's go sailing. - Okay. Okay.

I hope you know what you're doing,

because... we have no clue.

Oh, dear.

- Synced & corrected by MementMori - -- www.addic7ed.com --