Randy Conners, a man whose battle to ease the suffering of the 1,000 victims
of Canada's tainted-blood tragedy prompted the provinces to cobble together
a $139-million compensation deal, has died of AIDS. He was 38.
Mr. Conners, a severe hemophiliac, learned he was infected with the human
immunodeficiency virus in 1987. He contracted the fatal disease from Factor
8, a blood product that helps clotting, before the drug was heat- treated to
kill the virus.
In 1992, Mr. Conners and his wife Janet, who also contracted HIV, decided to
go public with their story. A working-class couple from Dartmouth, N.S.,
they soon became a symbol for the tainted-blood tragedy, but used their
notoriety to warn that AIDS can touch all Canadians.
The former computer programmer said in an interview this year that the most
difficult aspect of having AIDS was not the medical symptoms, but the guilt
of knowing that he had infected his wife and the knowledge that his
14-year-old son, Gus, would be left fatherless.
Both Mrs. Conners and Gus were at his side when he died at home yesterday.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday in Halifax.
The couple's repeated demands for justice, in the form of a compensation
package for those infected by contaminated blood, touched not only the
public but George Moody, Nova Scotia's Health Minister.
Provincial and territorial ministers had agreed years ago to reject all
compensation claims, but Mr. Moody was so moved by the plight of Mr. and
Mrs. Conners that he broke ranks.
The humanitarian-assistance package offered by Nova Scotia included $30,000
a year for life to victims of tainted blood, free drugs for the treatment of
AIDS, $55,000 in life insurance and funeral costs and a guarantee of four
years of postsecondary education for the children of sufferers - a clause
designed specifically for Gus.
After Nova Scotia announced its program, the other provinces and territories
came up with a watered-down compensation package that will provide infected
hemophiliacs and blood-transfusion recipients with $30,000 a year, plus
$20,000 for their spouses for four years after the victim's death and $4,000
per child.
In March, Mr. Conners travelled to Toronto to testify at the Royal
Commission of Inquiry on the Blood System in Canada. There, in a voice
barely above a whisper, he denounced the compensation deal outside Nova
Scotia as "shameful and disgraceful," saying his drug costs exceeded $20,000
annually.
He also called for a criminal investigation into the tainted-blood tragedy.
"Turn it over to the RCMP," Mr. Conners said. "If it means jail terms for
some people, so be it. They have to be held responsible."
Mr. Justice Horace Krever, who heads the commission of inquiry, paid tribute
to the activist yesterday, saying "many people owe a debt of thanks to Mr.
Conners."
But the most heartfelt remembrances came from his fellow hemophiliacs and
victims of tainted blood.
"His courage and dedication to justice was an inspiration to everyone," said
Santo Caira, executive director of Hemophilia Ontario. "He took on the
government establishment and shattered the conspiracy of silence by telling
the truth."

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