I agree.
Evidence of meeting #64 for Veterans Affairs in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was study.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #64 for Veterans Affairs in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was study.
A recording is available from Parliament.
9 a.m.
Senior Advisor, Toxicology, Forces Health Protection, Canadian Forces Health Services, Department of National Defence
I agree.
9 a.m.
Conservative
Bob Zimmer Conservative Prince George—Peace River, BC
Number four:
There is no consistent evidence from military cohort studies of adverse health effects that could be attributed to [DU].
9 a.m.
Senior Advisor, Toxicology, Forces Health Protection, Canadian Forces Health Services, Department of National Defence
I agree.
9 a.m.
Conservative
Bob Zimmer Conservative Prince George—Peace River, BC
Number five:
There is no strong evidence of adverse health effects reported in larger civilian studies with longer follow-up periods of populations with increased exposure to uranium....
9 a.m.
Senior Advisor, Toxicology, Forces Health Protection, Canadian Forces Health Services, Department of National Defence
I agree.
9 a.m.
Conservative
Bob Zimmer Conservative Prince George—Peace River, BC
Number six:
Our finding that exposure to uranium is not associated with a large or frequent health effect is in agreement with the conclusions of other expert bodies.
9 a.m.
Senior Advisor, Toxicology, Forces Health Protection, Canadian Forces Health Services, Department of National Defence
I agree.
9 a.m.
Conservative
Bob Zimmer Conservative Prince George—Peace River, BC
Number seven:
There are many Veterans suffering persistent symptoms following deployment or military conflict which, although not linked to specific exposures such as DU, can cause considerable suffering and can be effectively treated.
9 a.m.
Senior Advisor, Toxicology, Forces Health Protection, Canadian Forces Health Services, Department of National Defence
This is not directly my line of work, but after what we've heard from the other witnesses, I have to say that I agree.
9 a.m.
Conservative
Bob Zimmer Conservative Prince George—Peace River, BC
It kind of goes along with what Mr. Chicoine has said: we all care about our veterans' health. I think we're concerned about getting to the bottom of what the cause of any problems might be. Just to reaffirm what I think you've already said, do you think veterans would be best served if DU could be ruled out as a cause for their health concerns?
9:05 a.m.
Senior Advisor, Toxicology, Forces Health Protection, Canadian Forces Health Services, Department of National Defence
Absolutely.
9:05 a.m.
Conservative
Bob Zimmer Conservative Prince George—Peace River, BC
Good. Do you agree that the committee objectively followed its guiding principles of open-mindedness, comprehensiveness, and clarity in communication?
9:05 a.m.
Senior Advisor, Toxicology, Forces Health Protection, Canadian Forces Health Services, Department of National Defence
Yes, I agree.
9:05 a.m.
Conservative
Bob Zimmer Conservative Prince George—Peace River, BC
I think the bottom line is that we want to get to the bottom of what these concerns are. Then we want to help veterans receive treatment for that particular symptom. If it's not DU, we want to say, okay, it's not DU, and move them to somewhere more in line with what the issues are. I think that's where we want to go.
9:05 a.m.
Senior Advisor, Toxicology, Forces Health Protection, Canadian Forces Health Services, Department of National Defence
Yes, I agree.
9:05 a.m.
Conservative
Bob Zimmer Conservative Prince George—Peace River, BC
You've said this already, but I want to reaffirm it. In your opinion, is the study compelling enough to close debate on whether there's a link between depleted uranium exposure and illnesses suffered by certain Canadian veterans?
9:05 a.m.
Senior Advisor, Toxicology, Forces Health Protection, Canadian Forces Health Services, Department of National Defence
Yes.
9:05 a.m.
Senior Advisor, Toxicology, Forces Health Protection, Canadian Forces Health Services, Department of National Defence
Absolutely.
9:05 a.m.
Conservative
9:05 a.m.
NDP
The Vice-Chair NDP Peter Stoffer
Thank you very much.
We'll now go on to Mr. Casey, please, for five minutes.
March 21st, 2013 / 9:05 a.m.
Liberal
Sean Casey Liberal Charlottetown, PE
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I don't know, Dr. Lalonde, whether you've had a chance to review the testimony that was given at the last meeting by Louise Richard. Did you?
9:05 a.m.
Senior Advisor, Toxicology, Forces Health Protection, Canadian Forces Health Services, Department of National Defence
Yes, I did.
9:05 a.m.
Liberal
Sean Casey Liberal Charlottetown, PE
That's good, because I was worried that when I tried to paraphrase her evidence I might get it wrong.
I'm sure you heard what she had to say about the inoculation she received when she was posted—the level of disclosure that was given to her with respect to those inoculations and the suggestion that some of the inoculations were experimental drugs. If you've reviewed that testimony, if I haven't fairly characterized it, rely on your review and not my summary of it.
I'm interested in your comments, given your field of expertise, on her testimony with respect to the inoculation she was given when posted and the level of disclosure that she was given with respect to those inoculations.
9:05 a.m.
Senior Advisor, Toxicology, Forces Health Protection, Canadian Forces Health Services, Department of National Defence
My area of expertise is not with the inoculations. As I do not know her personal medical file, I cannot comment on it.