Veterans Affairs Committee on Oct. 27th, 2016

[Dave Bona]

I was with 3 Commando. I wasn't present in the compound. I was in a different compound. I became aware of the—well, obviously. My involvement with the Matchee family started with the courts martial that went on in Saskatchewan after we came back. I would go to the courts martial just to lend support to the family.

[Georgina Jolibois, NDP, Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK]

May I ask one more quick question?

What kind of support are they getting, both Kyle and Master Matchee?

[John Dowe]

We've tried to get Veterans Emergency Transition Services, VETS Canada, to intervene on Kyle's behalf whenever we have located him. I've been in contact with his family on and off. At this time, Kyle is quite resistant to help. We fear that if we can't get through to him again soon and get him stable, this might be one of the last years of his life. We have had agencies try to engage him, but he's being resistant at this time.

[Claude Lalancette]

This is why the outreach is so important. It has to be done with care, compassion, and respect. This is a very fragile matter.

[John Dowe]

Can I just add something?

A lot of people presently taking these SSRIs will throw them out, and they will stop taking these drugs suddenly. There won't be a gradual de-prescribing from their doctor to monitor their symptoms and their level of functionality. It puts them at great risk and puts the families at great risk because these people want to attribute everything to mefloquine, let's say, and it wasn't. They're not sure. They have lost faith. The medications go and chaos ensues. We need to be very cognizant of that.

As a matter of fact, when I did my long camera interview, I did it in January of 2015, not prior to Christmas. With a lot of guys sitting home at Christmas, we didn't want them stewing in their basements over this big information. We were concerned about that. We thought we'd wait till the new year when they'd be busier and be back at work. Then, at least, they'd have some sort of structure and not be on holidays going into a deep, dark place.

[The Chair, Liberal, Neil Ellis]

Thank you.

[Dave Bona]

I've got one more point I'd like to bring up.

I attempted to track my platoon down from Somalia, 9 Platoon 3 Commando. I was able to account for 10 soldiers. Of those 28 soldiers deployed, two have committed suicide, six have attempted suicide, and there's only one soldier who is actually doing well, and that's the one guy I know who did not take the drug.

I've been unable to track down the rest of the members of the platoon.

[The Chair, Liberal, Neil Ellis]

I want to thank all you gentlemen, Claude, Dave, Brandon, and John, for taking the time to come here today with your testimony, and for the time that you served our country.

With that, if there is anything that you want to add, you could prepare a brief and send it to the clerk. The clerk will get it out to the committee, and it will be on record. If you could do that for us, all the committee members would appreciate that.

The meeting is adjourned.