Veterans Affairs Committee on Feb. 27th, 2018

[Dave Bona]

What we run into is that mefloquine doesn't neatly fall into a box. It actually straddles four or five diagnoses. Veterans Affairs doesn't like that. They like their nice little tidy boxes.

This is the same issue that we had with PTSD and Agent Orange, where the driver for change was actually the veterans. That's what we're doing now.

We're defining the injury, just like they did with PTSD way back when with a bunch of Vietnam vets sitting around the VA saying this is what I'm having and another guy saying, I have the same problem. Then a doctor going, oh, that's a pattern.

We've now identified that pattern, just like they have done.

[Cathay Wagantall, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Thank you.

Jenny, you mentioned the issues with the OSI clinics in Quebec, and I've heard this first-hand, how if you need the help and you go for the help, you cannot get services if you're functioning on medical cannabis versus pharmaceuticals. We know pharmaceutical companies now are desperately looking for an alternative version of cannabis so that they can be part of that market. ...Some feedback from you on that?

[Jenny Migneault]

That's ridiculous. It's all about money and power, once again. Why can this country accept that ginger will help ease your stomach but medical cannabis is continued to be seen and perceived as a drug? That's the core of the problem.

The problem is, nobody accepts it, especially in Quebec. The stigma over there is so strong, it's penalizing them. Does anyone worry about why in Quebec City there were 20 suicides in just a year or two? There's a reason for that. I believe that all players have a responsibility in those deaths. Maybe for some of them they were kicked out of a clinic and left with no resources because of a choice they made.

[The Chair, Liberal, Neil Ellis]

We'll end with Mr. Poissant.

[Jean-Claude Poissant, Liberal, La Prairie, QC]

Ms. Migneault, you talked about Quebec, but does the situation vary from one province to another?

I can understand that the situation is different in Quebec, but what about the other provinces?

[Jenny Migneault]

First, the only place you can see a white poppy on a red poppy in Parliament is in Quebec.

You are talking about the particularities of the provinces. In Newfoundland, for example, people know each other because that's the island’s way. As a result, the problem of homelessness is masked. The problem is not perceived in the same way. Everyone knows each other and is willing to help others, but this masks the problem. That’s why, in Newfoundland, a veteran was found in his home four months after his death. This had the opposite effect.

Each province has a cultural specificity, which can be explained by the various basic principles or the mentality. In Quebec, the mentality of the Royal 22nd Regiment is very prevalent and it encourages self-reliance.

[Jean-Claude Poissant, Liberal, La Prairie, QC]

You talked about doctors.

Are some of them better at detecting problems than others, and if so, are there enough of them?

[Jenny Migneault]

Are you talking about the overall situation or cannabis?

[Jean-Claude Poissant, Liberal, La Prairie, QC]

No, I am talking about cases of post-traumatic shock. I want to know whether some physicians are better informed than others about this issue and about the veterans’ community.

[Jenny Migneault]

Outside the veterans’ community and the operational stress injury clinics, civilians may be dealing with a stress disorder, but, from the outset, the military is already very much misunderstood. Post-traumatic stress disorder is poorly understood. It is important to mention the Desmond family from Nova Scotia; they asked for help but did not get it.

Situations like that occur in all the provinces. This is because people have not been made aware. There is a lack of respect and understanding. As a caregiver, I can tell you that, when we seek care, we are often asked why we brought the person. We are told that they are doing very well and that they can go back home. Those people then return to their fortress, all alone, and have no one to complain to about their difficulties. That’s the result.

There’s not enough awareness among doctors. We live in a society where people are heavily and dangerously prescribed medication precisely because we do not understand what is happening to them. We are putting people to sleep and killing them from the inside, then we get offended when they switch to medicinal cannabis and suddenly start having meaningful emotions or undergo a course of therapy that works because they are no longer zombies.

[Dave Bona]

I'd like to bring up one point: Lionel Desmond actually was on mefloquine on his deployment. We've ascertained—we've proven—that on the day of his incident when he killed his family he was having a mefloquine-related incident, as described by his sister, who was the last person to see him alive.

I would like that on the record. Thanks.

[Jenny Migneault]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Neil Ellis]

That ends our testimony today.

On behalf of the committee, I want to thank all of you for coming today and for all that you have done and continue to do for the men and women who serve.

The meeting is adjourned.