Mr. Speaker, the families of servicemen who have been disabled as a result of military service are all too often left to fend for themselves.
On November 24 Marg Matchee goes before the federal court in Halifax seeking veterans benefits. Her husband Clayton Matchee is totally disabled as a result of his service in Somalia. A respected Canadian forces doctor described his condition as mefloquine related. That is, his present condition is the result of a drug, an unlicensed drug illegally administered and fraudulently obtained by the department of defence.
In October 1997, the minister of defence was advised by officials that they had misled the Somalia inquiry on the status of the drug mefloquine. The minister has not bothered to inform Marg Matchee and her daughter that DND misled the inquiry.
I now call on the minister of defence to tell Marg Matchee the truth so that she can support her claim before the federal court next week in Halifax. Time is running out.