Mr. Speaker, the anthrax vaccine administered to members of the Canadian forces deployed in the Gulf had not expired.
It was tested according to U.S. Food and Drug Administration directives in 1996 and its expiry date extended to 1999. Before it was used to vaccinate Canadian and American troops, it was also tested for strength, safety, sterility and purity.
The U.S. defence department asked Mitretek, an independent American firm, to supervise testing and to audit the results of testing by the manufacturer, Michigan Biologic Products Institute, in January and March 1998.
Finally, the vaccine we received was again tested on the orders of the U.S. defence department, in accordance with FDA directives. These additional tests confirmed that the vaccine was both safe and effective.
The vast majority of those vaccinated against anthrax suffered no ill effects. A very few experienced a small local reaction, comparable to that caused by other vaccines currently used in Canada.
Our policy for pharmaceuticals is to obtain from Health Canada approval to import, store and distribute vaccines licensed in other countries but not in Canada before DND gives them to our personnel. This is exactly what we did with regard to the anthrax vaccine last year.
We must remember the operation in the gulf was potentially dangerous. The government has worked in good faith and in the best interests of the men and women of the Canadian forces to provide them with the best protection possible.