Mr. Speaker, I am sure that the hon. member will be quite pleased by my remarks this evening.
As the minister has said many times previously, he cares about the health and welfare of CF members. We must take care of anyone who was healthy when they were deployed but were sick when they came back. I urge anyone who thinks they may be ill to seek medical attention. Those who want depleted uranium testing should contact the Centre for Injured and Retired Members and Their Families at 1-800-883-6094 or their nearest CF medical facility.
After reviewing proposals from a number of laboratories, the department selected two different independent companies to do the testing. Results from the testing will be sent to a civilian consultant for independent interpretation. Arrangements are now in place to begin testing current and former Canadian forces members who have asked for the procedure.
We are offering depleted uranium testing as a way of answering any possible concerns of CF personnel. The vast majority of scientific evidence indicates that depleted uranium is not a hazard to Canadian forces personnel. Normally, the CF test personnel for depleted uranium if there is evidence they have been exposed to it. The Canadian forces has tested several personnel who had potentially been exposed to depleted uranium and the tests were negative. The total uranium radiation was below detectable limits.
I must point out to the House that Canada does not use depleted uranium at the moment and that there is no plan to acquire depleted uranium ammunition for the Canadian armed forces.
The arsenal of some countries currently includes depleted uranium ammunition. For a ban to be viable and make sense, the countries in question would have to be convinced to do without their depleted uranium ammunition, something that seems unlikely in the near future.