Mr. Speaker, in 2001, Colonel Ken Scott, the director of defence medical policy, assured the Standing Committee on National Defence and Veterans Affairs that it was not possible for our soldiers to develop cancer from exposure to depleted uranium. He said publicly that Canada always takes care of its soldiers. But under his policies Balkan veterans do not receive benefits for cancer.
Recently, the UN voted overwhelmingly for studies on the effects of the use of armaments and ammunitions containing depleted uranium because it fears that the use of DU poses carcinogenic risks to the human environment. Canada abstained from this vote.
One of my constituents, David Sherbanowski, a former NATO peacekeeper, has PTSD and recurrent Hodgkin's lymphoma. He believes he contracted cancer in Bosnia. I am appalled that his life has been destroyed through service to his country.
It is deplorable that we do not recognize and compensate for a critical illness sustained on tour. It is unthinkable that Canada should not even study this issue further.