Mr. Speaker, since the 1990s, Canadian troops deployed to countries prone to malaria have received the drug mefloquine. Over the last 20 years, heart-wrenching stories by The Fifth Estate, W5, newspapers, and magazines have given numerous accounts of lives changed forever by this drug.
The International Mefloquine Veterans Alliance was formed as the devastating effects and mounting suicide numbers were felt worldwide. Yet 25 years later, our troops suffering the effects of this drug are still crying out for help.
Recently the veterans affairs committee heard from Somalia and Afghanistan veterans. Since then, many more have come forward. Families who have lost loved ones, veterans, soldiers, and civilians are revealing the hardship of living with the permanent scars of mefloquine use. Three weeks ago, a suicide was averted in New Brunswick when a veteran saw a story on mefloquine toxicity, reached out to one of the witnesses, and realized that he was not alone and there was hope.
The veterans' stories are coming from all over Canada from so many of our ridings and communities. We need to face this issue and right the wrong for veterans, serving members, and Canadian civilians harmed by mefloquine.