Cannabis Act  Mr. Speaker, this is the part that confuses me the most. A government that says it enacts legislation only on the basis of sound science is completely turning a blind eye to the recommendations from organizations such as that health organization that know that this is not a good move for our country.

Cannabis Act  Mr. Speaker, talk about burying one's head in the sand. This is before us today because the Liberal government made a promise, one of a gazillion, to simply gather the vote of a particular group. I can assure the member that when I hear the Minister of Health saying that we need to legalize marijuana because 30% of 20- to 24-year-olds are using, the rationale is—

Cannabis Act  Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government recently introduced Bill C-45, which aims to provide legal access to recreational cannabis and to control and regulate its production, distribution, and sale. The Liberals are on record as saying they hope it receives royal assent before July 2018.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I am honoured and pleased today to stand with the petition I am presenting on behalf of law-abiding target shooters, hunters, trappers, farmers, and collectors. The petitioners call on the Minister of Public Safety to increase their representation on the Canadian firearms advisory committee.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, this issue is directly related to an issue in the past with the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Airborne Regiment in Somalia. Some of our very finest have faced a great deal of shame because of what happened there with Clayton Matchee and Kyle Brown. Quite honestly, numbers of them testified to what that drug did to them when it was not licensed and they were taking it without the proper situations for that study, and then it was licensed by Health Canada as they were sent home in disgrace.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, our veterans who were forced to take and test the malaria drug mefloquine back in the early 1990s were regularly referred to as “guinea pigs”. It is well recorded that this study was botched from the beginning. When will their true sacrifice be acknowledged and their honour restored, and how can that be done if we do not encourage an independent inquiry, an independent study from National Defence, from Health Canada?

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, I appreciate that the minister's approach is that the surgeon general needs to do his work. However, the concern here is that there is a bit of an overlap, a lack of confidence from the veterans in whatever might come up from that, even based just on the testimony that we received at our veterans affairs committee.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, we are all very aware that there are other options to treat malaria that do not have the extreme adverse side effects of mefloquine. Our allies, Australia, Britain, the U.S., and Germany, have all responded positively to the cries of their veterans regarding the severe impact mefloquine is having on their lives.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, when will the Department of National Defence and Veterans Affairs acknowledge what Health Canada has quietly indicated, that the mefloquine drug can have disabling and lasting psychiatric effects and that a significant number of veterans may be suffering from these effects.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, there has been growing concern regarding the number of soldiers deployed to malaria-prone zones who received the mefloquine drug in the past and later committed suicide. One veteran alone provided my office with the names and deployment dates of 11 men he personally knew and served with who took the drug and later committed suicide.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, at our veterans affairs committee, we received first-hand testimony from eye witnesses to the behaviour of Clayton Matchee and Kyle Brown in the Somali affair, where they were directly required to take mefloquine, and the sense very much was that there was a relationship there, which was never found out because the inquiry was cut short.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, the Australian Department of Veterans' Affairs recognizes that anxiety, depressive disorders, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and attempted and completed suicides are scientifically linked to mefloquine. Is the minister prepared to do our part, alongside our allies, in dealing with this issue?

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, in simplifying the service delivery model for medically releasing members of the Canadian Armed Forces, this closing of the seam between the Canadian Armed Forces and VAC is so crucial to supplying the needs of our serving members. It is recommended through the ombudsman's report that the Canadian Armed Forces retain medically releasing members until such time as all of the benefits and services from the Canadian Armed Forces, Veterans Affairs Canada, and the Service Income Security Insurance Plan have been confirmed and put in place.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, in light of the tremendous growth in worldwide research on the effects of mefloquine and new policies being developed by our trusted allies, what funding has our own government set aside in this budget to address the concerns of our own servicemen and servicewomen about their exposure to this drug?

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, we need to know that the government is prepared to set up a Canadian outreach program for veterans exposed to mefloquine. What they want to see is independent research by physicians and scientists to better study the drug's side effects and treatments. Can the minister recommend and encourage independent studies of this issue?