Veterans Affairs committee  This is why the outreach is so important. It has to be done with care, compassion, and respect. This is a very fragile matter.

Veterans Affairs committee  No. They offered to help me with my son's studies. I invited him to move in with me on January 25 when I moved into that apartment that my clinical care manager got for me. It took months and they finally approved it and I got $87 to pay the bus ride for my son and that was it.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, I went through it naturally. I used the natural way to slow my issues. But now, here in the city, I tend to lock myself in—

Veterans Affairs committee  —at home. I bunker. The medication that I'm using has a stigma. I got locked away. I went to provincial court just to settle for a pension with my ex. When asked, I showed my ID, showed the package, and showed what it's packaged for, with the prescription on the side. They still slapped the handcuffs on me.

Veterans Affairs committee  Oh, yes. It came close. There were two of them. I got excited and turned around, and there were eight more. So I kind of put my hands on the back of my head because I didn't want to create an incident. But they locked me up and they put me downstairs. Because I was aggressive, I was locked up for two hours with handcuffs behind my back.

Veterans Affairs committee  Actually, it was just before when I escaped and when my life fell apart. My divorce and everything else, the loss of my house to a house fire, the death of my mother...it all happened in one year. I had another psychosis, and I said, “No more.” I got rid of my car. I haven't been driving since I came back to Canada.

Veterans Affairs committee  Well, what I did is I escaped. I used the sun to get rid of the depression. I used my intake of food to get rid of my diabetes and heal my stomach. I lost so much weight; I melted over there, actually.

Veterans Affairs committee  I was 127 kilograms, and right now I'm at 86. I was very overweight from the pills and depression, etc. I'm sorry, but where am I going now?

Veterans Affairs committee  I hope so.

Veterans Affairs committee  No, it's been five months.

Veterans Affairs committee  That's right.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, sir. There are two ladies are sitting at the back of the room right now who are ready to testify before the Standing Committee on Health. These young women have gone through hell. The difference between their hell and ours is that they had the choice of taking the drug or stopping it.

Veterans Affairs committee  Sir, when I came here for my second hunger strike, I planted my feet on Parliament Hill at the right time. I met the right people. People from the 31 Canadian Brigade Group guided me. They opened my file. They saw why things were slow. There are things that just don't sit well with me.

Veterans Affairs committee  That's right.

Veterans Affairs committee  I think Health Canada should open its doors and set aside funds for major research on this. However, I don't know if there are any funds for this. As a veteran, I don't know what I could do. I could certainly open my Veterans Affairs Canada file and make it public. You could study it from start to finish and see that the pills had a dramatic effect on my life.