"MP Hill Commends Persistence of Forces Ombudsman and Medical Staff"

January 15, 2004

Ottawa - Jay Hill, Senior National Defence Critic for the Official Opposition, said today he is pleased that despite resistance from commanders, military medical staff had persevered and will be travelling to Kabul, Afghanistan to present their data regarding air quality to the troops. 

“It’s about time someone broke through this unnecessary and unjustified cloak of secrecy,” said Hill.  “If the Department of National Defence possesses medical and environmental test results that can serve to alleviate the health concerns of almost 2000 Canadians serving in Afghanistan, then why the secrecy?” 

When Military Ombudsman André Marin first brought soldiers’ concerns about fecal-contaminated air in Kabul to national attention last November, Hill argued at the time that it was important to both DND and soldiers to document and release air quality tests so that if health problems arise in the future, medical staff can more knowledgeably include, or exclude, air contaminants in Afghanistan as the cause.  He also stated that by opposing the release of medical and environmental tests, senior military commanders risked intensifying soldiers’ suspicions, mistrust and worries about their long-term health. 

“Mr. Marin fulfilled his responsibilities as a persistent advocate for our military personnel admirably in this case,” stated Hill.  “ Moreover, I commend the military’s medical staff who stuck out their necks and insisted to their superiors that they be allowed to travel to Afghanistan later this month to present their findings to the troops.” 

Hill pointed out that questionable military medical practices and policies in the past several decades, including the use of Canadian soldiers as “guinea pigs” in mustard gas experiments during World War II and the administering of expired vaccines to troops in the 1990s, require that the chain of command must now back up blanket reassurances about soldiers’ health with proof. 

“Now, thanks to the Kabul air quality presentations, when many of our troops return home later this month, they will hopefully be better equipped to reassure their families and loved ones regarding the impact this mission had on their health,” concluded Hill.