I would refer you to my letter of November 20, 1997 regarding your audit of the Health Protection Branch (HPB) of the Department of Health.

I urged you to audit HPB's decision making and compliance with the requirements of the Food and Drug Act with respect to the anti-malarial drug mefloquine, specifically pre-market evaluation, mechanisms for monitoring adverse reactions, and post-approval surveillance.

In order to ensure the integrity of your audit, I want to alert you to a troubling lack of respect for the facts at the highest levels of the Departments of Health and Defence, as evidenced by the following:

1. When asked what actions were being taken against the manufacturer for failure to supervise the Lariam Safety Monitoring Study, or the military who illegally prescribed the drug, the Minister of Health informed Parliament on October 20, 1997 that an "investigation" was underway.

No such investigation was underway. When subsequently challenged on the issue the Minister informed Parliament that indeed there had not been an "investigation".

2. After CTV's W5 program revealed the Canadian Forces failed to comply with the requirements of the Lariam Safety Monitoring Study, an advisory note informed the Defence Minister that the Somalia Inquiry had been misled as to the status of the drug. The note also suggested the Minister could imply that the mefloquine was acquired abroad.