Canadian Diplomats Respond to Dalhousie Report

TORONTO, Sept. 25, 2019 /CNW/ - Plaintiffs’ lawyers are in the process of reviewing a second version of the Dalhousie report entitled “Havana Syndrome Among Canadian Diplomats” regarding a study into the brain injuries suffered by Canadian diplomats and their families and the possible source of the Havana Syndrome that has affected Canadian diplomats. None of the Canadian diplomats or their lawyers were informed of the existence of this second version, or given an opportunity to review it before it was shared with the media and online.

The Plaintiffs’ lawyers wish to make the following points clear on behalf of their clients:

• The report confirms, based on objective medical evidence, that the Canadian diplomats and their families have in fact suffered brain injuries while posted in Havana.
  
• The report does not make any clear findings regarding the cause of Havana Syndrome, instead only raising the “hypothesis” of overexposure to insecticides as a “plausible” cause. The Dalhousie Report does not rule out other possible causes, including a targeted directed energy attack, saying only that the insecticide hypothesis is a “plausible alternative” to the theory of an acoustic attack. Additionally, the Dalhousie report specifically raises the possibility and does not discount that the brain injuries could be the result of a targeted chemical attack on our diplomats and their families.
  
• The report does not provide any explanation for why, if the brain injuries were the result of widespread “mass indoor and outdoor fumigation” in Havana, only a limited number of American and Canadian diplomats and their families have been affected. Given the fact that insecticides were deployed aggressively and indiscriminately throughout Havana, if brain injuries were caused by overexposure to insecticides, it would be expected that brain injuries would be indiscriminate and widespread throughout the entire population of Havana, including amongst Cubans, diplomatic staff of all nations, and even tourists. The facts are, however, that the persons effected were concentrated amongst a handful of Canadian and American diplomats and their families. The only plausible explanation is that whatever happened in Cuba, the Canadian and American diplomatic staff had been specifically targeted.
  
• The report does not include any information regarding the actual insecticide that was used in Havana, instead speculating that it must have been Temephos. Temephos was detected in only 7 of 21 individuals tested who had returned from Havana within the last 19 months.
  
• The report concludes that the “shared symptoms, location, period, and relative duration of time” between American and Canadian Diplomats all point to a common cause. In other words, the cause of Havana Syndrome in both Canadian and American diplomats is likely the same.
  
• No American medical expert who has investigated Havana Syndrome in American diplomats has adopted the “insecticide theory” as the cause of brain injuries.
  
• It very much remains a possibility that the brain injuries that the Canadian diplomats and their families suffered were the result of a targeted attack – either a targeted directed energy attack, or a targeted chemical attack.

The Canadian diplomats feel profoundly betrayed by the Canadian government. Canadian diplomats and their families deserve better. Not only did Canada put them in harm’s way, but it is now re-victimizing them by failing to properly investigate and identify the actual cause of their injuries, by failing to provide them and their families with proper medical treatment, and by failing to accept responsibility for the diplomats and their families who have been so severely injured while serving their country. The betrayal has been further compounded by the release of the second version of the Dalhousie report to media and others without any notice or disclosure to the diplomats themselves.

Howie, Sacks & Henry LLP and Waddell Phillips Professional Corporation are the lawyers for the Plaintiffs and can be reached using the contact information below for further information regarding the lawsuits.

About Howie, Sacks & Henry LLP

Howie, Sacks & Henry advances mass tort claims and class actions on behalf of people injured by dangerous products, pharmaceuticals and medical devices. These include victims who have suffered exposure to asbestos, cancer caused by the use of baby powder, the side effects of pharmaceutical drugs, and those adversely impacted by defective medical devices, including St. Jude Defibrillators, Hernia Mesh and Transvaginal Mesh.

For more information, please contact call Paul Miller at 416-361-5990 or email PMiller@hshlawyers.com

About Waddell Phillips PC

Waddell Phillips Professional Corporation is a boutique law firm, specializing in plaintiff-side class actions. The principals of the firm have helped victims in a wide range of cases, including product liability, consumer protection, aboriginal residential schools, franchise disputes and securities misrepresentations.

For more information, call our firm at 647-261-4486, or email reception@waddellphillips.ca .

SOURCE Howie, Sacks & Henry LLP