MONTREAL — Canadian diplomats who were posted to Cuba are suing their government, claiming that it failed to protect them and to respond robustly to a mysterious illness they acquired while stationed in Cuba.

The illness, known as Havana Syndrome, has affected dozens of American and Canadian diplomats posted to Cuba, some of whom have come down with symptoms like memory loss, sleep disturbance and nosebleeds, after saying they heard a strange high-pitched sound.

The suit, which was filed this week in a federal court in Toronto, says the Canadian government has been too slow to respond and did not provide sufficient medical treatment after diplomats and their children were targeted in 2017 by strange “debilitating attacks” that resulted in brain injuries without any evident physical trauma.

Paul Miller, the lawyer representing the 14 diplomats, spouses and children who are suing, compared the attack that preceded their illnesses to “a science fiction horror film.”