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CANADIAN ATOMIC VETS WANT MORE
COMPENSATION, FILE
CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT -- "The Government made a
series
of false, reckless, and materially misleading
representations
about the extent of exposure to radiation and the
risks
it posed to members of the Canadian Armed Forces."
For more about Atomic Veterans, use the VA
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ssearch.php?q=atomic&op=and
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http://www.ottawacitizen.com/new
s/Atomic+veterans+want+more+compensation+fi
le+class+action+lawsuit/1245350/story.html
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Atomic veterans want more compensation, file
class-action lawsuit
By David Pugliese
The Ottawa Citizen
OTTAWA — Details of a class action lawsuit for Canadian veterans of Cold
War atomic testing were filed Monday in a Saskatchewan court as former
soldiers who were subjected to nuclear blasts prepare to do battle with
the federal government for compensation.
Veterans who witnessed atomic tests in the U.S. and at other locations
allege that various ailments they suffer from are the result of exposure
to radiation from those experiments.
“The Government made a series of false, reckless, and materially
misleading representations about the extent of exposure to radiation and
the risks it posed to members of the Canadian Armed Forces,” according to
the statement of claim filed in the Court of the Queen’s Bench in Regina
by lawyer Tony Merchant.
The lawsuit alleges that the veterans were not told about the dangers of
radioactivity, were not provided with protective equipment and were not
decontaminated after participating in a series of nuclear blasts.
The allegations have yet to be proven in court.
Two former soldiers who witnessed atomic tests in Nevada in 1957, George
Clarke of Victoria, B.C., and Arnold Clay, originally from Nipawin, Sask.,
but now living in Calgary, are specifically named in the court documents.
But Mr. Merchant estimates the class action lawsuit could involve several
thousand Canadians, including veterans and their family members.
So far 141 veterans or members of their families have contacted Mr.
Merchant’s law firm. An estimated 900 military personnel were subjected to
the atomic tests.
Last year Defence Minister Peter MacKay, who is named in the lawsuit,
announced a compensation package that would award qualified atomic
veterans a $24,000 lump sum payment.
In an email, Mr. MacKay’s office said he is “very proud of the ex-gratia
payment announced this past September and being made available to former
members of the Canadian Forces and certain civilian personnel who
participated in nuclear weapons testing or assisted in the decontamination
of the Chalk River nuclear reactor. These ex-gratia payments will be made
without proof of medical association and are available to the estates of
deceased members or employees.”
The minister declined to comment on the legal action as it is before the
Courts.
In the 1980s the U.S. government started providing financial compensation
to its atomic veterans, offering those who took part in the tests a lump
sum payment of $75,000 each.
Mr. Merchant said that for Canadian veterans it has been an uphill battle
for decades.
“The government has been very resistant to doing anything of a meaningful
nature with atomic veterans,” he said. “They’re called atomic veterans,
but they should be called atomic guinea pigs.”
He said the tests were staged because various governments wanted to see
whether soldiers could operate on battlefields contaminated by radiation
from nuclear bombs.
The veterans’ case was bolstered in 2007 when a Defence Department report
determined that an estimated 900 Canadian military personnel were exposed
to radiation during atomic tests and during a reactor mishap at Chalk
River, Ont., during the 1950s.
Mr. Clay was hospitalized for four days after one of the Nevada atomic
explosions. Later he developed arthritis in his right shoulder, hip,
ankles and knees and the effects of his exposure to radiation remain
unknown, according to the lawsuit.
Mr. Clarke was diagnosed with a hypothyroid condition, but Veterans
Affairs told him there was no connection between that and his military
service.
Other veterans have died waiting for compensation. One of those was Donald
Bernicky, 74, of Smiths Falls who went through six atomic bomb detonations
and a battle with the federal government over whether he should be given a
disability pension for the ailments he suffered as a result.
Mr. Bernicky had skin cancer and other medical problems his family
attribute to his exposure to radiation during the Cold War tests. He died
in 2007.
Last year Peter Mitchell of Ottawa died after a 15-year battle with
various cancers. He also took part in the Nevada tests and was exposed to
large amounts of radiation.
In early 2007, then Defence Minister Gordon O’Connor and Chief of the
Defence Staff Gen. Rick Hillier met with some veterans and promised their
cases would be swiftly dealt with.
But Mr. Merchant said the Defence Department has been withholding records
and other details about the tests.
“We’ve not found that information is forthcoming and when people have
tried to go to Access to Information they were met with 'this is secret,'
or, 'it’s not in the national interest to release details, notwithstanding
the fact that these incidents happened 40 or 50 years ago,” he explained.
-------------------------
posted by Larry Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org
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