Canadian Government Spends $8 Million To Fight Agent Orange Claims

[pacmanx1]

CANADIAN GOVERNMENT SPENDS $8 MILLION TO FIGHT AGENT ORANGE CLAIMS

Documents recently tabled in Parliament show four departments have been involved in battling the class-action suit regarding AO exposure at Base Gagetown.

NOTE from Larry Scott, VA Watchdog dot Org ... It seems our Canadian Brother and Sister veterans are fighting the same battle that U.S. veterans of the Vietnam War are fighting.

For complete background on Agent Orange use at Base Gagetown, use our search engine ... here ...

http://www.yourvaben...gagetown&op=and

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Legal costs to fight Agent Orange case near $8 million

By Kathryn May, The Ottawa Citizen

http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Legal+costs+fight+Ag

ent+Orange+case+near+million/3188219/story.html

OTTAWA The Harper government has spent nearly $8 million fighting veterans and their families seeking compensation for exposure to the defoliant Agent Orange at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown in New Brunswick.

Documents recently tabled in Parliament show four departments have been involved in battling the class-action suit, with the Justice Department spending the most at $5.8 million, followed by another $1.5 million spent by National Defense. Health Canada and Veterans Affairs have paid about $445,000.

Liberal Senator Percy Downe, who requested the tab, said $7.8 million in legal fees is "beyond the pale" especially when veterans exposed to Agent Orange are being denied what's owed to them.

The tally includes outside legal fees and departmental costs incurred between July 2005 and March 2010.

"These surviving veterans and their families have waited long enough it's time to stop paying lawyers and start paying our veterans the debt to which they are owed."

Downe said veterans and civilians were forced into a lawsuit after the Harper government failed to honor a promise to compensate anyone affected by the spraying of the powerful defoliant on the base between 1956 and 1984.

The government introduced a $96-million plan, but critics say it has restrictions that aim to limit the numbers who qualify for compensation and the government's liability.

From:

http://www.vawatchdog.org/printpage.php

Edited June 27, 2010 by pacmanx1