A story about CFB Gagetown and how Ottawa and the chemical companies are trying to get it dismissed before it ever gets started, sighting among other things that there is little if any interest, is I am afraid being born out by the comments and responses so far.

www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/20...gent-orange-923.html

Three days now and so far only 31 comments with the people who agreed at 68. Wile stories of polygamy, Hells Angles, and almost every other story are up in the thousands of comments, leaves even me totally disheartened and depressed. If we can not get along, if the military or veterans issue are different, if we came for different regiments and if we became ill in different years, who cares, but if we can't or won't stand up for ourselves and together, what in the heck makes you think for a minute that others in this country will for us.

Ottawa is depending on the fact that old veterans can't agree on the time of day let alone get organized enough to show a united front and any Veterans issue. Why can they get away with robbing our pension fund, why can the decrease veterans disability pensions under the "one time $250,000 dollar", why can they claw back your CPP when you reach 65 and why are all the other veterans issues on the back burner? Because we let them put them there. We still vote for the A-- holes who vote against veterans issues, we don't speak up and by the looks of the comments on this story, we don't even care.

If the victims of this Gagetown atrocity as well as too many other veterans issues to bother write here are too dammed self centered, too lazy, too fed up and too uncaring to even write a comment which is free to do so, well I can fully understand why the rest of Canada has said to hell with us and why Ottawa has taken the route that they have. All Ottawa has to do is stall a bit more and the problem will go away all on its own.

Stand up for yourselves or stop moaning, bitching and complaining how badly you were treated by Ottawa, DND and the VAC. That no body gives a dammed is the fault of each and every one of the, "let's just sit around and drink beer, bitch and wait and see what happens people," and they have no one to blame but themselves. They can also stop asking why no one gives a dammed and why no body does the right thing. What they can do is look in a mirror and point the finger at where a lot of the blame belongs.

PS: If you don't have your own computer use a friends, but bitch where and when it counts.


Cpl. Kenneth H. Young CD (ret)

Dismiss Agent Orange lawsuit, N.L. court urged
Last Updated: Wednesday, September 23, 2009 | 8:30 PM AT Comments31Recommended24CBC News
The federal government and two chemical companies went to court Wednesday in a bid to stop a class-action lawsuit launched by people who claim they developed cancer after being exposed to Agent Orange at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown in New Brunswick.

The suit, brought by more than 1,700 people from across the country as well as 35 from the province, was certified in the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador trial division.

On Wednesday, lawyers representing federal Attorney General Rob Nicholson, Minister of National Defence Peter Mackay , the Dow Chemical Company and the Pharmacia Corp. were in a St. John's courtroom seeking to have the certification order overturned.

Retired Canadian soldier, John Mallard, says he was diagnosed with cancer because of Agent Orange at CFB Gagetown. (CBC)
The plaintiffs say they have been diagnosed with cancers including leukemia, Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma because of their exposure to Agent Orange at Gagetown between 1956 and 2004.

"All the time I was at Gagetown was out in the field training — you're sleeping on the ground, you are eating your hard rations … you're eating with your hands, so basically you're ingesting it," said retired soldier John Mallard, who is convinced his cancer stemmed from exposure to the herbicide at Gagetown."You're sleeping in it, you're burning bush to keep warm, so you're inhaling it."

Retired brigadier-general Ed Ring, a Newfoundlander and another of the plaintiffs, was outraged by the bid to stop the suit.

Retired brigadier-general Ed Ring, of St. John's is a member of a class-action suit claiming exposure to Agent Orange left him with cancer. (CBC)
"I am appalled that we have large organizations like the federal government and these chemical companies trying to deny us the opportunity to even have our case heard in court," he said.

The federal government and the companies maintain Agent Orange — a herbicide developed in the United States for use in the Vietnam War — was only one of 23 chemicals sprayed on the base, so there is no way to determine who was exposed to which chemical and for how long.

They also say there's not enough common ground among the ailments suffered by the plaintiffs to justify a class-action suit.

In September of 2007 the federal government announced a $96-million compensation package for people exposed to the herbicide at Gagetown —a $20,000 payout to anyone who qualified for it.

Members of the class-action suit refused to accept the settlement.

Hearings are scheduled to continue in St. John's Thursday.

i guess that it is quite obivious that we have a prime minister who is a liar & a defense minister who pretends he cares for the troops to try to get himself reelected, but in realty doesn,t give a shit about us, what else can you say about the pm ,harper, he only cares abour 2 things himself & hanging on to power, for CONTROL, what really peaves me off is that they use our own money to fight us with & they would spend a lot less money keeping the promise that they made befoore the election to settle with us than it will cost in the courts to fight us, there will be an election coming within the next 6 months & as far as i am concerned, anyone who votes tory deserves what they get. willie musgrave

this letter is right on the money ken & yet the same people who choose to do nothing now , would be lined up around the block to get their compensation cheques if they were giveing them out,,,,,, same old can,t be bothered attitude i guess, willie musgrave.

CFB Gagetown Class Actions in Jeopardy

Ottawa's and their (what I consider) questionable third partied Dow and Pharmacia's win in the New Brunswick class action courts against Spalding, blocking Gagetown victims from even launching a class action law suit in New Brunswick, has embolden them to try the same in Newfoundland, using pretty much the same arguments.

In most ways, Dow and Monsanto (Pharmacia) make the same argument about manageability and lack of commonality to each court. If their appeal is allowed in Newfoundland and certification is dismissed in Saskatchewan, subject to appeals, class members would have to bring their own individual actions or not sue at all.



It is hard for me to personally understand how Ottawa and the chemical industry can claim in one court that they believe there should only be one court case and that being in New Brunswick and then they use all means to prevent that very same New Brunswick certification. I am also having trouble with Dow and Monsanto (Paramecia) even being in this case at all. We never sued them and even Ottawa has only brought them in as third parties concerning the 1966 and 67, US chemical use in Gagetown. Both Dow and Pharmacia have denied providing the agent orange that was used in 1966/67, so why are they allowed to argue the remaining 29 years and over 3 million pounds/liters and the Canadian use of toxic pesticides at Base Gagetown?



The problem lies in the detail, much of which is under a court order and can not be made public as of yet but basically it boils down to... If the Victims and general public don't start to make their voices and opinions heard, on how both the veterans and civilians are being done by in this case, if we continue to allow our Government to use our own unlimited amounts of Tax dollars to defeat us in court, if we continue to allow Ottawa to choose which and even if they will compensate people for their government mistakes and if we continue to be lead quietly like sheep to the slaughter, Canada is doomed to the dictatorship we ourselves vote in... and what's more, we will deserver it.



Cpl. Kenneth H. Young CD (ret)