onelungtogive wrote:
If Steven Dixon can go on a hunger strike for our benefit. What can we do to help ourselves?

We can protest every Veterans issue we can and we can give our Votes to which ever party supports our issues. There is no other way in Canada and the only fear a politician has is the Voting public who are not happy with what he has or has not done.

Thompson's Office, 19th. or May is your next chance to tell the Minister of Veteran affairs what you think of his accomplishments. And in this case demand a Full Public and Judicial Inquiry into the Gagetown Toxic Chemical Defoliation program.

In referance to the Protest Rally in St. Stephen NB at Greg Thompsons office on May 19th. 2009

The St Stephan Legion held their meeting and their answer is no. They will not support the protest rally. We cannot use their hall as a mustering point. St Stephan's Parks and Recreation and talked with the Director, Mr. Mike O,Connell. You are going to really love this, I am still laughing my head off, I just can't believe our luck.


Directly beside the St Stephan Legion there is a large sports field. We have booked the field for our use. It is ours for the afternoon of May the 19th.

We had contacted the Green Party in hopes of getting Elizabeth May to speak at the protest rally, but she is totally booked in Central Nova on the 19th. of May.
The good news is the Green Party will send someone to represent Miss. May and speak on her behalf and they will provide us with a letter of support calling for a Public Judicial Inquiry.

Dear Fellow Veterans,

We realize that many people may not be able to join us Gagetown Veterans and Victims at Greg Thompson's Office on the 19th of May to protest their handling of the Gagetown Issue and to demand a, "Full Public and Judicial Inquiry."

If you are unable to join us but would still like to support our effort (and no I am not asking for money) Please email Gary Goode gary1@telus.net with a letter of support and your request that a, "Full Public and Judicial Inquiry take place." Gary will have them printed and will present them along with our petition to call for an Inquiry.

We could use your help in this issue and will be thankful for any support.

Thank you in Advance.



Cpl. Kenneth H. Young CD (ret)

where have the days gone when the legions would support the veterans, that legion in st stephen nb should be ashamed of themselves, possibly they may be good friends with thhe v a minister, oh well , at least we have a place to form up , thanks ken

Maybe so Willie,
But the Legion was formed to look after Veterans not Government issues. I believe that when there wasn't enough Veterans to maintain their ranks and they started to give full memberships to (non Military) children and then grand children, veterans issues took a back seat to fun, parties and cheep booze. Taking the monies for new construction from the Government made the Legion beholding to Ottawa.

As for Vets and veterans issues, we are from a forgotten era gone by.

When Alisha said "When there is finally a decision in the case, comments will be open to the public which could be years from now." How true. Goverment is waiting for most of us to die off then maybe they will relent and say cheeze we made a mistake and will now give you some type of a payment.
I have type 2 diabetes, and I do know that there are a lot more of you who have served who are a lot worse off than I.
Good luck to you all on getting anything from our so called compassionate Goverment.
Bob (Woody)

lawsuit



Agent Orange / Agent Purple Class Action




Merchant Law Group LLP has been contacted by numerous veterans and other military personnel and civilians living in and around the base, who wish to pursue Class Action Litigation concerning Agent Orange and Agent Purple. Merchant Law Group LLP has launched an Agent Orange, Agent Purple & Agent White Class Action with the Federal Court of Canada, as of July 12th 2005.



The Federal government has recently admitted spraying Agent Orange and Agent Purple at CFB Gagetown, in New Brunswick, in 1966 and 1967. We have reports of spraying going on during the 1950s and the 1960s, and in far greater amounts then the few drums the government claims to have sprayed.



Agent Orange contained extremely toxic byproducts known as dioxins. Agent Orange was used as a chemical herbicide, or plant killer. It penetrated the waxy covering of leaves to poison the entire plant. It was created from an equal combination of 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid.



Exposure to dioxins has been associated with severe birth defects, certain rare cancers in humans, respiratory problems; impotence; chloracne; developmental and immune system disorders, and other serious health problems.



If you were diagnosed with one or more of the following five illnesses, please click here and provide your name and phone number:

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)
Soft-tissue sarcoma
Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
Hodgkin's disease
Chloracne
Merchant Law Group LLP has twelve offices across Canada. Tony Merchant and his firm are well known for their involvement in Mass & Class Action cases in Canada, currently including Silicon Breast Implant litigation, Metis Veteran Benefits claims, Cryptosporidium Water proceedings, Residential School litigation, CPR Anhydrous Ammonia action, and cases regarding ISM Information Security damages, Tundra noxious gas emissions, and Canadian Wheat Board Pool transfers. Tony Merchant is known to be one of Canada’s most active litigators with nearly 600 reported cases in leading law journals, and has argued thousands of cases before the Canadian and American Courts, in Trial and Administrative Courts, and the Courts of Appeal of various American and Canadian jurisdictions, the Federal Court of Canada, and the Supreme Court of Canada. Tony Merchant has a long history in pursuing public policy cases and is a former Member of the Legislative Assembly.



IF YOU WISH TO JOIN THIS CLASS ACTION OR TO SIMPLY GET MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CALL THE MERCHANT LAW GROUP AT 1 888 567 7777




*************
There are more medical condition on the list.

Gents - let's keep the issues to Agent Orange.

Thanks

Webmaster

Kenneth H Young wrote:
Maybe so Willie,
But the Legion was formed to look after Veterans not Government issues. I believe that when there wasn't enough Veterans to maintain their ranks and they started to give full memberships to (non Military) children and then grand children, veterans issues took a back seat to fun, parties and cheep booze. Taking the monies for new construction from the Government made the Legion beholding to Ottawa.

As for Vets and veterans issues, we are from a forgotten era gone by.

Look Guys and Gals,
I know that it is hard to wrap our minds around suing our own Government, after all we all signed that we could sue for anything which happened to us while in the Military. However VAC was supposed to take care of us and has not even attempted to, and in fact they and DND have been caught destroying files and in the case of Gagetown have re-written the Veterans act to exclude giving the Veteran the benefit of the doubt in all Gagetown cases.

Never the less I am not suing the government for what was done to me in the military. I am suing them in order to have the medical conditions covered by the VAC and I am suing them for the forty years after the Army where they let me suffer in total silence when they knew what the problem was, there by allowing me to become even more ill and without allowing me to inform my doctor.

What happened to us while in Gagetown was Military and we were contaminated while on duty, so VAC is responsible. What has happened to us since we have been out of the military is totally Ottawa's fault.

www.liberalsenateforum.ca/Blog/4045_The-...ange-at-CFB-Gagetown

The use of Agent Orange at CFB Gagetown

Published by Senator Joseph Day on 16 April 2009

The struggle for equitable compensation for military and civilian personnel affected by the use of toxic defoliants at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown is long-standing and ongoing.



I have been involved with this issue for quite some time, and although the government imposed deadline to apply for ex-gratia payments was April 1st, 2009, I will continue to try to help Canadians seeking justice for their unjust suffering.



I recently spoke in the Senate on this issue, and you can read and listen to my speech in its entirety below.



www.liberalsenateforum.ca/In-The-Senate/...nt/3774_Agent-Orange

Hon. Joseph A. Day:

Honourable senators, the term "Agent Orange" became almost a household expression in Canada during the Vietnam War. Honourable senators will know that Agent Orange is a toxic defoliant used by the United States military. However, many of us did not know and do not know that the U.S. military was using Agent Orange at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown in New Brunswick during the 1960s.

Agent Orange contains a chemical called dioxin, a known carcinogen that has been linked to various types of cancer. Scientific testing in New Brunswick into this matter has not been consistent.

My main focus today is not to dissect this matter from a scientific standpoint but from a human standpoint. The fact is that during the 1960s, soldiers, their families and civilian employees at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown, as well as civilians living in the neighbourhood, were all exposed unknowingly to Agent Orange.

On September 12, 2007, the Minister of Veterans Affairs, Greg Thompson, announced the government's plan for payments to certain individuals who had been exposed to Agent Orange. An amount of $96.5 million was set aside for payments of $20,000 each to eligible military and civilian personnel. The government has decided that "eligible" means that the applicant must be living, and diagnosed with, at least one of 12 diseases identified by the U.S. Institute of Medicine. Furthermore, the applicant must have been living on the base or within a five-kilometre radius during the summers of 1966 and 1967. If the person died from cancer, the spouse or caregiver would be entitled to claim in their stead.

However, Minister Thompson announced that the program would be effective only after February 6, 2006 — the day that the Harper government took office. Honourable senators, to be eligible, veterans or civilians would have to be living on or after February 6, 2006. If they died before the Harper government took office, the caregiver would not be eligible for payment.

Military Widows on a War Path is a group founded in New Brunswick that is fighting to correct the inequities of the Harper government. The members are widows whose husbands were confirmed to have been living at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown during the time of spraying, and have the medical documentation proving that they were negatively affected by the dioxins in Agent Orange. Most of the members of Military Widows on a War Path have applied for the ex gratia payments but have been denied on the grounds that their husbands died before the cut-off date of February 6, 2006. They argue that the surviving spouse of a serviceman who died before February 6, 2006, is as entitled to payment as a surviving spouse of a serviceman who died after February 6, 2006, all else being equal.

Another qualifying date looms, honourable senators. The deadline for the application process under this program expires on April 1, 2009, which is next week. As of the end of February, Veterans Affairs Canada had approved $41 million in payments. That figure is less than one half of the allotted amount. Once the program has ended, the unused money will return to general revenue, and not to Veterans Affairs Canada. If there are funds left in the program, why not relax the restrictions? Why are the only eligible years 1966 and 1967 when the spraying of Agent Orange took place at other times as well? Why is it only a five-kilometre radius from the base? Why are only 12 diseases addressed, as outlined by the U.S. Institute of Medicine? Why must a soldier who was serving in 1966-67 have been alive on February 6, 2006, when the Harper government was elected?

In a pre-election speech in Woodstock, New Brunswick, on January 11, 2006, Mr. Harper made a promise. He said:

A Conservative government will stand up for full and fair compensation for persons exposed to defoliant spraying during the period from 1956 to 1984.

Honourable senators, this promise has not been kept. We have seen the Main Estimates for this fiscal year and there is no provision to continue this program. I can assure honourable senators that despite these artificial deadlines set by the Harper government, the damage done to civilians and to military personnel in New Brunswick by Agent Orange is an issue that will not disappear.