Opposition parties call for extension to deadline for military tainted water compensation | 24CA News
The deadline for army members and their households to use for compensation after ingesting contaminated water is approaching quick — and federal opposition events are urging Ottawa to not block an utility for an extension.
Some present and former members and their households who lived in CFB Valcartier’s married quarters from 1995 to 2000 could possibly be eligible for 1000’s of {dollars} in compensation — in the event that they apply earlier than the Jan.15 deadline.
In 2020, the Quebec Court of Appeal awarded hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in compensation to some residents of Shannon, Que., a city near CFB Valcartier. Only army members and their households who have been dwelling in married quarters within the city throughout that point interval are eligible.
For a long time, a cancer-causing industrial degreasing agent referred to as trichloroethylene, or TCE, was used at Valcartier’s analysis facility and a close-by ammunition manufacturing facility. It leached into the water desk. The Quebec Court of Appeal concluded the chemical was used over an “indeterminate period” from the Fifties to the Nineties.
Class-action legal professionals representing residents of Shannon shall be in court docket on Jan.11 asking for an extension to the deadline. The Conservative, NDP and Green events are calling on the federal authorities to help the residents’ request for extra time.
“Conservatives support that call for an extension of the deadline,” stated James Bezan, the Conservative nationwide defence critic. “We expect the government to do the right thing to provide the compensation and not try to do this on the cheap.”
Bezan additionally referred to as on the Department of National Defence (DND) and Veterans Affairs Canada to do extra to assist inform these affected that they will apply for compensation.
WATCH | Veteran says his household was uncovered to tainted water on a army base:
A Canadian veteran is asking on the Department of National Defence to make extra of an effort to contact folks entitled to compensation after ingesting tainted water on a Quebec army base.
One of the legal professionals aiding class-action claimants estimates that about 2,800 have utilized for compensation. But Steve Clarke stated he fears roughly 2,000 extra could possibly be unnoticed — a lot of them former spouses and youngsters of personnel stationed within the Quebec group within the late Nineties.
“The people being left out are the most marginalized,” Clarke stated. “Women, children and those people who have moved around the world — the people who are least capable of finding out about this.
“These ladies, due to the excessive divorce charge amongst army folks, have been divorced from their husbands. We haven’t any approach of contacting them.”
NDP veteran’s affairs critic Rachel Blaney agreed, saying military systems often fail women.
“There’s a sample that could be very clear throughout the armed forces after which on to Veterans Affairs that leaves ladies behind and does not acknowledge each their roles as serving members [and] as help to those that serve our nation,” Blaney said.
Blaney said the federal government has an established pattern of mistreating military spouses, citing a clause that excludes many of them from survivor pension benefits — the so-called “golddigger clause.”
The Green Party called on DND to extend the deadline and to extend the compensation criteria to include people who drank the water but didn’t live in married quarters.
“It’s not about technical definitions,” said Green Leader Elizabeth May. “It’s about justice, and individuals who have been uncovered to trichloroethylene of their water ought to know that that has occurred.”
Veterans Affairs Canada and DND would not say whether the Government of Canada’s lawyers will oppose the motion in court Wednesday.
“The court docket will decide as as to if or to not prolong the deadline. Further discussions will then happen on subsequent steps, however we can not speculate on what these could also be,” said DND spokesperson Jessica Lamirande.
DND said it published class action notices in regional and national newspapers and issued several news releases to get the word out about compensation. It said it supplied the class-action lawyers with the names of members currently serving, but stopped short of providing the names of former members affected.
Defence Minister Anita Anand said in a media statement that the water contamination at CFB Valcartier was “unacceptable” and her ideas are with these affected. Through the category motion, she stated, the army is making certain recognized claimants obtain compensation.
