Canada compensates for Vietnam-era Agent Orange
Wed Sep 12, 2:58 PM ET
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070912/wl_canada_nm/canada_agentorange_col_1
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada will compensate people who may have been hurt by U.S.
testing of the defoliant Agent Orange at a Canadian military base in New
Brunswick during the Vietnam War, the government said on Wednesday.
It will pay C$20,000 ($19,200) to those who have come down with conditions such
as spina bifida and prostate cancer and who lived in or near the Gagetown base
during the 1966-67 period when the testing went on.
During the testing, helicopters sprayed about 745 pounds (338 kg) of Agent
Orange on 138 acres in a remote, unused part of the base, the Canadian
Department of National Defence said.
Canada did not fight in Vietnam. During the war, Agent Orange was used by the
United States to defoliate areas of Vietnam to deprive enemy forces of tree
cover.
"We are proud to announce a plan that is fair and shows compassion to the
thousands of Canadians whose lives have been so affected," Veterans Affairs
Minister Greg Thompson said in a statement.
The payments are separate from disability pensions that veterans can apply for
if they have contracted medical conditions related to their military service. In
addition, a class action lawsuit is under way against the government and
chemical manufacturers.
For the package announced on Wednesday, the government has set aside C$96
million ($92 million) to cover 4,500 people as well as operational and
advertising costs.
CBC television quoted Ken Dobbie, president of the Agent Orange Association of
Canada, as saying that some members of his group spend more on drugs in a year
than the one-time payment of C$20,000 that is being offered by the government.