OTTAWA, ON, December 12, 1997 - The War Amps of Canada expressed appreciation on receiving notice today that the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade has issued a unanimous resolution requesting that the Canadian government pay compensation to the Canadian Far East Prisoners of War, including the Hong Kong veterans, based on a claim originally submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Commission by The War Amps in 1987.

The claim was made under the provisions of the Geneva Convention which state that a prisoner of war must be paid for so-called "slave labour" if forced to work in the war industries of a detaining power.

Cliff Chadderton, Chief Executive Officer of The War Amps and Patron of the Hong Kong Veterans, has spearheaded the claim. He was notified of the resolution from the Foreign Affairs Committee, which is chaired by Bill Graham, Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre Rosedale.

The Committee has recommended that this payment be made now, and that the government of Canada can then examine the possibility of claiming the total amount from the Japanese government according to international law.

The UN Commission on Human Rights and the UN Human Rights Committee had studied the submissions from The War Amps concluding, in a decision in 1993, that the matter could not be considered further under the various human rights provisions of international law until such time as The War Amps had exhausted all of the avenues available to consider the claim in Canada.

"According to our interpretation," Chadderton said, "the Human Rights officials in Geneva agreed with the principle that our prisoners of war were entitled to payment."

On receipt of this decision, The War Amps wrote to the Prime Minister and, after correspondence with various Ministers of the Chrétien government, authority was obtained to refer the matter to the Foreign Affairs Committee.

The War Amps presented the claim before the Committee on November 21, 1996, and a subsequent hearing was held March 11, 1997, in which representatives of the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Justice and Foreign Affairs responded.

Following the second hearing, Chairman Graham wrote to the then Minister of National Defence, Doug Young, advising that the Committee was anxious to solve the claim and stating that, if it could not be done before the election, the question should be brought up before Parliament reconvenes. Momentum increased when the Bloc Québecois issued a news release just prior to the September 22nd opening of Parliament reaffirming its support for the claim.

The claim calls for the payment of $23,940 for each of the approximately 350 surviving PoWs and 500 widows, for a total of $20,349,000.

Chadderton praised the Committee for its efforts in pushing the claim to this level. "The Foreign Affairs Committee put a tremendous amount of time and effort into hearing the claim and issuing this resolution, and for this we are extremely grateful."

The full text of the resolution follows: 

Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence Thursday December 11, 1997

It was agreed, - That whereas 2,100 Canadian military personnel were captured in Hong Kong and held by the Japanese for 44 months during World War II;

Whereas these prisoners suffered abuse and were forced into hard labour by the Japanese;

Whereas no amount of money could really compensate for the years lost by our Hong Kong veterans and the suffering they endured in the service of Canada, our Hong Kong Veterans deserve special consideration;

Whereas the United Nations Sub-Commission on Human Rights recognized the validity of the claims by the Canadian veterans with regard to their forced labour during World War II in concluding that the Japanese had seriously violated the Geneva Convention;

Whereas the Sub-Commission also deems that there is no moratorium on war crimes,

The Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade recommends that the Canadian Government:

1. Recognize the justification for the claim made by veterans against Japan regarding the forced labour carried out during World War II;

2. Pay equitable compensation to every Hong Kong veteran; and

3. Examine the possibility of claiming the total amount from the Japanese Government according to international law.