OTTAWA, ON, December 11, 1998

STATEMENT:

The government of Canada should be given credit for paying the Hong Kong Veterans Claim without imposing the condition that it would seek reimbursement from Japan.

This statement was made today by Cliff Chadderton of The War Amputations of Canada who submitted the claim, originally to the Human Rights Committee and finally to the Canadian government.

"It seems evident that the government realized that the situation required immediate action and that Canadians would not want the Hong Kong veterans to have to wait for the two years or so which might be required to have the claim launched by Canada against Japan in the International Court of Justice in the Hague," Chadderton said.

Chadderton explained that there were two bases upon which payment could be made. The first was the provision in the Geneva Convention to the effect that prisoners of war made to work in enemy industries were entitled to payment at the same rate as the enemy country paid its own labour.

The other justification for payment was on a humanitarian basis, under which the government, on behalf of the Canadian public, could make what is known as an "extraordinary payment."

"Human Rights officials in Geneva have told us all along that if Canada were to have a claim against Japan, the payment would have to be made in accordance with the Geneva Convention," Chadderton said.

"We assume, therefore, that by making the payment for humanitarian reasons, Canada was weakening its position in claiming against Japan," he added.

"Those of us who have pursued this claim for more than 12 years are of the opinion that Canadians as a whole would have no objection to the payment being made by Canada," Chadderton said.

"In my opinion, this does not let Japan off the hook, as indicated in the statement by Peter Goldring of the Reform Party. The entire Human Rights community has been watching this issue for many years. It will be seen at the Human Rights Centre in Geneva as a situation where Canada has in fact embarrassed Japan by paying its former PoWs," Chadderton said.