OTTAWA, ON, November 3, 1998

Statement:

The proposal of Veterans Affairs Minister Fred Mifflin to provide benefits sought by Merchant Seamen who held a hunger strike on Parliament Hill from September 29th to October 9th hasbeen rejected.

The demand of the hunger strikers was for a grant to compensate them for benefits whichwere denied following discharge from World War II on the grounds that they did not have"veteran status."

The strike ended when MP Bob Wood (Liberal - Nipissing), Parliamentary Secretary to the Veterans Affairs Minister, told the strikers that consultation would be held with them before amending legislation would be placed before Parliament.

This consultation ended with a meeting with the Canadian Merchant Navy Veterans Association in Saint John, New Brunswick on Friday, October 30, 1998.

According to Cliff Chadderton, Chairman of the 35-member National Council of Veteran Associations who had been asked to act as a consultant to the group, the Parliamentary Secretary and other Veterans Affairs officials stated at the Saint John meeting that the new Bill provided only that benefits for Merchant Seamen would be incorporated into existing legislation for veterans. According to a statement from the Minister, the purpose was to clarify the question of whether the Merchant Seamen were given full recognition as veterans.

The Merchant Seamen and the National Council have been seeking retroactivity to make up for the loss of benefits for the veterans of the Merchant Navy on their re-entry into civilian life. New legislation introduced in 1992 provided them with some of the benefits available to war veterans, but made no provisions for the 47 years between 1945 and 1992.

According to the information provided by Veterans Affairs officials at the Saint John consultation, the new legislation was not intended to add any financial assistance and, according to MP Bob Wood, representing the Minister, he had no authority to discuss demands of the Merchant Seamen for the benefits which were available to veterans but denied to them. This included not only the financial loss - - in some cases, as long as 50 years - - for those who were eventually able to qualify for war disability pension or income support benefits, but also for at least 12 supplementary forms of assistance which were available to members of the regular Armed Forces on their release in 1945. These included; land grants, housing, training and re-establishment allowances.

Chadderton sent a letter to Veterans Affairs Minister Mifflin yesterday, citing the dissatisfaction of his organization regarding the consultation. The letter was endorsed by Aurele Ferlatte of Moncton, New Brunswick, President of the Canadian Merchant Navy Veterans Association - - the organization representing the largest number of Merchant Seamen. Ferlatte's group does not belong to the National Merchant Seamen Coalition.

The letter from the Chairman of the National Council advised that his group and Mr. Ferlatte's organization were satisfied with the parts of a new Bill, which would provide additional benefits to widows and prisoners of war. The letter stated that, according to information provided by Veterans Affairs sources, the new legislation was not intended to provide new benefits. This removed any urgency and the suggestion was made that the provisions for Merchant Seamen should be withheld for now, to leave time to negotiate the "retroactivity" question.

The National Council and Merchant Navy Veterans Association rejected out of hand the proposal that the new Bill go before Parliament in its existing state, leaving the question of past benefits for the "missing years" to be considered at a later date. "The Merchant Seamen were afraid they would lose the momentum built up after the hunger strike, and the NCVA agrees with this," Chadderton stated.

A copy of the letter from Chadderton to the Minister of Veterans Affairs dated November 2, 1998, is appended for information.