OTTAWA, ON, March 12, 2002 - Cliff Chadderton, Chairman of the National Council of Veteran Associations, (NCVA) stated tonight that his 40-member Association would like to see The Ontario Court of Appeal reject a Summary Judgment by the lower courts which would hold the Federal Government liable for payment of interest on monies it has been administering for mentally incompetent hospitalized war veterans.

Most of the money would go to non-veteran relatives. The cost has been estimated as high as $3.5 billion, and would be retroactive to 1917.

Regardless of which way the decision goes, the issue will probably be stalled in the courts for years, Chadderton suggested.

Even if the judgment favours the veteran or his dependants, the NCVA Chairman stated that his organization said that the class action case was what he called a "monumental waste of time." He stated that he had asked Veterans Affairs Minister Ron Duhamel to let the courts play around with the legal aspects for as long as it takes.

"We suggested to the Minister last April that the only way to serve the genuine veteran was to establish a Review Procedure and pay interest for at least 20 years prior to the existing cut-off date of January 1, 1990, but only to the veteran or a surviving widow," Chadderton said.

"DVA made a huge mistake in not recognizing its responsibility to the veterans, where it was holding amounts as high as half a million and not paying interest. If the decision goes against the government, the taxpayer is going to foot an enormous bill for a purpose not covered in legislation," Chadderton said.

"We should strike a balance here," Chadderton stated. "The Department could easily make a decision on the files and move its present restriction back from 1990 some 20 years. This would be fair to the veteran or his surviving widow and the cost to the Federal Treasury would be acceptable," Chadderton suggested.