OTTAWA, ON, February 18, 2000 - Cliff Chadderton, Chairman of the 37-member National Council of Veteran Associations, today challenged the criticism by the Reform Party that the decision to include stress-related disorders would not assist former Peacekeepers who have been plagued with a series of mysterious illnesses since their service in foreign countries.

On February 16, Veterans Affairs Minister George Baker announced that the Table of Disabilities -- the guide by which pension adjudicators rule on applications for compensation -- was being amended to include stress-related illnesses.

Goldring, the Reform Party Critic for Veterans Affairs, suggested that the move was merely "sweeping the whole host of mysterious illnesses under the carpet" and was "not providing any assurances" to military veterans. His statement was issued in a news release from his office and was included in an article distributed Canada-wide by Canadian Press.

"The amendment will mean that pension adjudicators will not have to look for a specific disease and relate it to military service, as is the case now," Chadderton stated.

The Veterans Affairs Department, and its top review board, had previously been hampered by the absence in the guideline of any "umbrella" clause. This meant that a pension could be paid only if a recognized medical diagnosis could be found which was attributable to service conditions.

"As I read the new amendment," Chadderton said, "Peacekeeping Veterans would now need only to show evidence of Post Traumatic Stress which would be recognized as a disability and would be the basis of compensation under the Pension Act." Chadderton noted that his organization had been asking the Government to broaden the guidelines to eliminate the need for a Peacekeeper to prove that the disability came from a specific cause such as toxins.