OTTAWA, ON, March 14, 2001 - Cliff Chadderton, Chairman of the National Council of Veteran Associations, stated that his 37-member umbrella group, representing approximately 200,000 members, applauded a news statement that personnel who had served in dangerous military assignments will be entitled to be recognized as "war veterans."

The NCVA made a major submission to the Standing Committee on National Defence and Veterans Affairs on July 13, 1998, asking the Government to grant benefits to the Peacetime Forces on the same basis as those who served during times of war.

The submission pointed out that enlistment in the Peacetime Forces automatically requires the member to serve anywhere in the world, without restrictions on the conditions of service or without anyway limiting the hazards involved and that, therefore, it should be considered that, after dangerous or long-time service, it is acceptable to permit such persons the designation "veteran."

Chadderton also wrote to Veterans Affairs Minister Ron Duhamel on March 1, 2001 to advise him of NCVA's position following a protest on Parliament Hill in which a number of Gulf War veterans accosted Duhamel and Defence Minister Art Eggleton complaining that Government legislation did not provide the same coverage as veterans who had fought in major wars of the 20th century.

Mr. Duhamel was correct in stating at the time that veterans who had served in "special duty areas" received the same benefits as those who served in World War I, World War II and Korea, however, NCVA pointed out that the Government's definition of a ‘special duty area' was far too restrictive, noting that, for example, military personnel who could trace illness or injuries to domestic events such as the Oka crisis, the Manitoba flood and the 1998 ice storm were not covered.

Quoting the Veterans Pension Act, Chadderton stated that those who had served in a "special duty area" had to prove that a disability was directly connected with military service. This is far more restrictive than the so-called "insurance principle" which provides pension and other benefits for those who served in Canada's major wars, regardless of the geographical area in which death, injury or illness took place.