A Review Committee Established by the Government to Consider the Circumstances of Veterans Given a Dishonourable Discharge Indicates a Strong Miscarriage of Justice
OTTAWA, ON, October 18, 2005 - The Chairman of the National Council of Veteran Associations (52 organizations) today sent a letter to the Minister of Veterans Affairs proposing that some 14,100 former members of the military of WWII be compensated, in that they were deemed "never to have served."
The letter was supported by a historical review of the circumstances first adopted by the Government in 1946 and updated in 1948 under the title of War Service Grants Act.
Cliff Chadderton, NCVA Chairman and a member of the Interdepartmental Committee on Veterans Affairs (1945 - 1948) stated that the Government's eventual disposing of such cases by declaring the veteran as deemed "never to have served" is an unjustifiable act.
The letter to the Minister described an administrative situation which meant literally that some veterans were deprived of their full rehabilitation benefits for the simple reason that the investigating committee could not contact them. The reason given is that in many instances three or four years had elapsed since the veteran left the Forces based on misconduct which were grounds for a dishonourable discharge.
Chadderton observed: "Many of these cases involved only minor infractions such as absent without leave despite the veteran's volunteering for and having given good service to his country. It would be impossible now to make an award based on legislation which applied to veterans generally. This includes a reestablishment credit of $15 for each month of service in Canada and $30 for any of those months where the veteran had served overseas."
"It is for this reason that we are recommending an ex-gratia payment which could be approved without enabling legislation but could be paid to the veteran, his widow or dependants. This would be much less than the compounded value of the payment of the reestablishment credit or other benefits. It would, however, help in restoring the veteran's pride - - a much valued perception in this Year of the Veteran," Chadderton concluded.
He suggested that the grant should accurately reflect the veteran's term and theatre of service. Chadderton suggested further that if the Government was unwilling or unable to approve such ex-gratia payments, the matter be referred to the Standing Committee on National Defence and Veterans Affairs which would provide an opportunity for the Government officials to explain the developments and provide a platform for veterans organizations to plead for compensation to the aggrieved veteran or his dependants.