OTTAWA, ON, April 1, 2008 - The National Council of Veteran Associations (55 member-groups) today released a statement supporting the recommendation of the Secretary of State Flag Advisory Committee, chaired by Canada’s former Chief Herald Robert Watt, that the Government policy should be to lower the flag only on November 11th - - Remembrance Day - - and not when individual service personnel are killed.

The Commons will vote on Wednesday on a motion that the flag on Parliament Hill be lowered to half-staff every time a soldier from the present Forces dies.

Cliff Chadderton, Chairman of NCVA, stated that this would possibly diminish the importance of Remembrance Day, which has been approved to honour Canadians killed in action in the defence of Canada since World War I.

The Flag Advisory Committee recommended that flag lowering on the so-called “special days” now approved be scaled back; that is, Vimy Ridge Day (April 9th), Workers’ Mourning Day (April 28th), the last Sunday in September honouring police and peace officers killed on duty, and December 6th, being the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women.

Chadderton stated further that the issue of lowering the flag to honour deceased personnel from present engagements is a political move. It was put forward in a motion by a member of the Liberal Government and was supported by the New Democratic Party and the Bloc Quebecois. Chadderton said: “It seems fair to categorize the entire idea as being political.” He noted that NCVA has not in the past and does not ‘play politics.’

He added: “It has been our policy whenever possible to approve steps being taken by the existing Government. In the present situation, that is the Conservative Government. To support the motion by the other political parties would be going beyond the mandate of the National Council, which is prohibited from ‘lobbying’ or other types of political support.”

Chadderton reiterated the statement that he had made in a press release of April 1, 2006 where he said: “We do not draw a distinction between a death in Afghanistan and one in Normandy.”