Backgrounder
Chemical Warfare Agent Testing Recognition Program
BG
04.004 - February 19, 2004
THE
PROGRAM
Setting things right
A
recognition program will offer payments to Canadian
veterans who volunteered to participate in
chemical-warfare experiments, mainly in the Second World
War era, in Suffield, Alberta, and Ottawa. Each eligible
veteran will be offered a one-time payment of $24,000 in
recognition of their service to Canada. The amount is
comparable to previous payments to Canadian veterans.
This payment is in addition to pension benefits to which
these veterans may be eligible.
Recognition
At
least as important as the monetary aspect, however, is
that these veterans are now being recognized for
their sacrifice and service.
Eligibility
Payment
under this program is available to any veteran who:
-
was a member of the Canadian military;
-
volunteered and participated as a human test subject
in chemical warfare agent experiments at:
-
Suffield, Alberta, from 1941 to the mid-1970s
(although most of the testing took place in the
Second World War era); or
-
Chemical Warfare Laboratories, Ottawa, 1941-45.
In
cases where the veteran is deceased, certain surviving
beneficiaries may be eligible.
Administration & application
An
office has been established at DND to expedite payments
for the chemical warfare test volunteers, and to refer
those eligible to Veterans Affairs Canada for pension
follow-up. The office will be fully functional by April
5 this year, and will remain open for applications for
two years. The application process will be
straightforward, open, veteran-centred, and will include
a provision for appeals. Eligible veterans are
encouraged to begin the application process by calling
toll-free 1-800-883-6094 (Monday to Friday 8 am to 4 pm
EST) or e-mailing
recognition@forces.gc.ca
From there,
the veteran will be sent an application form, which,
once returned, will allow DND to check the applicant's
information against research data to determine
eligibility.
Pension benefits continue
Until
this new measure was announced, chemical
warfare-experiment participants who were injured—like
any Canadian veteran injured in service—were eligible
for disability pension benefits through Veterans Affairs
Canada. That is still true, and veterans may still apply
for, or continue to receive, disability pension benefits
in addition to any payment under the new recognition
program.
The
recognition program also includes a renewed commitment
by Veterans Affairs Canada to expedite any new or
current disability pension claims in this matter.
Veterans Affairs Canada wants to reassure all
veterans that the new emphasis on pension claims for
chemical warfare experiment participants will in no way
hinder the processing of any veteran's pension
claim in any matter. Eligible veterans not
already in receipt of a pension in this matter are
encouraged to contact Veterans Affairs Canada toll-free
at 1-866-522-2122 (English) or 1-866-522-2022 (French).
Program cost
It is
estimated that the recognition program will cost
approximately $50-million in total for payments and
administration. This is a significant sum, but fiscal
concerns must be weighed against the need to acknowledge
exceptional service rendered by Canada's veterans.
THE
HISTORY
Canada's Role
It is
estimated that approximately 3700 members of the
Canadian military volunteered to participate as human
subjects in secret chemical warfare agent experiments,
held in Suffield, Alberta (from 1941 to the mid-1970s,
but mainly in the Second World War era) and at Ottawa
(1941-45).
The
experimentation was driven by wartime urgency and the
need to build defensive capability to weapons that had
been used with terrible results in the First World War,
which was at that time still a recent and painful
memory.
Getting it out in the open
Knowledge of the experiments was no longer secret after
the early 1970s, and the use of human volunteers as test
subjects has been known since the late 1980s. In
addition to Government disclosure on the subject, the
story of the chemical test veterans has been the subject
of at least one book, a documentary film, and numerous
items in newspapers and on television and radio over the
past many years.
In a
ceremony at Suffield in May 2000—in the presence of many
chemical-test veterans—then-Minister of National Defence
Eggleton dedicated a plaque which read: “In recognition
of those who suffered so that their comrades in arms
might be spared the horrors of chemical warfare—they
also served.”
Some
veterans who participated in chemical warfare
experiments have commented that they felt constrained in
coming forward to seek benefits due to secrecy
conditions at the time of the tests. Veterans who may
have been involved in chemical warfare experiments
should feel reassured: secrecy conditions no longer
apply for purposes of talking to government
representatives for seeking benefits.
Reaching out
As part
of a comprehensive review of Canada's chemical and
biological defence activities, DND established in 1988 a
telephone ‘hotline' to handle inquiries from those who
had participated in chemical-agent tests. The initiative
was announced by the Minister of National Defence and
promoted in national media. The hotline remained in
place for two years and resulted in 129 calls—including
51 from callers concerned about activities in the
1940s—but was eventually discontinued due to low demand.
VAC issued letters to these individuals informing them
they could apply for a pension if they felt they had a
disability possibly related to the testing. VAC also
informed this group that the Bureau of Pension Advocates
(BPA) could be contacted for assistance with preparing
claims.
Research efforts
An
archival search by the Department of National Defence
has identified thousands of names of veterans involved
in the experiments at Suffield and Ottawa. DND and
Veterans Affairs Canada research teams have been working
together for months now to track down addresses for
personnel involved in testing who are not currently on
record with VAC.
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