The Agent Orange and Its Repercussions Thread

[Sandy Skipton]

WE NEED INFORMATION PLEASE
In '64 '65 or '66 my husband was playing soccer at CFB Chatham, while stationed there. At some time during this time, the soccer team travelled to CFB Gagetown and something happened... The soccer field was lovely and green and in great shape on the Friday evening the team arrived but the next morning it was dead grass and mud. My husband can not remember the actual date that this happened. Then in '82 he retired and it was at that time that the Government released info that AgentOrange had been tested in Gagetown during the mid '60s. Tested by the Americans for use in Vietnam. His symptoms match all symptoms that the vietnam vets have complained about. In '82 little was known and he said he had joined the service to serve, not to complain so he did not complain to anyone. That is how the 'OLD' military types were taught. Doctors at that time had no information that would cause them to questions his symptoms so they did not think to make 'special' note his problems.

In 2003 he was diagnosed with cancer, which is now declared terminal and for the sake of his family, his wife and our youngest child born with problems, he had agreed to submit a claim to DVA. Now we must prove that he was in Gagetown. Problem is...
He does not remember any of the names of teammates...
CFB Chatham has closed no base history files available...
We have had all sports news at CFB Gagetown and the surrounding area checked but the sports news only goes back to about 1974.
We have reached a dead end.

I am hoping that someone out there has a similar story and might add info to what we might need... I am sure others have a similar history so we now have the internet to make the world smaller and that is one method I am using to contact anyone that knows anything about the soccer teams of Chatham or a Gagetown Competition that would fit the above discription.
Please email        info.needed@ns.sympatico.ca

 

[Sharpey]

Did a quick search...

Source: http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-71-1413-9130/conflict_war/vietnam/clip9

"Agent Orange is one of the most infamous and dirtiest legacies of the Vietnam War. Ottawa always denied that it cooperated with the United States in testing chemical warfare agents for Vietnam. A recently released report states that in June 1966 the American army tested Agent Orange at Base Gagetown in New Brunswick. As two NDP representatives uncover the facts, CBC's Brian Stewart wants to know why it took the Canadian military so long to investigate.

A 1970 report from national defence to parliament stated that "no research carried out by the Department of National Defence has affected the use of chemicals in Vietnam." Former defence minister Paul Hellyer says such tests were actually routine, but he attempts to downplay the issue by pointing out that Agent Orange was tested as a tactical weapon, not a chemical weapon.

The Uniroyal plant in Elmira, Ont., was one of seven suppliers producing Agent Orange for the U.S. military."

Credits:

Medium: Television
Program: The National
Episode: Agent Gagetown
Broadcast Date: Jan. 23, 1981
Host: Knowlton Nash, Reporter: Brian Stewart
Guest(s): Simon de Jong, Paul Hellyer, Terry Seargent
Duration: 3:46



source: http://www.unknownnews.net/050219d-15tcan.html

"1965: Prisoners at the Holmesburg State Prison in Philadelphia are subjected to dioxin, the highly toxic chemical component of Agent Orange used in Vietnam. The men are later studied for development of cancer, which indicates that Agent Orange had been a suspected carcinogen all along. [Agent orange was tested at CFB Gagetown, New Brunswick, Canada, which is the largest NATO training facility in Canada for ground operations training, and in the temperate rainforests of British Columbia]"


source: http://www.cbc.ca/asithappens/vietnam/part3.html

"In the early 1980s, the federal government admitted that the Canadian military tested Agent Orange at CFB Gagetown during the 1960s. At first the government claimed that there were tests - but only to determine whether the chemical was suitable to clear vegetation at Gagetown."

Looks like it is well published, stories tell the agent was used there. And as I found out, Agent Orange was developed in Ontario!

 

[Sandy Skipton]

Thank You Sharpie for taking an interes in my request.... There is also info available via request at 'Directorate of Access to Information and Privacy' National Defense Headquarters, Ottawa. It is about 82 pages which is a 'disclosed in part' package #A-2004-00207. This package further discloses in a briefing dated 24 Jan 85, I quote

"In 1964 a spray application accident occured. 2, 4-d PLUS, 4, 5-T was being applied by fixed wing aircraft. A temperature inversion and increasing soil temperatures suspended the spray above the target species. Several hours later the increased winds carried the spray to the upper Gagetownj and Sheffield area shown on the map as area 3."

Documents sumitted to DVA were not questioned concerning the Agent Orange usage at Gagetown. The DVA request is for proof that my husband was in the area. I left my message here since I know that a lot of serving guys were base brats and even their dads might have played soccer. Most ARMY are very sport minded. Dads might have pictures of teams. They might be military sport history buffs. If this request is passed around and talked about... Info might just show up... It is a rather long time ago. My husband might have been the youngest on the team and the other members may have already passed on.  So you see, I am fishing in the dark for some way to prove he was in the location when the spraying was done. Deeper question is "How many members suffered and perhaps died, due to the use of AgentOrange on Canadian soil and did not know what their problems were a result of?" but I guess that is a story for down the road.

 

[Sandy Skipton]

Since those, who have read this post, know nothing that can help out, I would ask a favour. Would you please print out the request and put it on ANY bulletin boards in your area that would be seen by people that are about 65 years of age, perferably military people. There just HAS to be someone, someplace that would have the info that we need. Please take a moment to help out one of the men who devoted his time to defending our country.
Even though it was during peacetime you would be amazed at the sacrifices that many have made during service. There are many stories out there that can add to the WW1 and WW2 stories that very few of our peacetime forces will share, since they look at it as "I chose to serve and not to be a hero" These words also fit our aging veterans. No service member looks upon themselves as the heros that we see.

 

[camochick]

Have you tried contacting media outlets and seeing if anyone can do a story on it. You probably have, just thought I would throw that out there though. Good luck in your search, and my thoughts go out to your family. Take care.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

I will send this thread  to our "expert" 60's guy, Art Johson, one of the few from that era[and before actually] that we know is here often.

EDIT: and to Bill Smy.

 

[Art Johnson]

Just off the top of my head I really can't help you. The crux of your problem seems to be whether your husband was there. Maybe if we knew his unit it might help. I'm not sure if Part II Orders were still in effect at that time or not but normally you cannot just leave your unit without some kind of a record being kept of it. You may have to get to the Regimental Diary and see if any mention of it is in there.
A chap I was in The RCR with fought for years with DVA over a similar type of case. He was involved in a scheme with other Canadian Soldiers where they pass over an area where an Atomic Bomb had been exploded shortly before they went through the area. His claim was for cancer and after years he finally won his case. The Toronto Star gave it big coverage. Ken died about 10 years ago and his wife died last year.

 

[Sandy Skipton]

Thank you Art Johnson ... and yes I realize that this will definitely take time.  My husband was AirForce, served CFB Chatham, NB, Jul,1964-Oct,1966, E Tech A (maintained batteries and light bulbs in aircraft) but he worked as  ISTech 521 during 66 while he waited to start his course since he had remustered to become a Flight Simulator Tech. I expect his Squadrons were 416 & 433 while he was in Chatham. We have requested his Pers file and medical file from Access Information Ottawa and expect these files to arrive any day now. DVA has already had access to this data and do not question the use of AgentOrange in Gagetown..

Yes, even Squadron Units keep history but not day to day diaries and yes AirForce Bases keep history and I expected they would retain sport info. I have checked on locating this type of info. CFB Chatham was closed and it seems all data was moved to be archived in cardboard boxes in some warehouse in Ottawa, kinda hard to locate. I am now checking with Mobile Equipment records to learn if they maintain any info... cause the team would have been moved by Military Transport but I understand that the info is NOT retained for very long. I have now moved to civilian sources like local newspapers that might have information about the team playing against local teams, this could give me access to the names of other team members. I have had my son check sources in Gagetown, he ran into a brick wall and found no info before the year 1974. I have also ran into rumours that a fire in Ottawa around 1974 destroyed a lot of information that might have helped out. I do have all the info I need concerning the spraying of AgentOrange at Gagetown and the human results as summed up by studies in the US.

So now you can see why I have gone to forums to try to find anyone that might have a memory of the time. I have not included my husbands name cause it is rather unique and we have two sons and a grandson that are serving at this time and there are only about 25 persons with the surname living in Canada and 17 of those are related... To sum up, what we need is to have anyone that has any knowledge of military soccer, that was played in the maritimes during 64-66 and especially in Gagetown or Chatham, to share whatever information they might have. I came to the army forum because lots of you guys are following in your dads footsteps and I know your dads were just as sport minded as you likely are. Did any of your dads play soccer? Were your dads sick? Did they get exposed? Are your moms entitled to having this info as well?

I can not put my husband through newspaper interviews at this time but I will not drop bringing this to the attention of those that can help and I thank you all for letting me post to your forum.  Thank you very much.

 

[Art Johnson]

Miksam try posting to this web site.

http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/remembers/sub.cfm?source=collections/cmdp/mainmenu/group03

 

[Sandy Skipton]

thanks Art... I tryed that site and did not find an area to permit me to post.

btw.. this info will be coming out in the Legion Magazine during the summer and hopefully in the RCAFA Magazine(RCAFA has not gotten back to me yet).. I also have a library staff that have offered to research their microfilm of newspapers (in the Chatham area)... actually I am quite pleased with the assistance that I am getting from some sources, but alas, I expect the info may not be found. Spring time 2004 is coming and I will keep hammering    :threat:

 

[Peter_Luckhurst]

i am looking for any one in RCASC at gagetown in 1966.e-mail me at peter_luckhurst@yahoo.com.it is about agent orange deployment.i will not be able to check till next wk-end as i drive truck and am gone from mon till fri.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

Todays Ottawa Sun

http://canoe.ca/NewsStand/OttawaSun/Editorial/
Tue, May 17, 2005

A poisonous policy
It's shocking to think that even one member of the Canadian Armed Forces could have been exposed to the herbicide known as Agent Orange, a pernicious substance that has been linked to an array of illnesses.

But what is even more horrifying is that it happened to scores of our soldiers during peacetime, and they were poisoned right here in their own country.
The Department of National Defence has confirmed that in 1966, U.S. forces doused forested areas of CFB Gagetown, N.B., with the infamous chemical defoliant, testing it for clearing jungle during the Vietnam War.

For decades, the Canadian military has refused to acknowledge the Gagetown horror ever happened or any connection between Agent Orange and sick vets.
But now, as the Sun's Greg Weston reported on the weekend, our government has quietly accepted a medical compensation claim from a retired Canadian brigadier general stricken with leukemia.

The secrecy surrounding the events of nearly four decades ago is just as alarming as the fact that the testing took place at all.
Even now that the government has tacitly accepted that Agent Orange caused the leukemia that claimed the life of Brig. Gen. Gordon Sellar, it seems to be doing nothing to seek out other members of the military who may have been exposed to the chemical and offer them compensation.

Veterans Affairs Minister Albina Guarnieri said yesterday that her department will take care of anyone who comes forward with a legitimate claim. That isn't good enough.
For the victims, this is a matter of life and death. They ingested poison solely as a result of service to their country. The minister should not rest until her department has contacted each and every one of those suffering from Agent Orange-related diseases and provided them both with an apology and compensation.

Sadly, in many cases that money will have to go to the next of kin.

Tue, May 17, 2005

No Orange coverup, feds insist
But vets will have to prove right to cash

By KATHLEEN HARRIS, Parliamentary Bureau
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/OttawaSun/News/2005/05/17/1042903-sun.html
 
The Liberal government yesterday vowed to compensate sick and dying soldiers affected by Agent Orange, but has no plan to track down those potentially poisoned by the toxic chemical.
Under fire in the House of Commons yesterday, Veterans Affairs Minister Albina Guarnieri denied the government tried to hush-up the danger. She insisted veterans will receive disability pensions where "sufficient evidence" finds a link between their medical condition and exposure to the deadly dioxin.

"We will always go that extra mile to assist any veteran in need," she said.
Veterans Affairs has granted two pensions for afflictions related to Agent Orange, but 19 claims have been rejected since 2000. The herbicide, used by Americans during the Vietnam War to clear trees and ground cover, was tested at CFB Gagetown in 1966 and is known to cause cancer, diabetes and birth defects.

'SHAMEFUL DENIAL'

The Canadian military long refused to acknowledge its use or draw any connection between Agent Orange and sick vets. On Sunday, Sun Media revealed the government quietly paid out a pension claim 10 months ago.
Calling it a "shameful denial," Conservative MP and associate defence critic Dave MacKenzie accused the government of ignoring the plight of sick veterans. He urged the feds to immediately identify and alert all those potentially exposed to Agent Orange.

"For decades, the Canadian military refused to acknowledge the Gagetown horror even happened," he said. "The government is currently addressing volunteers of chemical warfare testing, but it is silent on its involvement for those who were tested unknowingly."
Veterans Affairs spokeswoman Janice Summerby said the Defence Department couldn't supply a list of names of those potentially affected or explain why it was not available. Veterans will learn about the issue through media reports or via an upcoming departmental newsletter, she said.

But Cliff Chadderton, chairman of the National Council of Veterans Associations, pointed to the U.S.'s "presumptive policy," which gives the benefit of the doubt to ailing soldiers. Canada should hastily follow suit, he said, by striking a task force to contact and compensate sick veterans.
He blamed the inability to draft a list on bureaucratic bungling between Veterans Affairs and Defence departments.

"There's been no liaison between the two. That's the sad, sad part of it."

WHO TO CALL

Any veteran who thinks they may be suffering from a medical condition related to Agent Orange can apply for disability pension benefits by calling 1-866-522-2022 or contacting their local veterans' organization, such as the Royal Canadian Legion.
kathleen.harris@tor.sunpub.com

 

[SNEN833]

Hello

My Father In Law was a member of the Black Watch Regiment during the 1960's at CFB Gagetown in Oromocto, NB.  He served in the military for 35 year and has now been retired for about 5 years.  About a year age he was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.  In my research about the disease I have learned that Agent Orange was used at CFB Gagetown during the exact time that my Father In-Law served in the Black Watch Regiment.  In fact he served with Canadian Brigadier General Gordon Seller who was also stricken with the same leukemia and who recently died.

An article I have read states:

"In a landmark decision, the department of veterans affairs has ruled that Sellar's cancer was caused by his exposure to Agent Orange. "The department is aware that Agent Orange was used as a herbicide for defoliation on the training grounds of CFB Gagetown," the confidential memorandum states.

"The department accepts the medical opinion (of Sellar's doctors) and the results of published U.S. medical research that establishes a causitive relationship between Agent Orange exposure and the development of chronic lymphocytic leukemia."

If you have additional information on this topic I would greatly appreciate it.  It is truly a shame that a man, who is the epitome of health his entire life, will be struck down by this disease.....

Thank You

Shawn Read
Sread@tru.ca

 

[Gunnerlove]

My father server in Vietnam for two tours as part of an exchange program. The sick thing is that while he was never exposed to the defoliants in Vietnam he was exposed by our government in Gagetown.

Birth defects are also covered by the VA in the states, Canada should follow the same policy.

 

[CH1]

There will sadly be more in the "Baby Boomers"  I was a kid in the 50's in Winnipeg. It was used as a test bed along with several other areas, to test the effectiveness & study long term effects of "Orange"
Best of luck
Cheers

 

[Sandy Skipton]

May 21st at 20:36 after 3 weeks of living in the hospital with my dear husband, Mike Skipton, our ordeal ended as he peacefully passed away, hopefully to a more pleasant place...
At this time he has been transferred to another hospital for an autopsy, along with all the data that we have collected concerning AgentOrange. A pathologist will be attempting to verify if our questions concerning his possible exposure are fact or fiction and if it is found that we are 'barking up the wrong tree' and his illness can not be connected to the poison then I will quietly get on with my life BUT if anything is found to verify his being exposed I will fight to gain him the respect that our government owes to those that have been taken prematurely simply because of denial and lies. It has been terrible to have run into dead ends as we looked for the data we needed to 'verify' our claim without the help of those that could have given us the answers. Mike and I have both felt that our government has failed us. At this time I have a son, daughter-in-law and a grandson that are serving at Gagetown.
I am proud that:

Ronald (Sgt, retired, died 1992 in SunnyBrook) my dad
Betty (civilian supply staff about 10yrs, died at home 1990) my mom
Teddy (LanceJack, killed 1964 at CFB Kingston Ont at age 23) my brother
Mike(M-Cpl, regular forces and Capt, reserve forces retired, died May 21 2005)- my husband,
Myself(Capt, reserve forces retired).. 
Sue(Cpl,retired)- my daughter,
Perry(Sgt), my son,
Tony(WO)- my son,
Steph(AdminClerk)- my daughter-in-law
Chris(Private)- my grandson,

all chose to serve and protect the people of Canada and very sad that when Mike asked Canada (government) to help him they turned their backs. The rejection letters state that he did not seek medical attention for AgentOrange exposure at the time of the exposure(mid 1960s), therefore, there was no documentation on his records to PROVE his claim. Yet, the government denied for so long that Agent Orange was sprayed in Canada. This is a hard night for me so I will just shushhh for now but I will let you all know if the pathologist gives me information that will back our story.

Thank you all for the help you tryed to provide... 'signed with tears'

 

[dalriada]

Hi...

For years I have been searching for information on Agent Orange use not only in CFB Gagetown but also throughout New Brunswick.

My father, Robert Dobbie, served with the 51st Highland Division, British 8th Army during WWII, then after emigrating to Canada joined the Canadian Black Watch 2nd Battalion in 1957 and served until 1971. Retiring because of poor health. He died in 1999 from a rare cancer attributed to exposure to Agent Orange.

The following letter I have quoted below was sent by myself to the CBC this weekend. Please read it and if you have similar experiences or know of others, please post them to this site.

I intend on following this up with both the Minister of Veterans Affairs and the Minister of Defense. I have already been stone-walled by both of them last year. But I will fight this and in order to do this, I need as much information from others who suffer illnesses from the Agent Orange that was copiously sprayed in CFB Gagetown in the sixties.

Please read and post. Thanks. If you wish to email me, I can be reached at kdobbie2@cogeco.ca

I sent the following letter to the CBC on May 21, 2005

Dear Sir or Madam:

Would you please do a story, perhaps even a lead story on the landmark decision by Veterans Affairs to pay compensation to a soldier who was exposed to Agent Orange in CFB Gagetown. My father was in the 2nd Battalion Black Watch and was in the training area many times in the early sixties and as a result he was unknowingly exposed many times to the Agent Orange that was sprayed there along with hundreds of other soldiers.

They slept, worked and ate in a toxic environment without the knowledge that they were in the midst of one of the most lethal chemicals known today as Dioxin.

My father died in 1999 from a rare cancer, cancer of the biliary ducts. There is a 2nd Battalion Black Watch Association in Nova Scotia and many of them have died of various forms of cancer, diabetes, etc. These diseases are now recognized by the U.S. Veterans Affairs as being caused by Agent Orange with diabetes recently being added to the growing list of diseases and disorders directly attributed to Agent Orange.

In 1959, PM Diefenbaker's Government signed an agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense to allow the spraying of defoliant chemicals in CFB Gagetown as a test for the effectiveness of the chemicals in the actual defoliation of broadleaf forests. The testing went on officially until 1963, unofficially it was still being used as late as 1969. It is interesting to note that not only the US government used it successfully as a defoliant.

The US recognized it's tremendous capabilities of stripping broadleaf forests of any kind of hiding place and it was used extensively for that purpose in the jungles of Vietnam.

The name Agent Orange originated with the 45 gallon barrels that Monsanto and Dow chemical companies used as containers for the chemical. The barrels had a wide orange broad band painted around the center of the barrels, thus the name.

The chemical was so effective in CFB Gagetown that NB Power, formerly called the New Brunswick Electric Power Commission (NBEPC), used the Agent Orange to spray their power lines through the entire province. They did this until the late sixties and there are some reports that it was used into the seventies. The NBEPC had spray crews. Over 80% of them are now dead. Most from various cancers, kidney, liver, and pancreatic disorders. The sprayers formed an association called S.O.D.A., Sprayers of Dioxin Association. There was a one time out of court settlement for the surviving ex-sprayers and the estates of the deceased sprayers. It was reportedly one million dollars, a shockingly small and entirely disproportionate settlement for so many lives.

There is also a very important story connected to this spraying which to my knowledge has never been addressed by the media.

During the mid to late sixties, the Liberal Government started L.I.P. (Local Initiative Programs) grants across Canada for student summer jobs.

At Base Gagetown, there were several hundred teenagers employed by the LIP grants. Some of us who lived in Oromocto were not billeted in the military barracks. But teens who lived in communities outside Oromocto lived and ate in the barracks to enable them to take part in the LIP summer employment grants for CFB Gagetown.

There were many different jobs for  students at CFB Gagetown as a result of the LIP grants.

One of the main projects was to clear defoliated brush and burn it. This brush located in the Training Area had been defoliated by Agent Orange. The dead foliage and brush was covered in the deadly Dioxin.  We worked at this for six weeks. I was exposed and now many years later my health is seriously compromised. I developed Type II diabetes six years ago. (The US Veterans Dept established medically that Dioxin exposure causes diabetes and the VA started giving compensation to all Vietnam Veterans who developed or will develop Diabetes.

As a result of my exposure, I not only have developed diabetes, but I also have chronic pancreatitis and liver disease which my doctors attribute to my exposure to the Agent Orange when I worked with the contaminated brush that we gathered and burned all those years ago.

And since I have not had an alcohol drink for 28 years, it only makes logical sense that the chemical has caused all my health problems. 

There must be hundreds of people like myself who were not military or were employed by the NBEPC  but have the health problems that these groups have as result of direct contact with this deadly chemical.

I can give more information, but others can as well. This is a story that should be made public in more than the announcement of compensation. This is a story of people being poisoned and their lives shortened by painful diseases because of being unwittingly exposed to the killer Agent Orange.

Yours truly,

Kenneth Dobbie

 

[Cloud Cover]

Hey all .... imagine if you were surfing the net and discovered your name being used on a public forum website without your permission.

Please be extremely cautious about divulging the names of any private citizen on this web site [or any others] without their express permission, especially if they are ill or related to a person who is ill. Think about what an insurance company might do with the name of any person exposed to agent orange. Even their descendants might be affected.

This is a good topic, [if somewhat sad] and I wish all of you the best of luck with this issue.

 

[George Wallace]

On the Agent Orange Issue, I just received this email with some quotes from Hansard on questions in the House of Commons with respect to Agent Orange being sprayed in CFB Gagetown in 1966:

VAC Claims Agent Orange
There has been reports that Agent Orange was experimented with by the CF
about 45 years ago, My understanding is that this chemical was used for
defoliation at Gagetown  I received a request from one of our list for
information about this yesterday
The MND has indicated that is in fact so and that VAC have been active
in dealing with claims. The following is an extract from Hansard of 19
May 05 pertaining to the issue. If you have any query or claim they
should be directed to the appropriate VAC Office listed below
Alderney Gate\
40 Alderney Drive.
Dartmouth, NS B2Y 2N5 .

Place Bonaventure
Portail Sud-Ouest
800, de la Gauchetière Street West
6th Floor, Suite 6505
Montréal, QC H5A 1L8

145 Government Rd. W.
Kirkland Lake, ON P2N 2E8

610-234 Donald St.
P.O.Box 6050
Winnipeg, MB R3C 4G5

900-605 Robson St., P.O.Box 5600
Vancouver, BC V6B 5G4

HANSARD 19 May 05
National Defence+
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Mr. Gordon O'Connor (Carleton-Mississippi Mills, CPC): Mr. Speaker, let me
start by saying that the members of the armed forces know that the
Conservatives will stand behind them and they will not slash and burn like
the Liberals did-
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!

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The Speaker: We will have a little order, please. The hon. member for
Carleton-Mississippi Mills has the floor.

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Mr. Gordon O'Connor: Mr. Speaker, in 1966 the Liberal government authorized
the spraying of agent orange on forests in CFB Gagetown. At or about that
time, thousands of troops were serving in Gagetown, including me.
Recently it has been confirmed that agent orange can cause cancer and other
medical problems. Will the minister detail what action the government is
taking to address this serious and tragic health problem?

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Hon. Bill Graham (Minister of National Defence, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I am
glad that the hon. member has said that his party will be standing behind
our armed forces. I lay out the challenge to him again to support the budget
tonight and support the armed forces of Canada and where we are going in the
future of our country. That is the way he can do it rather than with this
empty rhetoric.
I can tell members that when it comes to agent orange, which happened in
1966 as he said, it was a defoliation program that took place in Gagetown.
We are working to trace every member of the armed forces who was there.
The Minister of Veterans Affairs has made it clear. We have made awards to
veterans who have made claims. Claims can be made. We urge people to come
forward. We will support anyone who was affected by that program.

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Mr. Gordon O'Connor (Carleton-Mississippi Mills, CPC): Mr. Speaker, the
members of the military will know who is telling the truth. The government
has known about this serious problem for some time, yet chose to hide it.
There are at least 20 open files seeking resolution.
Now the media, through access to information, has informed the public of the
use of agent orange and the consequences to soldiers' health, yet the
government is only starting to respond. Why does the government have to be
spurred by public opinion before taking responsibility for the health
consequences of putting the military in harm's way?

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Hon. Bill Graham (Minister of National Defence, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I
totally disagree. That is a complete misrepresentation of what took place.
This was a matter that occurred 45 years ago on a base where nobody
understood at that time what the consequences were.
We have been learning now how members might have been affected by it in
parts of the base, but we did not know exactly which parts were affected and
who had gone through. These are circumstances that are very complicated.
We take this very seriously. I can promise the hon. member, who says he was
at Gagetown, that we are working with our forces and we will make sure that
anybody who is affected by this will be compensated. My colleague, the
Minister of Veterans Affairs, has already done it.

 

[armybrat1962]

My family was stationed in Gagetown while agent orange was being used.  My father has currently has had heart problems for over 30 years, and diabetes. My mother died of lung cancer at a very young age. My questions is does anyone else have a family member (civilian or not) who have died or currently has cancer where being  stationed there may be a contributing factor?

Thanks

The Brat...