Aboriginal war vets say compensation unfair
Métis veterans file claim for benefits with UN
CTV News Staff
Mon. Nov. 11 2002 8:13 AM ET
Nearly 60 years after fighting on the front lines in the Korean War and the Second World War, Métis war veterans are taking their compensation battle with Canada to the United Nations.

The National Council of Veteran Associations announced Sunday at a news conference it had filed a claim with the UN human rights committee on behalf of the National Aboriginal Veterans Association of Canada.

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It says Métis war veterans, who made up the largest component of aboriginals serving in the Canadian Forces in the Second War War and Korea, "suffered discrimination as a consequence of a denial or lack of availability of financial and statutory benefits following their military service" by the federal government after the two wars.

As well, the claim says that by failing to provide rehabilitation benefits to native veterans, the government violated two articles of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The claim, which names four Métis war veterans, was filed with the UN committee on July 12 but has been kept confidential until now. It is being processed by Cliff Chadderton, council chairman and chief executive officer of the War Amps, which has status as a non-governmental organization before the UN.

Chadderton said many Métis veterans couldn't access benefits that would have helped them after the war because they didn't suit their traditional lifestyle. City housing was unappealing to many from rural areas and vocational training wasn't an option for those with little education.

"The government had put together under the Veterans' Charter something which we now call the 'white man's laws' -- there's no question about it," he told The Canadian Press.

"That meant that the government failed to provide any kind of rehabilitation for the Métis after they served their country."

Métis veteran feels forgotten. Paul Thomas, a Métis veteran, was just 18 years old at the height of the Second World War. His service record shows he was decorated six times, but he says he was never acknowledged by Canada. "I feel forgotten. When we first came back we were forgotten people and we still are yet," he said. Right after the war, Métis and aboriginal soldiers were excluded from a deal offered to other soldiers, which included money and land.

After years of threatened lawsuits, the federal government announced a deal in June offering First Nations veterans and their spouses up to $20,000 each for benefits denied to those who fought in the Second World War and Korea. However, Métis were excluded again from that deal, as were non-status Indians who lived off reserves.

The National Métis Veterans' Association sued the federal government in August, claiming they were denied the same rights as other soldiers. A lawyer for the Métis veterans now says they have no other choice but to "shame" the Canadian government into dealing up compensation.

"We've used the United Nations human rights commission to shame the Canadian government before," Brian Forbes, an Ottawa lawyer representing Métis veterans, said.

"We feel this is a procedure that is very, very successful and we hope the government will respond with some kind of compensation package."

Similar claims filed on behalf of Canada's Hong Kong veterans and the merchant marines resulted in settlements with the federal government.

With just 1,000 Métis veterans still alive, Thomas, now 79, isn't holding out much hope of any response. "They are waiting for all the old veterans to die I guess," he said.
With reports from CTV's Jill Macyshon and The Canadian Press.