CALGARY -- Fewer than a third of veterans used as human guinea pigs in chemical warfare tests dating back to World War II have received federal compensation payments.
That's disappointing to the man who spearheaded efforts to acknowledge the decades of pain caused by exposure to chemical agents such as mustard and chlorine gas.
$24,000 PAYMENT
"I thought in my heart it would be more," said Bill Tanner, 79, of Kelowna, B.C.
As of Friday, 1,046 veterans or their heirs had been approved for the $24,000 tax-free payment from the department of veterans' affairs. That's far fewer than the 3,700 soldiers who volunteered for the tests in Suffield, Alta., and in Ottawa.Tanner has suffered respiratory ailments as well as throat and bladder cancer since being exposed to poisonous gas trials on the Alberta prairie in 1945.
Although the experiments continued until the 1970s, most test subjects were teenagers during the war, recruited for $1 a day and extra leave. Sworn to secrecy at the time, some honoured that pledge until their death.
"A lot of them have passed away and never told their families what happened," said Tanner, noting that others may be hospitalized in nursing homes and be unaware of the $50-million program.
'SO LONG AGO'
That's despite notification in 120 community newspapers and attention through the Royal Canadian Legion.
"This happened so long ago," he said. "A lot of these individuals are a lot older than me, in their mid to late 80s."
For almost 60 years, veterans who did seek pensions or help for the ailments that were byproducts of the experiments were disregarded.
It was only in 1989 that Ottawa acknowledged soldiers were subjected to the blistering agent. Individual medical records have only been made available in recent years.