Mr. Speaker, I commend today's announcement to build a national monument to recognize the heroism and valour of aboriginal peoples who fought bravely for Canada in the first and second world wars, the Korean war and in peacekeeping missions.
While this commemoration is fitting, it does not address the outstanding grievances of many native veterans. Thousands were treated as equals on the battlefield but suffered neglect and unfair treatment at the hands of the federal government when they returned to Canada. They were not allowed to vote until the late 1950s. Benefits such as pensions, health care and educational training were available, but many native veterans were never informed that they were available.
They suffered discrimination. For example, to collect normal benefits, a returning native veteran from the second world war was asked to renounce his or her status under the Indian Act and live off reserve. If they chose to stay on the reserve they were no longer under the administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs. They were not offered the $6,000 loan available for land to non-Indians under the Veterans Land Act but received only $2,330 at the discretion of the Department of Indian Affairs.
Such stories of unfair treatment and other difficulties were told to a 1994-95 Senate committee. Yet many of the committee's recommendations remain in limbo, including instructions that the Department of Veterans Affairs-