Mr. Speaker, I am glad to have an opportunity once again to ask this question of the government. I rose twice before in the House of Commons and asked the federal government how it justified that aboriginal and Métis people who volunteered to join the army, went overseas, fought in the second world war and the Korean conflict, then arrived back in this country after serving the country in the wars, were not given the same financial benefit and settlement services that other non-aboriginal veterans were given. They were denied the same settlement services, educational opportunities, housing opportunities and cash for financial settlement services to help them readjust to Canada after serving this country overseas.
I asked the Minister of Veterans Affairs and the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development a year or two ago when they would finally settle these longstanding claims. These aboriginal veterans are getting older. Many of them are in their eighties. Many have passed away already. In fact, there are only about 1,800 left who are eligible for benefits.
After pressure from the aboriginal community and the Assembly of First Nations, the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development ultimately made them an offer of settlement. A national round table on the issue met for two years and came out with a recommendation of $120,000 per person as compensation that would be comparable to what non-aboriginal veterans received. Some figures were as high as $430,000 per aboriginal veteran so it was anywhere in that range.
The offer made by the Minister of Veterans Affairs to the aboriginal veterans was $20,000. Less than one-fifth of the most conservative estimate of what was owed to them was offered in a very cynical move. These elderly people are starting to think that they cannot fight the fight much longer and that they will have to accept the lousy one-fifth of the most conservative figure or get nothing at all, and that at least their children would be able to enjoy that amount of money.
The most recent question for the Minister of Veterans Affairs was would the government revisit the negotiations, sit down at the table again and reconsider the settlement agreement for the 1,800 outstanding aboriginal and Métis veterans who were denied settlement benefits when they returned from the second world war and the Korean conflict.