Mr. Speaker, the unthinkable occurred during that period, when 3,500 soldiers volunteered to test chemical weapons that could be used on the battlefield.
Today, about 2,000 of these soldiers remain. The promised program will cost the government about $50 million.
The Bloc Quebecois has a number of questions however, and does not think that the statement today by the minister will put an end to this matter.
Among other things, we continue to wonder why this government reacts just when a parliamentary watchdog is about to table a report. This happened with the Auditor General. Now it is happening again, with the government reacting to a report by Ombudsman André Marin.
Why did this government not react sooner and say, “We will consider these people and we will take care of them”?
When talking about compensation, the minister mentioned Harvey Friesen. Mr. Friesen does not feel it is enough. We fully agree with giving the $24,000, but is this amount sufficient? We reserve the right to appeal this decision.
Now, National Defence should be much more proactive too. It should track down all these individuals, contact them and do its best to speed up this process, because these people have waited far too long already.
What we find clearly unsatisfactory is the government apologizing and highlighting the dedication of these individuals. More must be done. The government must apologize for conducting tests on them.
To this end, fact sheets—there is currently one on the department's website about mustard gas—must be circulated, and we must be told exactly what kinds of chemical agents were used so we can help all these people.
This is a first step but, in our opinion, it is not enough.