Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge and thank the government for admitting the error of its ways in recognizing that some form of compensation needs to be forwarded to these brave individuals who served their country so well in terms of experiments back in 1941.
This Thursday marks the 61st anniversary of the internment of the Japanese. It is funny how it was a Liberal government back then that did the mustard tests on our soldiers. It also interned the Japanese. Some people would say that was wartime and different actions had to be taken; however, what was scandalous about that was that the government was warned in those days. If we go back to Hansard and other articles, the government was told not to do these types of experiments and not to intern the Japanese.
It has taken very long for these brave men, many of them who suffered for many years along with their families, to finally get recognition from the government by saying it is sorry and to offer them compensation. As previous colleagues have said, no amount of money is enough to satisfy their concerns.
We cannot help but notice there is a string going along here. The merchant mariners and aboriginal veterans received about the same amount. It seems that every time soldiers and veterans come up for compensation, it is around the $20,000 to $25,000 mark. We believe that some of these soldiers may have a valid option when it comes to fighting this debate in the courts, if need be.
On behalf of the New Democratic Party, I wish to acknowledge what the government has done. Our party also wants to salute and honour those brave men and women who took part in those tests and their families who fought so long and so hard. We would wish now that those veterans who are suffering from mental disabilities would also have those rights and not have to go to the courts, as they did just recently.
The government took these disabled veterans, those who were mentally challenged, took their money and said they were not capable of looking after it, so it would do it for them. These veterans and their families had to fight year after year, and in the end lost their case in the Supreme Court of Canada.
This government did that. We would like it to ensure that no other veterans' group or any other group in this country must fight so hard and so long to get what is rightfully theirs.