Vets getting payments

last updated 8 January 2015

Ottawa

Threatened with a class-action lawsuit, the Canadian government said it would give $19,000 each to 3,500 veterans used as guinea pigs in chemical-warfare experiments. The military tested protective clothing and masks by exposing the men to mustard gas and other poisons between 1941 and the early 1970s. Many have suffered lingering breathing problems and skin conditions, including cancer. An official ombudsman called the tests “a blot on our history,” and said the compensation plan marked “a victory for justice.” Harvey Friesen, one of the veterans, said the money was inadequate. “A lot of things that went on were pretty ugly,” he said.