Our Canadian Government can admit no wrong doing
There are really only two things members of parliament have to do…
Number one — Get themselves re-elected.
Number two — Never admit you’ve done anything wrong.
A case in point — The Agent Orange debacle and the clawback of money from Canadian service men and women injured while serving this country with distinction.
For proof, you may look no further than the Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Since taking office, Mr. Harper has been obsessed with getting re-elected in a majority government. While his chances of getting re-elected might be a little better than fifty-fifty — his chances of reaching his desired majority are about the same as the Toronto Maple Leafs winning the Stanley Cup.
Now, for never having to say you’re sorry — how about the treatment of many of our ex-service personal?
They use the years 1966 and 1967 in the Agent Orange compensation scheme. It means quite simply — we can blame the big, bad Americans by saying they sprayed at CFB Gagetown during those years, and they’re right. So, what about the years before? What about the years after when the Americans had nothing to do with it and yet the spraying continued?
To say less than forty-five hundred people are possibly eligible for compensation is a kick in the teeth to the tens-of-thousands of others who worked, trained and lived on the base in all of it’s other years. What about the civilians who lived adjacent to the base who had easy access to it while the spraying was being conducted?
Why not really step up to the plate and admit previous governments, both Liberal and Conservative, perhaps knew what was going on, condoned what was going on and in knowing so — did nothing?
Lets tell Canadians the truth, what a novel concept!
Say simply: “Your government was wrong and for this — we apologize.”
You know something? …It just might work…
Why is it necessary for Canadian men and women, who willingly gave of themselves in our armed forces, to have to resort to class action lawsuits to gain the compensation which should automatically come to them without having to go through the court system.
As for our men and women still in the service, what’s this about making them pay for their own disability insurance?
Say it isn’t so.
I’m Tom Young and that’s what I think.