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Métis veterans launch class action lawsuit

Métis war veterans feel Canada has snubbed them again. Like native Canadians, many Métis who served in the Second World War and in Korea received no compensation when they returned home. Worse, Métis or non-status Indian veterans were left out of the compensation deal offered to treaty Indians in June. Now they are launching a civil lawsuit. But time is running out: of the 6,000 that served, only 190 are still alive.
. According to Ed Borchert, spokesperson for the National Métis Veteran's Association, most Métis returned to rural and northern areas when they returned to Canada, and were not told that any benefits were available to them. He says information meetings were often held in Legion halls, but natives were not allowed to enter drinking establishments.
. No specific dollar figure is attached to the class action suit.

There are other groups still battling Ottawa for compensation for wartime service:
. In July 2003 the Supreme Court of Canada ruled against a multi-billion dollar suit filed on behalf of mentally incapacitated veterans. They claimed the government mishandled their pensions.
. In November 2003 the government reversed a decision to cut off 23,000 veterans' widows from the Veterans Independence Program. The program gives widows an allowance for housework and groundskeeping so they can live independently at home.
Medium: Television
Program: Canada Now
Broadcast Date: Aug. 12, 2002
Guest(s): Eugene Desjarlais, Bruce Flamont, Rey Pagtakhan
Host: Carole MacNeil
Reporter: David Common
Duration: 2:18

Last updated: January 25, 2012

Page consulted on March 28, 2012

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