Canada offers compensation for Agent Orange victims

Canada announced Wednesday it will offer 20,000 Canadian dollars (19,000 U.S. dollars) to people who were affected when the U.S. military tested Agent Orange on a Canadian military base last century. Defense Minister Peter MacKay and Veterans Affairs Minister Greg Thompson made the announcement at a news conference Wednesday in Fredericton, New Brunswick, which is close to the involved military base, Canadian Forces Base Gagetown. The U.S. military tested Agent Orange, Agent Purple and several other powerful defoliants on a small section of the base over seven days in 1966 and 1967. Canadian officials have stressed it was the only time these powerful defoliants, widely used during the Vietnam War, were sprayed in Canada. The money will be given to veterans and civilians who worked on or lived near Canadian Forces Base Gagetown between the years of 1966 and 1967. Qualifying individuals will have to apply for the money and prove that they have such conditions as Hodgkin's disease, lymphoma, respiratory cancers, prostate cancer and type 2 diabetes, which may be caused by Agent Orange. It is anticipated roughly 4,500 people will be eligible for the payment.