VANCOUVER — A lawyer representing six soldiers disabled while fighting for Canada in Afghanistan says veterans deserve special treatment under the constitution in the same way aboriginals are given unique rights.
Don Sorochan (Su-rock-can) told a panel of B.C. Appeal Court judges that soldiers are the only citizens in Canada who can be ordered by the government to enter a situation where it's anticipated they may die.
Sorochan was responding to an attempt by the federal government to block the certification of a class-action lawsuit for soldiers injured after April 2006, an application already given the green light by the B.C. Supreme Court.
The current and former Canadian Forces members argue changes to the compensation regime are inadequate for supporting their families and substantially reduced from what is granted to other veterans.
The New Veterans Charter was established by an all-party vote in Parliament, changes Sorochan says that the politicians at the time believed would be beneficial for veterans.
The Attorney General of Canada wants the legal action tossed out and its lawyers have argued that the government's special duty of care only applies as a legal principle in the context of aboriginals.
