Angry veterans who claim lives were ruined by herbicidal spraying at a New Brunswick military base said Wednesday they fear a federal fact-finding mission is an elaborate stalling tactic. About 100 people crammed a small hall in Upper Gagetown, N.B., for the first in nine evening sessions organized by Ottawa to look into the impacts of the spraying of the defoliant Agent Orange at CFB Gagetown in the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s.
But Ken Coates, of Saint John, N.B., wasn’t buying into the process. "The delay of compensation is an outrageous violation of citizens’ rights in this century,’’ he said. "People won’t tolerate a sleazy cover-up.’’ People who spoke during the meeting said they and relatives suffered illnesses ranging from blood clots to headaches to aneurisms they believe are related to the spraying of the base with the defoliants.
Joyce Parent, who lives in Upper Gagetown, gestured to a graveyard across from the hall. "I lost a baby because of Agent Orange. It’s buried in a graveyard right across the road.’’ Her husband, Philip, was exposed to Agent Orange when he worked in the spray program. He told reporters a barrel was accidentally spilled on him. Their child died in 1956.
