B
enoît Sauvageau moved, That whereas 2,100 Canadian military personnel were captured in Hong Kong and held by the Japanese for 44 months during World War II; Whereas these prisoners suffered abuse and were forced into hard labour by the Japanese; Whereas these Canadians veterans are well founded in fact and in law to claim the amount of $18 per day for the work they carried out for the Japanese during their detention. Whereas no amount of money could really compensate for the years lost by our Hong Kong veterans and the suffering they endured in the service of Canada, our Hong Kong veterans deserve special consideration; Whereas the United Nations Sub-Com
...[+++]mission on Human Rights recognized the validity of the claims by the Canadian veterans with regard to their forced labour during World War II in concluding that the Japanese had seriously violated the Geneva Convention; Whereas the Sub-Commission also deems that there is no moratorium on war crimes, Whereas the 1952 peace treaty between Japan and the Allies cannot erase all the claims by Canadian World War II veterans, as their claims involve rights granted under customary international humanitarian law; Whereas the Canadian Government has never demonstrated the necessary will to support its veterans until now; The Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade recommends that the Canadian Government: