MPs Want Probe Of DND Response To Atomic Test Vets

One of the veterans tried using the Access to Information law to obtain records on the 1957 tests in Nevada and details regarding the health of Canadian soldiers who participated. But the Defence Department said there were only 70 pages available and all were heavily censored. However, the Citizen has determined that, at the time of the request, the department had in its possession at least three briefing notes regarding the participation of Canadian troops in the atomic experiments. Two of the reports were written last year for then-defence minister Gordon O'Connor and one in 2005 for former Liberal minister Bill Graham. At least one of the records noted that veterans were applying for health care services and disability pensions related to the tests. The briefing note contained information on the health preparations for the soldiers in the experiments, codenamed Operation Plumbbob. Another 2,000 pages of records on the tests also exist in the department and were sent to Defence Minister Peter MacKay's office. The records, dating from as far back as the early 1950s, are no longer considered secret. NDP defence critic Dawn Black said it's time for an independent examination of how access to information requests are being handled at the Defence Department. She said the veterans aren't the first to be told by the department that records didn't exist when indeed they do. ... http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=e35b2018-9659-4d87-87e6-bd9088a224cb&k=92898

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