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1st Session, 36th Parliament,
46-47 Elizabeth II, 1997-98
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The House of Commons of Canada
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BILL C-61
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An Act to amend the War Veterans Allowance
Act, the Pension Act, the Merchant Navy
Veteran and Civilian War-related
Benefits Act, the Department of Veterans
Affairs Act, the Veterans Review and
Appeal Board Act and the Halifax Relief
Commission Pension Continuation Act
and to amend certain other Acts in
consequence thereof
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Her Majesty, by and with the advice and
consent of the Senate and House of Commons
of Canada, enacts as follows:
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| R.S., c. W-3;
R.S., c. 7 (1st
Supp.), c. 12
(2nd Supp.),
cc. 20, 37 (3rd
Supp.); 1990,
cc. 39, 43;
1992, cc. 24,
48; 1995, cc.
17, 18; 1996,
c. 11; 1998, c.
21
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1. (1) The definition ``veteran'' in
subsection 2(1) of the War Veterans
Allowance Act is amended by adding the
following after paragraph (b):
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(b.1) a merchant navy veteran of World
War I or World War II,
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(2) The definition ``veteran'' in
subsection 2(1) of the Act is amended by
striking out the word ``and'' at the end of
paragraph (e), by adding the word ``and'' at
the end of paragraph (f) and by adding the
following after paragraph (f):
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(g) a Canadian merchant navy veteran of
the Korean War;
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2. (1) Section 6.2 of the Act is amended by
adding the following after subsection (4):
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| Exceptions
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(5) Notwithstanding subsections (3) and
(4), a person to whom subsection (1) or (2)
applies who
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(a) at any time during the period beginning
on March 1, 1995 and ending on December
19, 1995, was in receipt of, or had a right to
receive, an allowance referred to in
subsection (1) while residing outside
Canada, or
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(b) was the spouse or child of an allied
veteran or an allied dual service veteran
referred to in subsection (1) who, at any
time during the period beginning on March
1, 1995 and ending on December 19, 1995,
was in receipt of, or had a right to receive,
an allowance referred to in subsection (1)
while residing outside Canada
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shall, subject to this Act, be paid their
allowance, during their lifetime, for any
month beginning after February 1996 in
which the person resides outside Canada and
ending with such month as the Minister may
fix by order.
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| Status as
spouse or
child
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(6) For the purposes of subsection (5), no
person is to be considered a spouse or child
under paragraph (5)(b) if they acquire their
status as spouse or child after December 2,
1998.
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(2) All payments of allowance that would
have been valid if subsection 6.2(5) of the
War Veterans Allowance Act, as enacted by
subsection (1), had been in force on March
1, 1996 are deemed to have been validly
made.
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3. (1) Section 37 of the Act is amended by
adding the following after subsection (7):
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| Definitions
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(7.1) The definitions in this subsection
apply in this section.
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``allied ship''
« navire
allié »
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``allied ship'' means a ship other than a
Canadian ship or a ship serving the enemy,
and includes a ship that belonged to a
government of an enemy-occupied country,
or to a person resident in an
enemy-occupied country, and that was
placed under Canadian or allied control.
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``Canadian
manning
pool''
« dépôt
d'équipages
canadien »
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``Canadian manning pool'' means a manning
pool of the Canadian merchant navy
established under Order in Council P.C.
14/3550 of May 19, 1941.
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``Canadian
ship''
« navire
canadien »
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``Canadian ship'' means
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(a) a ship registered or licensed in
Canada or Newfoundland, except
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(i) a ship chartered by bareboat charter
to a charterer resident outside Canada
or Newfoundland, or
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(ii) a ship taken over and operated by
any allied country; and
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(b) a ship, wherever registered or
licensed, having a crew engaged under
the laws of Canada or Newfoundland and
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(i) chartered by bareboat charter to a
charterer resident in Canada or
Newfoundland, or
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(ii) taken over and operated by, under
the control of, or on behalf of the
Canadian Shipping Board or a
Canadian naval authority.
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``distressed
mariner''
« en
détresse »
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``distressed mariner'' means a person who was
in distress in a place outside Canada or
Newfoundland, having been shipwrecked,
discharged or left behind from a ship on
which the person was engaged, and who
received or was entitled to receive relief
under
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(a) the Distressed Seamen Regulations,
made by Order in Council P.C. 609 of
March 23, 1937, as those regulations read
at the relevant time; or
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(b) Order in Council P.C. 8592 of
November 9, 1943.
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``foreign
voyage''
« voyage de
long cours »
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``foreign voyage'' means a voyage from or to
any place outside the area of a home-trade
voyage.
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``home-
trade voyage''
« voyage de
cabotage »
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``home-trade voyage'' means a voyage
between places in Canada, Newfoundland,
the United States or Saint Pierre and
Miquelon, in the course of which the ship
did not go south of 36o North latitude or
through the Bering Strait.
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``territorial
waters of
Canada''
« eaux
territoriales
du Canada »
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``territorial waters of Canada'' means all
waters within three nautical miles of any of
the coasts, bays, creeks or harbours of
Canada and Newfoundland, not included
within the limits specified and described in
the first article of the convention between
His Majesty King George III and the United
States, signed at London on October 20,
1818, and includes all waters that, pursuant
to Order in Council P.C. 3139 of December
18, 1937, were delimited as Canadian
territorial waters, but does not include
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(a) the waters of the St. Lawrence River
seaward from a line drawn due south
across that river from the mouth of the
Saguenay River; or
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(b) the waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca
westward beyond 124o 30' West
longitude.
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``war risk
bonus''
« indemnité
pour risques
de guerre »
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``war risk bonus'' means the pay supplement
that was paid to ships' crews serving in
dangerous waters
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(a) by shipowners or shipping companies
under the authority of decisions, findings
or directions of the National War Labour
Board pursuant to
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(i) the Wartime Wages and Cost of
Living Bonus Order, Order in Council
P.C. 8253 of October 24, 1941,
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(ii) the Wartime Wages Control Order,
Order in Council P.C. 5963 of July 10,
1942, or
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(iii) the Wartime Wages Control Order,
1943, Order in Council P.C. 9384 of
December 9, 1943,
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as those respective orders read at the
relevant time; or
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(b) by the Government of Canada
pursuant to Order in Council P.C.
122/7359 of August 19, 1942, as it read
at the relevant time.
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| Applicable
rules
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(7.2) The following rules apply for the
purposes of this section:
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(a) the status of a vessel and of the members
of its crew, and the class of voyage in which
a vessel was engaged, shall be determined
according to the Canada Shipping Act,
1934 and the regulations made thereunder,
as that Act and those regulations read at the
relevant time;
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(b) the official records verifying the
authenticity of any ship, other than a ship
registered in Canada or Newfoundland,
shall be those used under international
practice or under the laws of the country of
registration;
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(c) a ship does not qualify as a Canadian
ship or an allied ship if, at the relevant time,
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(i) it was neither registered nor licensed,
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(ii) it was a pleasure yacht not engaged in
trade, or
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(iii) it was engaged in the fishing
industry;
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(d) where official records of a person's
service as a merchant navy veteran of World
War I or World War II or as a Canadian
merchant navy veteran of the Korean War
are not available, the Minister may accept
a statutory declaration or like statement
from anyone if
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(i) information about the existence of any
registered or licensed ship on which it is
claimed that the person served is
corroborated by official records,
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(ii) no information in the declaration or
statement is contradicted by other
evidence, and
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(iii) after taking into consideration such
corroboration as may be available, the
Minister is satisfied, on the balance of
probabilities, that the information in the
declaration or statement is true,
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but this paragraph does not apply in relation
to subparagraph (7.3)(a)(i) with respect to
the availability of war risk bonus;
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(e) a person's domicile shall be understood
as meaning the person's domicile at the
commencement of the service, activity or
status referred to in paragraph (7.3)(d); and
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(f) the Minister may presume death in every
case where, according to the evidence
available as to the circumstances
surrounding the disappearance of the
person whose death is in question or the loss
of the ship on which the person was serving,
the Minister is satisfied beyond a
reasonable doubt that the death has in fact
occurred.
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| Merchant
navy veteran
of World War
I or World
War II
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(7.3) A merchant navy veteran of World
War I or World War II is
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(a) any person who, during World War I or
World War II, served on board a Canadian
ship while it was making
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(i) a voyage for which war risk bonus was
available, as verified by articles of
agreement or other official
documentation,
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(iii) a home-trade voyage any part of
which went outside the territorial waters
of Canada and was
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(A) between a place in Canada and a
place in the United States, in either
direction,
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(B) between a place in one province
and a place in another province,
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(C) between a place in Newfoundland
or Saint Pierre and Miquelon and a
place outside Newfoundland and Saint
Pierre and Miquelon, in either
direction, or
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(D) a search and rescue, salvage,
cable-laying or cable-repairing
operation, or
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(iv) a voyage during the course of which
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(A) the ship served on, or another
Canadian or allied ship in the vicinity
of the ship served on, was attacked by
the enemy, or
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(B) the ship served on was attacked or
damaged
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(I) by friendly forces engaging in
action or counteraction against the
enemy, or
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(II) as a result of marine hazards due
to the war;
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(b) any person who, during World War I or
World War II, made a trip by sea, land or air
through or over a theatre of actual war for
the purpose of
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(i) proceeding to a Canadian ship in order
to serve on a voyage referred to in
subparagraph (a)(i), (ii) or (iii), or
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(ii) returning to Canada, or to the country
of which the person was a citizen or
national, from having made a voyage
referred to in subparagraph (a)(i), (ii),
(iii) or (iv) or from service referred to in
paragraph (c);
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(c) any person who, as a member of a
Canadian manning pool during World War
I or World War II, served in a theatre of
actual war;
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(d) any person domiciled in Canada who,
during World War I or World War II,
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(i) served on board an allied ship while it
was making a voyage referred to in
subparagraph (a)(i), (ii), (iii) or (iv),
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(ii) made a trip by sea, land or air through
or over a theatre of actual war for the
purpose of
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(A) proceeding to an allied ship in
order to serve on a voyage referred to
in subparagraph (a)(i), (ii) or (iii), or
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(B) returning to Canada from having
made a voyage referred to in
subparagraph (a)(i), (ii), (iii) or (iv) or
from service referred to in
subparagraph (iii),
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(iii) as a member of an allied manning
pool, served in a theatre of actual war, or
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(iv) was a distressed mariner; or
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(i) is in receipt of a pension,
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(ii) has accepted a commuted pension, or
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(iii) is declared to have been eligible for,
or is awarded, a pension subsequent to
the person's death
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for an injury or disease incurred or
aggravated during service as a Canadian
merchant mariner of World War I or
Canadian merchant mariner of World War
II within the meaning of section 21.1 of the
Pension Act.
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| Canadian
merchant
navy veteran
of the Korean
War
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(7.4) A Canadian merchant navy veteran of
the Korean War is
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(a) any person who, at any time during the
period from June 25, 1950 to July 27, 1953,
served on board a Canadian ship in any of
the waters, including gulfs, bays and inlets,
lying between
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(i) the coasts of Siberia, Korea and China
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(ii) a line beginning at a point on the coast
of Siberia at longitude 135o East; thence
south to a point at latitude 38o 30' North
and longitude 135o East; thence
southwesterly to a point at latitude 30o
North and longitude 124o East; thence
south to Shokoto Sho; thence westerly to
Shichisei Seki; and thence westerly to a
point on the coast of China at latitude 23o
North; or
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(i) is in receipt of a pension,
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(ii) has accepted a commuted pension, or
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