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Bill C-463

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First Reading

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	1st Session, 36th Parliament, 46-47 Elizabeth II, 1997-98
	The House of Commons of Canada
	BILL C-463
	An Act to provide for compensation to those Canadian veterans who were taken prisoner by the Japanese in 1941 in Hong Kong and forced to work in labour camps
Preamble	WHEREAS over two thousand members of the Canadian Forces were taken prisoner by the Japanese forces who captured Hong Kong on December 1941 and were subsequently forced to work for forty four months in Japanese labour camps; and
	WHEREAS the veterans were abused and subjected to cruel and inhuman treatment and many of them died as a result; and
	WHEREAS the United Nations Commission on Human Rights has recognized that this treatment was a gross violation of the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoner of War; and
	WHEREAS the veterans are entitled to special compensation for the uncompensated labour they were forced to carry out for the benefit of Japan;
	NOW THEREFORE, HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

Short title	1. This Act may be cited as the Hong Kong Veteran Prisoner Compensation Act.
Definitions	2. The definitions in the section apply in this Act.
``Hong Kong veteran prisoner'' « ancien combattant fait prisonnier à Hong Kong »	``Hong Kong veteran prisoner'' means a Canadian who was serving with the Canadian Forces in Hong Kong during World War II and was taken prisoner by the Japanese forces when they captured Hong Kong on December 25, 1941 and was subsequently forced to work in a Japanese labour camp without compensation;
``Minister'' « ministre »	``Minister'' means the Minister of Veterans Affairs.
Compensa- tion	3. (1) The Minister shall investigate the claim to compensation made by Hong Kong veteran prisoners and their surviving widows and recommend to the Governor in Council, no later than April 1, 1999 a program whereby compensation shall be paid to every surviving Hong Kong veteran prisoner and every surviving widow of a Hong Kong veteran prisoner.
Committee recommenda- tion taken into account	(2) The Minister shall take into account the recommendation of the Standing Committee of the House of Commons on Foreign Affairs and International Trade that the compensation be in the amount of twenty three thousand, nine hundred and forty dollars to every surviving Hong Kong veteran prisoner and every surviving widow of a Hong Kong veteran prisoner.
Report to House	4. No later than the first day on which the House of Commons sits after June 1, 1999, the Prime Minister shall announce to the House the course of action the Governor in Council will take with respect to the compensation, the legislation that will be presented to Parliament to make the payment and whether the Government of Canada will pursue a claim against the Government of Japan for the cost of the compensation.