Afghan-Canadian combat advisers launch discrimination suit against Department of National Defence
CBC
Former military language and cultural advisers — who at times carried out some of the most difficult and dangerous assignments of Canada's war in Afghanistan — are now suing the federal government for discrimination over the alleged failure to properly train and take care of them following their service alongside combat troops, CBC News has learned.
A statement of claim was filed on May 30 in Ontario Superior Court on behalf of 30 of the men — Canadian citizens of Afghan origin — who were recruited by the Defence Department to help the army on the ground during the brutal Kandahar campaign.
The federal government was served notice of the $50 million discrimination suit last Thursday.
Known by the acronym LCAs, the advisers were tasked with helping commanders and troops overcome language and cultural barriers. But they also conducted dangerous intelligence gathering on the Taliban, warned of attacks and eavesdropped on insurgent communications.
They were civilians, not soldiers.
Many of them returned to Canada injured and broken, only to be denied care by the federal government because their contracts with the Defence Department ended after their time overseas and their health concerns, including post-traumatic stress disorder, emerged afterward.
"After years of dedicated service to their country, LCAs were abandoned in the community," said the court filing, which noted that many of them had secret clearance and could not discuss the operations in which they had been involved.
The crux of the discrimination claim is that the advisers "were recruited based on their identities as Muslim Canadians of Afghan descent and were subjected to the same risks and hazards" as soldiers, yet, "Canada deprived LCAs of the same benefits and supports it provides to soldiers in recognition of these risks and hazards of war."
The former advisers also claim they were discriminated against by not being given adequate pre-deployment training to prepare for the hazards of combat.
CBC News has followed the plight of the men since 2019, and their case has also been championed by the Canadian Forces Ombudsman's office.
The Defence Department, in response to media stories and watchdog pressure, sent the advisers' cases to the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), which is where most Defence Department cases involving civilian injury end up.
The lawsuit claims the Defence Department "actively frustrated and undermined" the cases of the advisers by the "withholding of critical information from the WSIB and its imposition of confidentiality obligations."
The actions, the court filing says, limited the ability of the LCAs to disclose information and that contributed to the rejection of most of their serious injury claims.
The federal government has not responded to the claims in the court challenge.
Ontario’s police watchdog is investigating after an officer involved shooting at Danforth Go station early Saturday morning, said Toronto police.
Montreal officials will hold a ceremony to mark the 36th anniversary of the Polytechnique massacre today.
The City of Regina's proposal to build a roadway through the McKell Wascana Conservation Park should be discarded, local conservationists say.
A holiday event that began in 2020 during the pandemic with three floats on pickup trucks has now become one of Kelowna’s big winter events, drawing thousands to the city’s downtown core.
WARNING: This story details allegations of child abuse.
It’s been hard to keep track of how many legal challenges and active court proceedings the United Conservative government has tried to quash or pre-emptively block in the last six weeks, but let’s try to tally:
Margaret Walker, the emcee of a Waterloo vigil commemorating the victims of the Montreal massacre, doesn't feel enough is being done to reflect on the killings and address gender-based violence.
The P.E.I. Humane Society says it is doing far more fundraising than it used to, and rising expenses — including the cost of animal medications — are a big reason why.
Ottawa is staring down a court-ordered deadline to submit a new plan to reform the on-reserve child welfare system, as a group of First Nations leaders and children’s advocates prepare a competing proposal.
An underpass revitalization project that was meant to pay tribute to the people of Parkdale has instead deteriorated into “a garbage dump,” according to nearby residents.
A young man has been charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm after a fire at a frat party near Western University that injured five sorority sisters, including two seriously, late Tuesday night.
The massive deal to combine one of Hollywood's oldest studios with a streaming giant hasn't even been approved yet, but it's already riling multiple related industries and politicians concerned about monopolies and media concentration.
Mi'kmaq chiefs and a former Nova Scotia justice minister are criticizing the provincial government for directing police to crack down on illegal cannabis, saying the order undermines relations with Indigenous Peoples.