The Canadian Forces ombudsman says the Department of National Defence should immediately offer financial compensation and physical and psychological assessments to the victims of the fatal Valcartier explosion more than 40 years ago.

Six military cadets were killed and 65 others were injured July 30, 1974, after one of the cadets pulled the pin on a live grenade that was mixed in with dummies.

In the spring of 2013, the ombudsman’s office received dozens of complaints regarding the explosion and how the Canadian Forces handled the lingering impact. The complaints prompted an investigation, the results of which were made public Tuesday.

Defence Minister Jason Kenney has released a statement saying the Department of National Defence will offer the psychological and physical assessments and offer access to health care and compensation "where appropriate."

“I regret that it took 41 years to formally recognize and fully address this tragedy and I hope that the action we are taking in response to the Ombudsman’s recommendations will give the victims and their families some measure of comfort,” Kenney said.

Lieutenant-General Guy Thibault, Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, followed up with a statement as well on behalf of the Armed Forces.

“Today, following direction from the Minister of National Defence, we are taking immediate action on the Ombudsman’s recommendations to ensure that victims get the care they deserve,” it read. “The Canadian Armed Forces is fully committed to supporting this effort through the development and implementation of a framework for assessment and care and immediately reaching out to those who have been affected by this incident.”

In the report, Ombudsman Gary Walbourne said the cadets did not receive medical assistance besides the care they received immediately after the explosion, nor were they compensated.

“The gamut of disabilities runs from minor physical disabilities to completely disabled and there are many suffering from PTSD,” said Walbourne.

Those who needed medical care that wasn’t covered under a provincial insurance plan had to pay for it themselves or do without.

“National Defence and the Canadian Forces may not have intended to place cadets in a legal void via their non-military status, but their obvious lack of consideration for the youth under their care is inexcusable. Today still, these individuals need and deserve an opportunity to access mental health care and to be compensated for their injuries,” the report reads.

The cadets were participating in a summer camp when the inert explosives were passed around their class. Eric Lloyd, a 14-year-old cadet, happened upon a live grenade and asked the instructor if he could pull it. The instructor, who presumably believed the grenade was a dummy, told Lloyd it was safe. It took seconds for the grenade to explode, killing six cadets who were 14 or 15 at the time. A former cadet who attended the remembrance ceremony in 2009 said they were all thrown backwards and the room filled with smoke.

One cadet was left permanently disabled, others cadets suffered the loss of an eye, pieces of shrapnel in their body, loss of hearing, and psychological trauma.

Michel Juneau-Katsuya was a cadet at the time and went on to become a senior intelligence officer with CSIS. He recalled the gruesome horror scene.

“I'm wondering if it's my blood or someone else's blood I later find out later it was both because I had been injured as well in my hand,” he said.

After the explosion, a Canadian Forces panel was convened to investigate what had happened. The majority of people interviewed were cadets present at the time of the blast. They were separated from each other, escorted by armed military police officers to an underground bunker in order to testify, then told not to discuss their testimony with anyone else including their parents. The cadets were asked whether someone brought the grenade into the classroom. Many felt they were being blamed for the incident.

“The proceedings left them intimidated and fueled mistrust with respect to the Canadian Forces. Providing testimony to the Board of Inquiry was extremely difficult for some of the cadets, while others do not recall being affected,” Walbourne said.

“We were not treated as victims -- we were treated as possible suspects who brought the grenade in and provoked that incident,” said Juneau-Katsuya.

For years, former cadet John Hannon said he didn’t fully realize the impact of the tragedy on his life.

“Talking to other people they were saying, ‘Hey did you ever get diagnosed with PTSD? Dude, you're pretty messed up.’ I finally did and it's like, ‘Wow, so I'm not normal,’” he said. 

The panel eventually concluded that the officer in charge, the young private who assisted him, and the civilian employees who worked at the ammunition depot at Canadian Forces Base Valcartier were to blame for the live grenade being mixed in with the dummies.

The Department of National Defence paid for the funerals for the six cadets who died, but the survivors were never given any information on their options in terms of medical care.

Cadets did not hold any status in the Canadian Forces, and so they were ineligible for the compensation and benefits available to Canadian Forces members.

“The 137 cadets in the room at the time of the explosion were the most vulnerable and affected group present at the time of this incident due to their lack of military status. For this reason, they were ineligible for benefits,” said Walbourne.

 

Many of the former cadets Walbourne spoke to said their parents did not launch claims against the Crown because they didn’t know how, or didn’t have the financial means to “take on the big government machine.”

“It goes against, in my opinion, the basic principle of fairness, that's why I think they deserve the help: both with their medical issues, long term care going forward and some type of compensation,” said Walbourne.

For Juneau-Katsuya, the recognition brings some sort of comfort.

“It is a form of vindication. It is a form of result for ones who have been severely affected to have finally their story out,” he said.

The ombudsman’s mandate doesn’t normally cover events that occurred before its office was created in 1998, but an investigation can be launched into matters the minister of national defence deems to be in the public interest. Former minister of national defence Rob Nicholson agreed to launch an inquiry into the explosion in May 2014.

Those who have been affected by this incident may contact the Armed Forces at 1-844-800-8566 or 1974@forces.gc.ca.