Bill to grant wartime service recognition to Afghan, Gulf veterans wins support

OTTAWA — Members of Parliament say they have all-party support to speed through a bill to grant wartime service recognition to veterans of modern conflicts like Afghanistan.

The Canadian government has not formally designated anything as wartime service since the Korean War, despite deployments to armed combat zones.

Independent Sen. Hassan Yussuff introduced Bill S-246 in April and the legislation is now entering its first stage of debate in the House of Commons.

The bill would establish a national framework for granting recognition of service during wartime, and force the government to explain publicly why it does or does not grant such recognition.