Parliamentary Committee Urges Better Access to Evidence for Veterans Linked to Contaminated Military Sites
A House of Commons national defence committee report recommends the federal government improve access to evidence for veterans making medical claims related to contaminated sites, highlighting the case of military pilot Hakan Haytaoglu, who died before his appeal was heard but whose wife successfully secured benefits.
A new report released in October by the House of Commons national defence committee states there are 2,750 Department of National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces contaminated sites in Canada as of June 2026. The report includes 11 recommendations calling on the federal government to make it easier for service members to find information needed for medical claims.
One recommendation suggests the government proactively inform personnel and families living or working on DND and CAF sites about environmental risks and assessment results. Currently, veterans face significant difficulty obtaining reliable information about past toxic exposures, forcing families to act as investigators to prove risk connections for medical claims.
The report highlights the case of Hakan Haytaoglu, a military pilot with the Canadian Armed Forces who worked secret missions during his 35-year career. He was diagnosed with neuroendocrine carcinoma at age 55, months before retirement. Veterans Affairs Canada initially denied his medical claim, prompting an appeal process led by his wife, Maura-Jo Haytaoglu. Hakan Haytaoglu died in July 2025, just weeks before his case was scheduled to be heard by the Veterans Review and Appeal Board in August 2025. Maura-Jo Haytaoglu successfully appealed her late husband's denied medical claim after gathering evidence connecting his illness to his service.
Information used in Hakan Haytaoglu's successful appeal is now helping surviving service members from his secret mission. Three colleagues have died from cancer, one has Stage 4 cancer, and one has beaten cancer three times. Successful appeals like this create precedents that assist other affected service members.
Erin Zimmerman, a former civil servant and veteran, helped locate evidence for over two dozen veterans' appeals, including the Haytaoglu case. Zimmerman was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson's disease after working at CFB Moose Jaw sections that are now active contamination sites, including during one pregnancy. Health outcomes linked to site exposure include rare cancers and early-onset Parkinson's disease.
Jim Hutton of Veterans with Cancer Inc. stated that Veterans Affairs does not properly track exposure-related cancer claims, forcing veterans to file access to information requests.