Harold Davis, President of Persian Gulf Veterans of Canada, makes remarks during a ceremony to commemorate the 35th anniversary of Operation Friction and the end of the Persian Gulf War on Feb. 28.Kelly Clark/The Canadian Press
Michael Blois is haunted by memories of fallen comrades in Afghanistan and he lives with injuries from a Taliban rocket blast.
He was among more than 40,000 Canadian Armed Forces members who served in the country’s largest deployment since the Second World War — and among roughly 2,000 who were wounded.
But under federal law, he is not considered a “war veteran.”
Michael Blois served in two tours in Afghanistan in 2005 and 2006 before he suffered a brain injury from a rocket blast in January 2007. [Photo courtesy of Michael Blois]Supplied
The 44-year-old still recalls the dates some of his comrades were killed. He also remembers the rocket grenade that left him with a brain injury in 2007. Now, he has impaired vision in one eye and is completely deaf in one ear.
“These are the lasting impacts that I will carry for the rest of my life,” he said. “The reminder of my service is there every single day.”
Canada’s War Veterans Allowance Act defines “war veteran” as someone who served in the First World War, Second World War or Korean War — the latter added in the 1980s. Veterans of conflicts since then, including Afghanistan, are excluded from the designation.
“It gives the perception to those who didn’t serve the idea that what we did in Afghanistan was less than the combat faced by veterans of other eras,” Mr. Blois said. “It makes it feel like what you did isn’t being properly recognized.”
A new Senate bill aims to change that. On Thursday, Senator Hassan Yussuff tabled a private member’s bill to streamline the symbolic “wartime service” designation and recognize modern military missions.
“I scratched my head and wondered, ‘Why can’t we simply recognize this?’” Sen. Yussuff said in an interview. “Why should veterans go on mission after mission, lobbying the government to do what seems very basic?”
Dubbed the Wartime Service Recognition Act, the bill was drafted in consultation with the Persian Gulf Veterans of Canada advocacy group and other post-Korean War veterans.
It proposes criteria to classify military operations as wartime service, with consideration for exposure to life-threatening conditions, risk of physical or psychological injury, and the scale and intensity of missions.
The legislation would mandate a review of all Canadian military operations since the Korean War and require future missions to be assessed within one year.
“We should have a way to assess these missions and try to give the symbolic recognition to those who serve,” Sen. Yussuff said. “It’s about respect for those who have served in the country.”
Undated photos of Harold Davis, a Gulf War veteran.Supplied
Before joining the military, Harold Davis, 67, never imagined he would sail the world – let alone fight in a war.
“I’ve done lots of things that I never figured I would do,” he said. “I would never change one day of my service. Not one day.”
Now president of the Persian Gulf Veterans of Canada, Mr. Davis was among roughly 4,000 Canadians who served in the 1990-91 Gulf War. He was aboard the HMCS Athabaskan destroyer. The lack of the wartime veteran label “is an insult” to him.
“A lot of Canadians don’t know what a veteran does for his country when he leaves,” he said. “The war’s not over for a lot of veterans.”
Harold Davis has sailed the world's seven seas as a member of the Canadian Armed Forces. He is now the founder and president of the Persian Gulf Veterans of Canada advocacy group.Supplied
No Canadian soldiers died in the Gulf War, and the conflict is not inscribed on the National War Memorial. Mr. Davis said that he and his comrades “are not seen at all.”
“We didn’t lose anybody over there, so our casualty number is not sexy enough for the government to put up there and recognize,” he said.
In their 2025 federal election platform, the Liberal Party pledged to “expand recognition of service by reviewing the designation of certain military missions,” including the Gulf War. Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government has yet to follow through on the platform point.
National Defence Minister David McGuinty, who works closely with Veterans Affairs Canada, did not respond to requests for comment. Minister of Veterans Affairs Jill McKnight did not directly say whether the government plans to fulfil the pledge.
“Recognizing and commemorating the contributions of all Canadians who have served our country remains one of my core priorities,” Ms. McKnight wrote in an emailed statement.
To commemorate the 35th anniversary of the end of the Gulf War, Veterans Affairs hosted a wreath-laying ceremony at the National War Memorial in Ottawa on March 4. Last December, the government also named the “Gulf War Illness” as a diagnosis for disability benefits applications, recognizing the “hard-to-define” illness afflicting Gulf War veterans with symptoms including chronic fatigue, persistent headaches, joint and muscle pain and memory issues.
Gulf War veterans Harold Davis, left, and Michael McGlennon, centre, salute during a ceremony marking the 35th anniversary of Operation Friction and the end of the Gulf War, at the National War Memorial in Ottawa, on March 4.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
Sen. Yussuff’s bill focuses on symbolic recognition and does not affect benefits, some of which post-Korean War veterans are entitled to under the Veteran Well-being Act for serving in “Special Duty Service.”
For Mr. Davis, recognition for Gulf War veterans is only the beginning: “If they do give our recognition, hopefully other deployments and wars will also be recognized.”
Mr. Blois, now a personal injury lawyer, said Afghanistan veterans already refer to themselves as “war veterans,” regardless of the law.
“The distinction is important,” he said. “It shows that when the country needed me, and I knew the sacrifice was at its greatest, I was there.”