DARTMOUTH, N.S. — Ottawa is waiting for veterans to die to avoid paying compensation for exposure to toxic defoliants at a New Brunswick military base, the Agent Orange Association of Canada claimed Saturday.

The association held a public meeting to raise awareness of a class-action lawsuit launched last year against the federal government.

"They are stalling," association vice-president Art Connolly told about 70 people who packed a small room at a recreation centre.

"They're waiting for veterans to die. Why is that? Because it's cheaper. That sounds so cruel and heartless but that's how they're looking at it."

About 1,000 people have joined the lawsuit, claiming the spraying of herbicides between the mid-1950s and 1984 at CFB Gagetown has left them with a variety of ailments.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has pledged to compensate military personnel and civilians whose health problems are related to the spraying.

Earlier this month, Veterans Affairs Minister Greg Thompson said Ottawa is committed to compensating veterans. He expected to have a recommendation ready in the fall.

His comments came after two reports concluded the spraying of herbicides Agents Orange, Purple and White in 1966 and 1967 by the U.S. military did not cause any long-term health problems.

The reports, commissioned by the federal government, also said current levels of dioxin at the base are too low to be of serious concern.

High exposure to dioxin, which can be found in early herbicides, has been linked to cancer, birth defects, immune system deficiencies and other health problems.

Thompson has insisted compassion and fairness would drive Ottawa to act, despite the findings of the reports that no harm was done.

But George Newell, who served as a private at Gagetown from 1956 to 1957, isn't buying the government's promises.

"I'd like to see them be truthful and I'd like to see them come clean and pay the people that need it," he said. "I feel that I've done my duty."

Newell, who requires an oxygen tube in his nose because of a lung problem, has no doubt his medical condition was caused by the spraying.

The 69-year-old said he was diagnosed with an infection around his heart 10 months after leaving the base.

He has suffered a number of health problems, including three heart attacks and testicular cancer, since his time at the base.

As veterans await compensation, more reports are on the way.

Studies examining the health impacts of herbicide spraying at the base are expected in the fall and winter.