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Topic: NDP steps up for veterans.... (Read 172 times)
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Mike Blais
SSM (NATO Bar), CPSM, UN-Cyp, CD
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A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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Wow, go freaking figure... but since this is an issue close to my pocket book, ie, I'm getting boned for a g-note a month... I would have you note that my local MP promised to make this good about thirteen thousand dollars ago... One might ask, how are you making out?
NDP calls for changes to military insurance plan
Updated Wed. Jul. 18 2007 4:32 PM ET
Canadian Press
HALIFAX -- Kevin Landry fumbles for one of the prescription pill bottles in his pocket and explains how he had to increase his dosage Wednesday morning just to make it out the door.
The Canadian Forces veteran suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder linked to his service in Bosnia and Croatia in 1995, and rarely leaves the seclusion of his rural Nova Scotia home.
But Landry, slight and soft-spoken, wanted to join several other veterans in Halifax as they criticized the federal government for clawing back their disability payments and leaving many of them on the brink of financial ruin.
"It's not a question of whether we'll go bankrupt next week or next month -- it's every day,'' he said at a news conference. "The first day that you join the military, they tell you that if you get hurt they will take care of you and your family, and that is the biggest lie.''
Under the military insurance plan, injured veterans are entitled to a percentage of their former salaries. But the plan treats monthly pension payments as income and deducts the pension amount from what is paid to former Forces members.
Landry, 33, loses about $1,700 a month in clawbacks and estimates the practice has cost him $40,000 since he began receiving his Veterans Affairs pension after his release in 2005.
Landry, who takes eight pills a day to control panic attacks and other ailments, has joined dozens of other veterans from across the country in a class-action lawsuit against the government to end the controversial clawback.
Dennis Manuge, a Nova Scotia veteran who filed the suit last March, said the case illustrates how poorly the federal Conservatives treat veterans who have been hurt serving their country, yet have to fight to get benefits.
"The bottom line is we are having money stolen from us,'' he said angrily as veterans from the Korean and Second World Wars looked on. "It just doesn't make sense. We are owed a certain debt of gratitude by the government.''
Defence officials have said the department is reviewing the issue and "wants to make a decision that is fair to all members and former members of the Canadian Forces balanced with fiscal accountability to Canadian taxpayers.''
Manuge said there are up to 6,000 veterans across the country whose disability pensions are being clawed back, putting the cost of stopping it and reimbursing veterans at around $320 million.
A military ombudsman has also called on the government to get rid of the clawback, describing it as "profoundly unfair.''
Veterans also criticized the Conservatives for failing to move quickly enough to extend the national veterans independence program, which provides housekeeping, home maintenance and home-care services for 97,000 eligible veterans, their spouses and widows.
Access is restricted and many veterans or their spouses have been denied claims.
When he was Opposition leader in 2005, Prime Minister Stephen Harper promised in writing that a Conservative government would "immediately'' expand the program at a cost of about $300 million a year.
But Harper has said an expansion won't come until the next budget. Veterans Affairs also has to complete a review of its programs before proceeding with any changes.
Chris Beattie's husband became ill and later died after helping in the cleanup of a nuclear spill in Chalk River, Ont., in 1958 while he was doing basic training at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa.
She said the federal government is failing widows who tended to their husbands round the clock rather than put them in nursing homes.
"I find it an embarrassment that I have to beg (Veterans Affairs) to acknowledge the promise that was made in 1999 and again in 2005 that we the widows would be taken care of,'' said Beattie.
Peter Stoffer, the NDP's veterans affairs critic, said he has repeatedly asked the government to eliminate the clawback and extend the veterans independence program, but has been stonewalled.
"Supporting our troops doesn't just mean when they're wearing the uniform -- it means supporting them throughout their lives,'' Stoffer said.
Veterans Affairs Minister Greg Thompson said the government is committed to moving ahead, but can't reform the programs "overnight.''
"We're dealing with many issues that have been left over by successive Liberal governments and so we can't fix everything in one day,'' he said in an interview from his riding in St. Stephen , N.B.
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
Pro Patria
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ranrad
Ron [Andy] Andrews
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Nice to see this innitiatuve.. i hope it will actually go to fruition, and the sooner the better for many , many veterans and widows.... but having dealt with the " system" for over 16 yrs ,one gets to know quickly just how little our government thinks of its vets....they are huge on the talk, the window dressing , and yes, outright lies to the general public... who can only assume that the vets are being well looked after.. how are they to know otherwise...and of course , suvccessive governments have used this lack of public knowledge to their advantage.....i have even seen first hand the governments " commissions " deny , in the presence of lawyers , the basic right of the veteran, that being..." the benefit of any doubt shall be in favour of the veteran"...i recall a lawyer using these words to the commiissioner in charge of an appeal hearing..and i quote , as i shall never forget them, much as the gov hopes i will, " How dare you sit there Mr Commissioner , saying you are giving the benefit of the doubt to this veteran appellant , when it is so obvious you are indeed giving that benefit of doubt to the GOVERNMENT... how dare you?".. end quote....and with that the veteran lost his last chance at appeal, leaving him out of thousand sof dollars.ansd in effect now excluding him as a meaning ful Canadian... that is the thanks our vets so often run into...so, i will always hope that one day our vets will truly be treated as they should, for real, not just talk...but i am very skeptical of any real progress any time soon....ranrad
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RCAF,CAF, converted RCR?,1RCR 74-77 CD: SSM (Nato);CPSM,;UN-Cyp.; UN- Golan
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TERRY HANNA
Guest
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MIKE AND RANRAD, I PLEAD IGNORANCE TO THE PLIGHT YOU HAVE BEEN DISCUSSING ABOVE, BUT ITS THE SAME ''OLD BULLSHIT'' AS FAR AS I CAN TELL. THE VETERANS ARE ON THE GOVT'S TOP 100 LIST OF PRIORITIES.....PRI 1...GOVT SALARIES.....PRI 2...MP'S SALARIES...PRI 3.....MP'S PENSION.....PRI 4...MP'S EXPENSIVES.... ETC......ETC......ETC....PRI 100....VETERANS BENIFITS...
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Mike Blais
SSM (NATO Bar), CPSM, UN-Cyp, CD
Ultimate 2000+ Member
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Gender:
Posts: 3360
A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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Well let me explain it to you, brother.
When Veterans Affairs awards you a pension for services rendered, SISIP, which in my case is paying the max, automatically deducts it from their contribution. No one else covered under the insurance mandate, ie, the mounties, are treated in such a matter. bad enough they nickle and dime you at DVA , this is tax free money, not declarable earnings that would normally be subject to a private insurance company's adjustment.
Freaking BS. More so as the Conservatives, prior tot he election, promised to rectify the situation.
What was, I suggest, a classic case of BS baffles brains!
Specially when it comes down to supporting us and those who would now carry the torch.
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
Pro Patria
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TERRY HANNA
Guest
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THANX MIKE,FOR INFO'ING ME, THAT IS BAD THAT IS VERY BAD....IN FACT '' DICK TURPIN WORE A MASK'' SPRINGS TO MIND. I NEVER CHECKED TO SEE IF I AM ENTITLED TO ANYTHING BECAUSE OF THE WAY THEY HANDLED MY RETIREMENT AT NDHQ I LOST MY TEMPER(NOT AN UNUSAL THING FOR ME TO DO,EH!) AND SAID TO HELL WITH IT. I CAN ONLY GUESS AT HOW PISSED OFF YOU AND ALL THE OTHER VETS ARE FEELING. THE MILITARY PROTECTS ALL OF THEIR ASSES, THEY SHOULD DO MORE TO MAINTAIN THAT PROTECTION.GOD ALMIGHTY IF A POLITICIAN LOST A FINGER DUE TO IT BEING INSERTED UP HIS ASS BELIEVE ME HE WOULD GET A MILLION A YEAR FOR THAT. MIKE A NEW QUESTION FOR YOU....HOW DO I GO ABOUT GETTING ALL THE INFO ETC FOR THE 125 REUNION IN KINGSTON 2008
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Mike Blais
SSM (NATO Bar), CPSM, UN-Cyp, CD
Ultimate 2000+ Member
Offline
Gender:
Posts: 3360
A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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Reference reunion.
I have found the most up to date spot is right here, Terry, although I am certain the Regimental Adjutant will keep us updated as the time approaches.
Are you planning on coming over? I think I am going to rent an RV or a trailer for the week and put it up in DABS front lawn.... snicker.
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
Pro Patria
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