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Topic: 'Stop ripping off disabled vets,' (Read 1082 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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First they nickel and dime you on the award then they penalize you financially with a nice catch-22. Yet there they are, beating their chests and telling everybody how good they are for us... Goofs. This has been dragging on forever.
September 12, 2007
'Stop ripping off disabled vets,' group urges government
OTTAWA (CP) - Federal bureaucrats are ignoring the will of politicians and the forces' ombudsman by continuing to deduct pain-and-suffering awards from long-term disability payments to wounded soldiers, a group of military veterans said Wednesday.
Sean Bruyea, a retired navy captain on longterm disability, says public servants have for four years ignored the urgings of both the military ombudsman and politicians to end the practice.
The deductions - now the subject of a lawsuit in the Federal Court of Canada - are costing more than 4,000 disabled vets who have been deemed "unemployable" thousands of dollars, Bruyea told a news conference.
"This is the only insurance plan in Canada that we know of that is deducting awards for pain and suffering from their longterm disability," Bruyea said.
"All political parties agreed the deductions were unfair. Two different (military) ombudsmen have written five seperate letters and reports to the minister of national defence over the last four years."
The current ombudsman, Yves Cote, last wrote the defence minister in June calling on him to follow the recommendations of a 2003 report entitled Unfair Deductions From (Longterm Disability) Payments to Former CF Members.
The report concluded that it was "fundamentally unfair" to deduct Pension Act disability payments from the military's longterm disability benefits and it urged Ottawa to stop the practice and pay retroactive compensation.
Cote appealed to the government "not to allow the court proceedings to be a reason to avoid swift action."
"My office and I have done all that we can do to bring this matter to a fair and satisfactory resolution," Cote wrote former defence minister Gordon O'Connor. "The ultimate responsibility for ensuring this issue is resolved equitably, generously and without undue delay rests with others.
"I sincerely hope that you, as minister of national defence, will do everything you can to ensure that fair treatment is achieved for our veterans and that it is achieved soon."
One disabled veteran told Wednesday's news conference the deductions have cost him almost $50,000 over the last seven years.
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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!
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ranrad
Ron [Andy] Andrews
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I will always be astounded with the way our Fed Gov treats veterans, even whilst they proudly tell the public how much they do for Vets.....  i wonder if we will ever have any change. I am convinced that the Gov is now spending down the surplus.. what was it $30 billion?? most of that donated by other countries , such as Holland , France etc...who have and still do give to help those who helped them....but i bekieve the gov , since they lost the ability to just "take" that surplus, are now using it to employ people to do little or nothing for our veterans....i think the 92% DENIAL RATE...tells the story factually....i do not mean to put down good people at Vet. Aff, who are TRULY trying to help vets...their hands are tied....they just do the work , then high paid bureaucrats wheedle down the facts in order to " DENY, DENY ,DENY".....and the Canadian public does not and can not KNOW this... it is welll doctored before they hear the " facts"... and no, this is not politics , it is plainly ploiticians and bureaucrats NOT DOING WHAT THEY ARE PAID FOR....and it is , in the least disgusting... but , as a start point , perhaps some smart investigative reporter can start by checking out the relatives of Vet Aff bureaucrats who may have a mil background... and see if they, those relatives are denied as well... that may well be the 8%... well, good luck in finding out who the Vet Aff bureaucrats are... that will be your first hurdle.....ranrad |
RCAF,CAF, converted RCR?,1RCR 74-77 CD: SSM (Nato);CPSM,;UN-Cyp.; UN- Golan
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Mike Blais
SSM (NATO Bar), CPSM, UN-Cyp, CD
Ultimate 2000+ Member
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A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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Works out to a grand a month for me... TIMES fifteen years!
Definition of screwed.
Of course, my MP promised to rectify this about nineteen months ago but, since he got promoted to cabinet... blah blah blah...
You'd think with all the raw raw troops banner the Conservatives have been hiding behind for the past two years every time the shit hits the fan that they would have taken care of this LONG AGO!
You know, walk the walk!!!!!!!!!
Instead, we have veterans on television begging for justice that is long overdue.
Hopefully, they will rectify it before the next election.... Thats is one of the few pre-election buyoffs that is justified.
Not that it is going to happen.
Note where buddy says it's fair then realize that he is not subject to such an arcane policy.
Veterans want Ottawa to stop clawback
By STEPHEN MAHER Ottawa Bureau | 4:43 AM
ADVERTISEMENT
OTTAWA — A group of disabled veterans made a passionate appeal Wednesday on Parliament Hill for the government to stop clawing back the money they receive to compensate them for injuries and illnesses sustained in the course of duty.
The veterans blame public servants for denying them money they are due for suffering and disability, and point out the public servants’ own insurance plan does not allow such clawbacks.
"Canadian Forces members do not have a union like federal civil servants to protect us from, well, certain federal civil servants," Sean Bruyea, one of the disabled veterans, said at a news conference on Parliament Hill. "The overwhelming majority of retired disabled soldiers are too ill and too ashamed to speak out."
Until 2006, Canadian Forces members who suffered a permanent disability in the line of duty were awarded a monthly cheque to compensate them, based on what members call a "meat chart," which designates the amount for specific disabilities. Members who return to duty continue to receive the payment, but members who are unable to work receive a pension — 75 per cent of their pay — minus the compensation money.
That clawback has cost Gulf War veteran Ron Cundell $50,000 over the years, he told reporters Wednesday.
"To put it simply, because I got too sick from my time in the Gulf War, these senior bureaucrats think it is acceptable to punish me by stealing the long-term disability benefits that rightfully belong to my wife and I," he said.
In 2006, the Defence Department stopped issuing monthly compensation cheques in new disability cases and started making lump-sum payments, which are not subject to the pension clawback. The veterans say they are happy that soldiers now serving in Afghanistan won’t be subject to a clawback, but they are worried that soldiers, particularly those with psychological problems, won’t do a good job of looking after the money.
In 2003, an all-party committee of the House of Commons and the Defence Department’s ombudsman both asked the government to stop clawing back benefits, but the government has not moved to do so.
The veterans don’t blame politicians for the situation.
They blame civil servants.
But the man in charge of administering the program says federal government policy makes it clear that the compensation cheques should be clawed back.
Andre Bouchard, president of the Defence Department’s SISIP financial services, says it’s only fair for one cheque to be reduced when members are eligible for two.
"This is common practice within the insurance industry," he said in an interview Wednesday.
Ending the clawback "would result in stacking of benefits," he said. "That wouldn’t be fair to the other group of people, who wouldn’t have the privilege of getting pensions from different sources."
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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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Well, damn, more of the real truth is coming to the fore , and i commend you all for having the guts to bring it out...it is long overdue. And we all know the fight by the Agent Orange Assoc. and now the Gov has ADMITTED RESPONSIBILITY... i think that is part of the Gov process.. everything seems to have to go thru a weird kind of procession...go figure.. why not just be straight up front and get on with fixing it??? I know of many cases of WW2 vets having great probems with Vet Aff too... one in particular became a good friend.. he was shot 5 times in the Dieppe Raid of 1942... had been pulled and dragged from the beach by a Sgt, and out to a landing craft which many hours later got him and his buddies back to England, where in his case he spent nearly a year in hospital, but fortunatly did survive... to be sent home to Canada, a busted up man , as one can well imagine..his war was over, and he took years to get to a point to be able to FIGHT for over 5 years with Vet Aff before getting any compensation...the stories are many .. too damn many, and the treatment affoeded by the very body put in place to help veterans , was then as now , a bloddy fight for the veteran... thsi should not be.. and i am pleased to see a lot of my fellow vets realize , it is not the Gov it is the civil servants , the bureaucrcy that has made this impossible situation...and since the beginning that has left doors open for the crooked and evil ones to do even more harm by their actions....vut it IS the Gov s fault when they FAIL to apply CORRECTIONS to the probelems... as can be seen , most MPs are in agreement that this clawback SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN, IS NOT JUST....SO THEY HAVE TO FIX IT.. THEY, MPs ARE SUPPOSED TO BE IN CHARGE OF THOSE CABINETS...THEY... ARE THE ONLY ONES WHO CAN FIX IT... BUT THEY WILL ONLY DO IT IF PUSHED BY THEIR CONSTITUENTS.... Bros. there is some kind f GREAT FEAR that MP s have of interfering in their own cabinets....what that is i do not know....after all, they , the Cabinet Ministers are supposed to be responsible for their Portfolio... why do they need to walk on egg shells to do their respective jobs... maybe it is time for a gov to bring in cabinat understudies to learn their portfolio and find out the bad buggers in the bureaucracies who ARE INTERFERING ... and VERY LIKELY ILLEGALLY... in other words , maybe its time to seek out the bad buggers , charge themm and lock them up or fire them whichever is more appropriate....make no mistake, thsi is where the problems of gov are...not with the MPs, but those same MPs need to take reponsibility for the buraeucrats... and get rid of the BAD ONES.. and publicly...ranrad
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RCAF,CAF, converted RCR?,1RCR 74-77 CD: SSM (Nato);CPSM,;UN-Cyp.; UN- Golan
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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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Oddly enough, it is the NDP who are calling on the government to do what should have been done months ago. I can remember vividly listening to the cons boast how they were so pro- military and how the SISIP clawback would be rectified... That was twenty thousands dollars ago and here we are. When I look at how long I've been out, I realize that my house wcould have been paid off... bletch. And considering all the political gravy they've been enjoying off the backs of the lads and, perhaps more importantly, the size of the freaking surplus, you'd think Harper would be more forthcoming. It's Friday now, doubtful he will act before sunday... guess we are screwed again. Promise made, promise broken. Sound familiar?
Harper must follow through on promise to veterans
Fri 9 Nov 2007 | Printer friendly
On Remembrance Day, Canadians from coast to coast to coast will honour the service and sacrifices of our veterans and currently serving Canadian Forces personnel. Alongside living heroes, we will remember the more than 100,000 men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in the Boer War, in World Wars I and II, in Korea, on peacekeeping missions, and in places like southern Afghanistan.
But words alone cannot convey the depth of gratitude we have for the men and women who have served our country. Our actions must also show how we deeply appreciate their contributions and efforts. That means that our government’s programs and services must treat our veterans and their families with dignity, fairness, and security.
That’s why the NDP has pressed the Conservative government to implement key reforms for programs and services for veterans and their families. The Harper Conservatives promised to fix the clawback of SISIP pensions for disabled veterans, to provide compensation for all victims of Agent Orange and other defoliants, and to extend the home care program (VIP) for widows and veterans. Shamefully, they have failed veterans and their families by not keeping any of these promises.
The list of injustices continues. Veterans are fighting for an end to the unjust clawback to their service pensions, and the Auditor General recently criticized the government for the long delays in assisting soldiers and their families struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The Conservative government has also ignored the will of Parliament by not implementing the recommendations of the NDP’s Veterans First Motion, passed in the House of Commons last fall by a majority of members. The motion asks that our government support our veterans and their families’ right to the end of their lives.
Veterans and their families have been deliberately misled by this Conservative government. With a 30 billion dollar surplus over the last three years, the federal government could easily afford to use a small fraction of this money to enhance benefits for veterans and their families.
Supporting our troops must be more than just a slogan. The NDP calls on Harper’s Conservatives to act on these issues now and support our hard-working veterans and their families, long after their uniforms come off. Our heroes deserve to be treated with fairness and dignity.
Peter Stoffer
MP Sackville--Eastern Shore
NDP Critic for Veterans Affairs
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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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Mike Blais
SSM (NATO Bar), CPSM, UN-Cyp, CD
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A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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SCC won't take up damage claim by disabled vets
Updated Thu. Jan. 17 2008 10:17 AM ET
The Canadian Press
OTTAWA -- The country's top court has refused to take another look at a multi-billion-dollar damage claim by mentally disabled military veterans who say Ottawa mismanaged their pension benefits.
In a decision released without comment Thursday, the Supreme Court of Canada rejected a request by the vets for permission to argue their case one more time.
The high court had previously ruled, in 2003, that the federal government acted lawfully in passing a 1990 law that barred retroactive compensation to the veterans, most of whom served in the Second World War.
Their lawyers later persuaded an Ontario Superior Court judge that the ruling applied only to accumulated interest, not to other potential damages.
The judge awarded $4.6 billion in a class-action suit launched on behalf of thousands who suffered mental trauma during their wartime service.
But the Ontario Court of Appeal overturned the award last year in a judgment that left the vets empty-handed.
The latest decision by a three-judge Supreme Court panel may deal a fatal blow to any hope of winning compensation through the courts, although the vets will likely continue a political lobbying campaign to put pressure on the Conservative government to meet their demands.
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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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One day , one day, this behavior by gov after gov is going to be their own undoing, and someone, some party may even find themselves DESTROYED , at their own hand , as a political entity...the truth has a way of coming to the fore...one day some gov is going to pay dearly... but.. sadly, that does NOT A THING for those veterans who have done their service, to be left to die in pain and anguish.. and disbelief ,that they were so hoodwinked by people they trusted...and we get little more than some lip service , from the odd MP , who actually has an idea of right and wrong, because that is what all this comes down to.. what is right? What is the right way to look after our veterans? Oh, yes, it has already been well written and laid down in law... but governments just ignore the law... one day , the majority of voters are going to learn the REAL TRUTH..in the mean time veterans continue to be abused...and all the while our officials tell the public how much they owe our veterans....man alive does your mother know you lie like that?  Something to think about..i for one am very disapponted in what we have for political leadership...but , as they say we get what we deserve.. so its time we expected truth and decency...ranrad |
RCAF,CAF, converted RCR?,1RCR 74-77 CD: SSM (Nato);CPSM,;UN-Cyp.; UN- Golan
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Gerry Connors
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I'm no 'scholar', just an ex grunt & medic. Had to do 20 years (and loved it) to get 2 percent a year and a claw-back I hit 65; I could be wrong, but I heard politicians had to do a whopping 8 years for a full pension; again, I could be wrong but doubt they are 'claw-backed' at 65.... And they vote themselves a pay raise from time to time...with perks...Plus, (IMHO) let's not forget the 'vast amounts of surplus' in the pension plan back in the early to mid-nineties that the government at the time 'expropiated'...which, I found quite coincidental that the budget shortly thereafter was out of the red & into the blue....then again, I'm not a highly educated individual, I could be wrong....we vote 'em in, but I guess we vote the lesser of the 2 ( or 3 etc) evils....
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1RCR Duke's Coy '82 - '87; Cyprus '84 / '85
LOTPed medic 1988; CFH Halifax '88 - '90
119 AD Bty medic, CFB Chatham '90 - '95
2RCR medic '95 - '00; SFOR Bosnia, 2RCR Roto 4 '99;
42 Hlth Svc Gagetown '00 - '02
CFRC Gagetown / Fredericton '02 - '06; 'retired' Aug '06
HMCS Jolliet, Sept-Iles QC, medical staff / 'tiffy' (reserves)
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Chet Malone
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Gerry, everything you said is the truth and its not eight years, it's only six. The link below gives a good account of what an MP looks forward to making upon completing only "six Years" in parliament. I don't see any "claw backs", their indexed right upto age 75 and they recieve on the back of tax payers a rediculious amount of severence and $15,000.00 worth of hush money! Its criminal!! It's no better than legalized crime!!!! The mofia doesn't even pay this well. We in this country must stop acting like a bunch of lost sheep and find a way to make these criminals accountable. I have wrote my MP repeatily on this subject, but have recieved back nothing but a "thank You your concern has been noted" crap. http://www.islandnet.com/~luree/golden.html |
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3RCR 1980 - 1984 Baden
3RCR 1984 -1986 Winnipeg Kapyong Barracks
Infantry school Tpt Pl Gagetown 1986 - 1988
3RCR 1988 - 1992 Baden Q Coy Bn Tpt.
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Medical release in London 2001
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ranrad
Ron [Andy] Andrews
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Hmmmm... it all is so familiar... and sadly, the full truth... and our only recourse is education of the voting public and being proactive for all Veterans issues, all the time... and there is no better messenger than word of mouth.. i believe we, as Cdns , have stopped talking like we used to. When attending so called "town Hall Meetings" be aware that they are arranged so that the political entity present has their people asking the questions that they have the answers ready for...its sad , but true.. and we need a tightening up of rules to be elegible to run as a member of parliament... ie , if one has a background of crime.. should they be running the country??? Well, take note, there are many MPs with criminal records...where/ how did we go wrong there? Mainly more political manipulation, too late when we find out.. but not too late for the future.. we can expose these people and force them to resign.. or at least explain themselves....we need to be more proactive...much more... ranrad
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RCAF,CAF, converted RCR?,1RCR 74-77 CD: SSM (Nato);CPSM,;UN-Cyp.; UN- Golan
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Norfolk
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! ....makes one wanna bring up a belly full of hot puke over his moniter....