Lancement d'un sondage sur la nouvelle Charte des anciens combattants – Venez et faites-vous entendre!

SISIP CLAWBACK .... SISIP CLAWBACK ..... Voted on in the house of commons Nov 2006 and passed a majority vote stating that the clawback is unjust and profoundly unfair and yet over 5 years later we wait...Not only do we wait but also we spend tax dollars fighting it in the Supreme court of Canada even after voting that it must be addressed. Can someone explain this course of action. Oh ... Delay Delay Delay ... Bill C-55 is a joke... the only benifit is hopefully it will fool the Canadian public into thinking they have addressed veterans issues while in fact none of the new programs will be accessible to the majority of disabled vets! One annoying part of all this is the same people that made that clawback decision dont have their pensions clawed back...Also they stack the CPP benifit with their pensions while ours is again clawed back at age 65. I have a really hard time with the politicians getting a better pension than the disabled vets and RCMP knowing the sacrifice both make seems backwards to me.

THIS GOVERMENT STOLE MY DAD LEFT HIS FAMILY PENNYLESS . AND THEN SENT US A LETTER 40 YEARS LATER STATING HIS DEATH WAS DUE TO MILLIATRY SERVICE . YET HAVE FAILED TO VALDATE OR COMPENSATE OUR LOSS AND WHAT MY DAD AND OUR FAMILY SACRIFICED FOR THIS COUNTRY. YES OH CANADA WOULD I STAND ON GUARD FOR THEE???????

I totally agree with the comment of Mark C. I also would like to zero in on the process of a disability claim and the Kangaroo style of handling a disability case. In my OSIS group we found that 1 out of every 6 suffering PTSD have only 1 has been able to make a successfull and very painfuff positive decision. Others have been through the ringer 3 times and lost while others still await for thier 3rd and FINAL decision. These Veterans cannot hold a job never mind trying to retrain them when thier fighting Depression and are lost. Why are Veterans going through such painfull 3 decisions. All Veterans agree that we have to go over everthing again and again, Because Veterans Affairs Questions thier "Service" We all feel the Same Veteran Affairs has lost thier Moral Compass and now gone toward a Insurance type of Business forgetting what we went through and had to sacrafice. There are quite a few Veterans in Manitoba that suffer Mental Illness from thier service and are now on the streets because there past was to blame for thier PTSD not thier 20+ yrs of service or thier service in Special Duty Areas. Many Soldiers come from all walks of life and of all Races and serve thier Country without Question, When they come home sick with horrifying nitmares, alcoholism, drug abuse, from the tours of Duty they went through, thats not the time to blame thier alcoholic/abusave parents for thier PTSD, If this is the case VA has opened itself a huge can of problems. It is happening now and allot of great people are lost as Veterans Affairs has denied them anything for thier service, V.A does not realize that these people have no access to need meds after thier denial and because of thier Mental Ilness never helped until they end up in Jail or dead. Did we not learn from how we lost Sgt. Tommy Prince. Shame on Veteran Affairs

I agree so whole heartedly with the comments of Mark C and may I add that prior to the new Charter, hearing loss was once paid to a disability of 80% but was clawed back to less than half that. I suffer with 75% hearing loss and when I try to get employment and need to read lips in addition to my hearing aids I get turned down time and time again. My quality of life is drastically affected but VAC choose to lesson my benifits on guess what year "Year of the Veteran", it was simply a cost cutting measure by the Goverment and they would parade a few ex. military in their publications and say its what they want... which is pure bullshit. Bring back the Old Charter....

When will you be coming to Halifax?

Col (Ret’d) Stogran, I wish you every success in your ongoing campaign to get to the bottom of exactly how/why the NVC focus was permitted to stray off on the tangent of becoming nothing more than a "back to work" and "career-transition service". Of particular importance is determining why the NVC eliminated adequate and ENDURING financial compensation for our new generation of disabled vets. Those vets and their families have EARNED the right to enjoy a reasonable income and associated standard of living for the rest of their lives, as opposed to the next 5 years under the current NVC. $250K and a hand-shake is an inexcusable insult to a 25 year old veteran with a wife and young child, who is missing limbs and may not be able to secure reasonable civilian employment due to the enduring limitations of physical and/or psychological wounds. In effect, by adopting the woefully inadequate lump-sum payment rather than the former medical pension system, the Government of Canada has betrayed its new generation of disable vets by washing its hands of responsibility for their long-term financial security. Young men and women have sacrificed multiple limbs and the associated quality of life for themselves and their families in the service of Canada. And the Government through the NVC has eliminated their financial security while reducing pension-equivalent benefits from a lifetime to 5 years. Under the previous charter (prior to 1 April 07), a soldier missing two limbs receives a $4200 tax-free medical pension per month, or $50,000.00 per year for the remainder of his/her life. This pension is in addition to any military pension that the soldier has (heavily) paid into over the duration of their military career. However, if you have the bad fortune to have been wounded after 01 April 2007 and fall under the NVC, a veteran with two missing limbs receives a one-time lump-sum of $250,000 and (perhaps) a hand-shake - that is it, that is all. If deemed by VAC to be 100% disabled and incapable of finding meaningful employment, then a wounded vet is eligible to be "topped up" to 75% of his or her former military wage under the NVC. So what we’re really saying is that a veteran so disabled by their combat service that they cannot work, will suffer a 25% loss of annual income as a direct result of their sacrifice on behalf of Canada. And yes, any military pension or other Federal benefits that they receive are now "clawed back" and included in the 75% of former annual earnings. In other words, the pension that the disabled soldier paid into for a minimum of 20 years is now counted against them. So a Corporal with no legs and a family who cannot find reasonable civilian employment? He or she earns an annnual income under the NVC that is well below the Canadian poverty line. Nice, eh? Anyhow, we have discussed these issues in person, and I trust that your office will do its best to resolve the "one step forward, 10 steps back" situation created by the NVC. Our new generation of combat-disabled vets deserve far better than the dramatic reduction of financial compensation that has occurred under the new charter. I have personally briefed the MND and CDS on the issues outlined above, so it is safe to say that they are fully apprised of the situation. What remains to be seen if whether or not they will address those issues through their own government channels with the same vigour as your office. Meaningful change has yet to occur, and will require navigation through the cumbersome process of legislative amendment(s) tabled in the House of Parliament. This is unfortunate, as action is required NOW, rather than 5 years from now. The compensatory deficiencies of the NVC are adversely affecting the lives of our combat veterans NOW. Why is a Corporal missing 3 limbs dependant upon CHARITY to secure wheelchair-friendly, long-term accomodation for his family. You know who I am talking about. These are real veterans, with real challenges as a result of their sacrifices in the service of Canada. As it currently stands under the NVC, they are being betrayed and abandoned by their country. It is inexcusable. Thank-you for your heart-felt efforts on behalf of Canada’s veterans. Overworked and under-manned, your staff are truly deserving of recognition. Sincere Regards, Mark C