2nd Canadian Veterans National Day of Protest – 1100hrs 5/11/11.

The 2nd Canadians Veterans National Day of Protest has been confirmed for Saturday, November 5th, 2011. Once again, Canada’s veterans and patriots who stand on guard for Canada’s sons and daughters serving in uniform today have been called to publicly demonstrate our profound displeasure over the Canadian government’s lack of substantive reform to the New Veterans Charter. Two things of critical importance have transpired during the past two months, first, the announcement at the recent VAC stakeholders advisory committee’s that the department’s operating budget was facing a five to ten percent cut as a part of the government’s debt reduction approach, even though we are still at a state of conflict in Afghanistan and more Afghan and peacekeeping era veterans are turning for assistance to Veterans Affairs Canada. The CVA believes there should be NO CUTS at Veterans Affairs Canada when this nation is engaged in war, that the department responsible for our war wounded should be immune to any government debt reduction programs and provided the full resources to focus entirely on the welfare of our wounded warriors.



The second issue alarm relates to the much heralded $2 billion of relief promised last autumn prior to the 1st Canadian Veterans National Day of Protest. As oft times reported, this substantial amount reflected an urgent and dire need for many veterans, tacit recognition, I might add, that the NVC has proven to be an abject failure. This July, Minister Blaney announced the precise nature of the regulatory issues inherent with Bill C-55’s legislative enhancements, revelations that were promptly lambasted by prominent veterans advocate Sean Bruyea and former Veterans Ombudsman Patrick Stogran, who termed it Smoke and Mirrors. It is important to note that the 2 Billion dollars is spread over the lifetime of the projected enhancements and considering the modest age of Afghan wounded, 50 years is not unreasonable. VAC ADM Gilbert has informed me of the 2 B, 189 million will be spent per year over the next five years… 945 mill deducted from 2 Billion… 1.55 billion divided by 45 years…. A mere 23 million dollars per year? Canada has just sustained five years of hard combat, 157 dead and hundreds upon hundreds of wounded. Over six hundred of our brothers and sisters are serving on the Libyan front and many others have been deployed across the globe in various capacities on behalf of Canada. How long will it be before our troops are engaged in peacekeeping/making Somalia, or the Sudan?

Furthermore, none of the enhancements provided through Bill C-55 recognize the fact that our veterans will require financial support after they reach the age of 65. Pain and suffering does not disappear when you reach mandatory retirement age. Most of C-55’s enhancements are fully taxed and as such, tens of millions of dollars will be clawed back in the form of taxation on a disability award. Provincial disability pensions are not taxed, nor are VAC pensions prior to 2006? Why should our Afghan war wounded not be accorded the same status?

Permanent Injury Award? Veterans Advocate Dennis Manuge (SISIP) confirmed through Minister Blaney’s office that only those awarded a 98% percent disability will be eligible for the 1000 dollar, tax free PIA. Sadly, thousands of veterans have been rendered unemployable through the permanence of their injuries yet are not accorded such a high level of compensation. Why are they not entitled to the PIA?  



I would also remind veterans that Bill C-55 addressed ONLY four recommendations out of hundreds proposed by the formal stakeholder advisory groups. Equally disappointing is the fact that Bill C-55’s regulatory changes are NOT retroactive for the twenty-three hundred veterans, those whose plight highlighted the consequences of the NVC and necessitated a need for a regulatory, not C-55 legislated, 40k assurance merely to provide an existence slightly above the poverty level. Be advised, this was a regulatory issue, not a component of Bill C-55! Be advised that not only are these regulatory changes NOT retroactive, they are fully taxed!