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Bill to bump veterans to front of federal job line flawed: ombudsman

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Bill to bump veterans to front of federal job line flawed: ombudsman Empty Bill to bump veterans to front of federal job line flawed: ombudsman

Post by Guest Mon 26 Jan 2015, 19:20

OTTAWA -- Canada's military watchdog is worried about what it says are flaws in a bill intended to give veterans first crack at federal civil service jobs.


Bill C-27, which is currently before the Senate after passing in the House of Commons last June, gives Veterans Affairs the power to determine whether a military member's medical release is a result of service in the Canadian Forces.

Canadian Forces ombudsman Gary Walbourne says that's a determination that should be made by the Department of National Defence.

The ombudsman's office conducted an extensive analysis of the proposal, which was pushed last year as the government faced criticism for the summary dismissal of ill and injured soldiers, many of them with post-traumatic stress.

Under the existing system, all soldiers have to be considered fit to deploy both overseas and at home. Those that are considered unfit, such as the ones with physical an mental wounds from the Afghan war, are given a set amount of time to recover.

If after at point they still don't meet the universality of service rule, they are released.

In the fall of 2013, a number of troops came forward to complain they were being shown the door just shy of qualifying for their pension.

The government responded by introducing legislation to bump wounded soldiers to the front of the line for federal jobs, as long as they are qualified for the position. It may, however, have the opposite effect, said Walbourne.

National Defence, which has access to medical records and service history information, is in a better position to justify an ex-soldier's medical condition and the reason for the release, he argued.

The way the bill is written, "it could be counter-productive," Walbourne said in an interview. "There is the potential for certain releasing members to not have the right priority status -- or be delayed getting on that list."

It's not the first time the two departments and their duelling assessment systems have come under the microscope.

Many ex-soldiers, released from the military on medical grounds, have found doctors contracted by Veterans Affairs don't always agree with the assessments of military physicians. That has, in some cases, led to veterans being denied benefits and services for conditions that cost them their military jobs.

Walbourne said the same general mechanism applies in the case of priority hiring and he doesn't understand why there "needs to be a separate process.

National Defence "knows how the person has gotten hurt," he said.

"We know what happened to him. And we know whether it has happened on the job. I have a real concern. Why would we bring in another process to determine something that has already been determined?"

Walbourne's counterpart, veterans ombudsman Guy Parent, said he agrees with the findings of the assessment.

"Giving ill or injured soldiers speedier access to potential jobs in the public service is vitally important to the (Canadian Armed Forces) members and veterans," he said.

A senior government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said new Veterans Affairs Minister Erin O'Toole would study the report, noting that O'Toole is committed to "closing the seam between National Defence and Veterans Affairs."

But the official, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said the legislation may have already passed the point of no return.

Allowing National Defence to be the sole authority over the release of an injured member would requiring rewriting the law governing the veterans department, something that would be a major undertaking, the official said.

Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/bill-to-bump-veterans-to-front-of-federal-job-line-flawed-ombudsman-1.2205962#ixzz3PycYOHnv

NOTE: DID NOT POST THIS IN THE OMBUDSMAN SECTION TO NOT TAKE AWAY FROM THE TOWN HALL NOTICE

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Post by bigrex Mon 26 Jan 2015, 22:00

I don't see why it should matter what the cause of the medical release was. VAC will already be determining that if applying for disability benefits. But this is about future employment, so every member who is being released on medical grounds should have access to the priority list. Next thing they will say, is that you have to be in receipt of a disability award in order to qualify for this priority list, which seems to be already implied.

Honestly, all I can see happening from this legislation, is adding to the level of frustration among younger veterans. Because next thing you know, we'll be reading about guys who qualify for the priority hiring due to a service related injury, but denied disability benefits for the same injury, or vice versa.

One other thing. They say that giving DND the sole authority to release injured members would require rewriting Veteran's legislation.Well, I call BS on that. The NVC has no control over who is medically released or when, and technically not every injured member is a VAC client, unless they prove the injury was service related. For example, if someone is released because they develop Diabetes, and I've seen it happen, they would neither be a VAC client (unless diagnosed while serving in a Special Duty Area), nor would they be eligible for priority hiring, but it isn't going to be VAC staff who determines whether or not the member is medically released or not.
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Post by Guest Tue 27 Jan 2015, 12:09

As far as I can remember when I was serving things were less complex as they seem to be today.
If we had and individual who was having medical problems we would follow what was said by the forces medical members.
We would look at the degree of the condition and or conditions in question, in discussion with the individual and looking at what is being said by the medical members, it was fairly easy to know what steps to take.

If it was determined that the medical problem in question was severe enough to the point that the individual could not by any means continue to do any type of work - the individual would be medically released, and that individual would have to go through the medical release process, and would have the option to apply for sisip, DVA if they choose to, CPPD ect....
In most, if not all of these cases due to the severity of the condition, thinking about getting back into the work force was not first at mind.
Rather, the condition - or conditions were caused by the service - or not, it was up to the individual to prove his or hers case.

If it was determined that the medical problem was not as severe, we would consult with the individual, and ask them if they would take other work outside their trade such as Barrack Warden - stores ect....this would buy the individual time if they were a year or two shy from pension entitlement.
We looked after our troops - it was not such a big deal - at least they would have some pension coming in while they wait for outside employment - or wait for medical benefits to be approved.

So I think if they want to put forward a bill that gives Veterans priority for federal jobs - Like Rex said it should not matter if the medically release is service related or not, being medically released should be all that's needed.

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Post by Teentitan Tue 27 Jan 2015, 13:23

As flawed as this Bill is the biggest flaw is "lateral moves" within PSAC.

A lateral move trumps priority hiring. So someone from Oceans and Fishery can take a DND job even if the veteran is better qualified and a 100% slot into the job for performance.

Not to mention the archaic hiring policies for jobs in PSAC. I have heard a spelling error on the cover page led to completely throwing the resume out even though it was a person who was a temp fill in for the job looking to become full time.
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Post by Guest Wed 18 Feb 2015, 18:55

Fix bill giving wounded troops jobs priority, watchdogs say

OTTAWA -- The military's watchdog urged the Senate on Wednesday to fix a bill intended to give wounded ex-soldiers first crack at federal civil service jobs, but the Harper government appears ready to allow it to go through as written.

Gary Walbourne, the Canadian Forces ombudsman, says National Defence should have the power to determine whether a soldier's medical release is a result of military service.

Bill C-27 gives Veterans Affairs that responsibility, something Walbourne says doesn't make sense, adds unnecessary red tape and could ultimately defeat the purpose of expedited job placement.

"To have a process to determine what is already been determined, for me, just defies logic," Walbourne told the Senate's veterans affairs sub-committee, populated on Wednesday by mostly Conservative members of the upper chamber.

The legislation, which gives wounded troops the top statutory priority for federal jobs, deserves to be passed, said veterans ombudsman Guy Parent, who called on the committee to attach an "observation" to the bill noting the concerns of watchdogs before it comes up for a final vote.

Walbourne argued that National Defence is best suited to justify why a soldier is being given a medical discharge, not the veterans department, which should only assess the impact of the release on an individual.

Allowing Veterans Affairs to decide whether an injury is the result of military service could take as long as six months, delaying not only job applications, but also the distribution of benefits, Walbourne said.

What may seem like a bureaucratic squabble between departments has long been a major sore spot for ex-soldiers, some of whom were let go from the military only to find veterans affairs does not see their medical condition in the same way.

Kayleigh Kanoza, a spokeswoman for Veterans Affairs Minister Erin O'Toole, said the government "would like to see this bill brought into force as soon as possible," but wouldn't say whether it is prepared to entertain changes at this stage.

"We are committed to continuous improvement in our treatment of veterans, and look forward to seeing the Senate's study," she said in an email.

The Conservatives came under fire in 2013 after troops who were considered medically unfit complained they were being summarily released. The government responded by introducing legislation to bump those wounded soldiers to the front of the line for civil service openings.

Mike Blais, of Canadian Veterans Advocacy, said he can't understand why the government would allow a flawed bill to become law when two of its watchdogs have already sounded the alarm.

"They just want to ram it through before the election, wrap themselves in the flag and say they've done something," said Blais.

Liberal MP Marc Garneau, a former member of the military, said the Conservatives almost never amend their legislation and the opposition considers this is O'Toole's first real test as minister.

"If the government really wants to send a strong signal that it is listening and that it does want to make change, everybody is going to be watching Mr. O'Toole to see if anything happens," said Garneau.

Conservative Sen. Carolyn Stewart-Olsen said she's been told that the two departments are already working together to make the transition between military and civilian life seamless and that "the red tape will be eliminated."

Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/fix-bill-giving-wounded-troops-jobs-priority-watchdogs-say-1.2242061#ixzz3S903JVQU



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Post by Guest Thu 19 Feb 2015, 01:28

boys we have already been here before you already know what this BS is ABC !!!!!!

PROPAT

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