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Invictus Games 2017 / Topics & Posted Articles

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Post by Guest Sat 23 Sep 2017, 15:42

Prince Harry meets teams in Canada for the Invictus Games


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Post by Guest Sat 23 Sep 2017, 15:40

Melania Trump to meet with Trudeau, Prince Harry at Invictus Games 2017


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Post by Guest Sat 23 Sep 2017, 15:39

2017 Invictus Games begin in Toronto


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Post by Guest Sat 23 Sep 2017, 15:38

Prince Harry and Justin Trudeau launch Invictus Games 2017


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Post by Guest Sat 23 Sep 2017, 15:36

Prince Harry in Toronto for Invictus Games


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Post by Guest Sat 23 Sep 2017, 15:35

Prince Harry announces host city for third Invictus Games in 2017


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Post by Guest Sat 23 Sep 2017, 15:34

Road to Recovery - Invictus Games 2017


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Post by Guest Sat 23 Sep 2017, 15:32

Prince Harry opens Invictus Games in Toronto


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Invictus Games 2017 / Topics & Posted Articles - Page 2 Empty U.S. first lady, Prince Harry meet before Invictus Games

Post by Guest Sat 23 Sep 2017, 15:29

U.S. first lady, Prince Harry meet before Invictus Games

Invictus Games 2017 / Topics & Posted Articles - Page 2 Image

Darlene Superville, The Associated Press
Published Saturday, September 23, 2017 9:33AM EDT
Last Updated Saturday, September 23, 2017 3:06PM EDT


TORONTO -- U.S. first lady Melania Trump met Saturday with Britain's Prince Harry as she led a delegation to Toronto for the opening of an Olympic-style competition for wounded service members and veterans that he founded several years ago.

Mrs. Trump was heard telling the prince that she had just arrived on a flight from Washington, her first solo trip outside of the United States as first lady. It was also her first time meeting the prince, the White House said.

The first lady also planned to meet Saturday with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, address the nearly 100 U.S. athletes participating in the weeklong Invictus Games and attend the opening ceremony before returning to the White House.

Invictus Games 2017 / Topics & Posted Articles - Page 2 Image
First lady Melania Trump poses with children with the Boys and Girls Club of Washington in the White House Kitchen Garden on the South Lawn of the White House, Sept. 22, 2017, in Washington. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

President Donald Trump was spending the weekend at his golf club in central New Jersey.

"Nice to meet you," Harry said as he was introduced to Mrs. Trump and they shook hands. They stood together and smiled for the British and American news media before sitting in adjoining club chairs placed in front of their countries' respective flags.

Harry remarked on how busy the first lady has been.

"Yes, very busy," she said, before offering a compliment in return. "You're doing a fantastic job," she said.

Mrs. Trump's decision to lead the U.S. delegation, whose members include Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin, professional golfer Nancy Lopez and entertainer Wayne Newton, reflects the first lady's "utmost respect" for the hard work, courage and sacrifice of the U.S. military, said Stephanie Grisham, a spokeswoman for Mrs. Trump.

"She feels strongly that they - and their families - should be honoured every day," Grisham said.

Grisham said Mrs. Trump also has "great admiration for the role the games have played in empowering those who have been injured while serving."

At a recent event marking the 70th anniversary of the U.S. Air Force, the first lady thanked the many military members who assisted thousands of people in Texas, Louisiana, Florida and the Caribbean whose lives were upended by recent hurricanes.

A native of Slovenia who became a U.S. citizen in 2006, Mrs. Trump also thanked service members' families.

"You endure time apart, are expected to move when new orders come in, and face the uncertainty that can come in times of need," she said at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, before introducing her husband. "This kind of lifestyle requires its own kind of courage and your sacrifices do not go unnoticed or unappreciated."

Mrs. Trump has been slowly warming up to her new role, waiting to move to the White House until her 11-year-old son finished the school year in New York and holding few public events of her own. She accompanied the president on his three overseas trips so far this year.

Prince Harry, a military veteran who served two tours of duty in Afghanistan, established the Invictus Games in 2014 for sick and wounded service members and veterans from around the globe. More than 550 people from 17 countries are expected to participate in 12 sports during the coming week, ranging from cycling to wheelchair tennis to sitting volleyball.

London was the setting for the inaugural event in 2015, followed by Orlando, Florida, last year.

Mrs. Trump's participation continues White House involvement with the games, which Harry launched during President Barack Obama's tenure.

Jill Biden, wife of then-Vice-President Joe Biden, led the U.S. delegation to London as part of a military initiative undertaken with then-first lady Michelle Obama. Mrs. Obama helped open last year's competition in Orlando.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/u-s-first-lady-prince-harry-meet-before-invictus-games-1.3603063

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Invictus Games 2017 / Topics & Posted Articles - Page 2 Empty Ahead of Invictus Games, charity urges Ottawa to support veterans’s families

Post by Guest Sat 23 Sep 2017, 07:24

Ahead of Invictus Games, charity urges Ottawa to support veterans’s families

Invictus Games 2017 / Topics & Posted Articles - Page 2 RNIA5JGVWNFHDMZ2453OI44PRA
Prince Harry, right, speaks to an athlete from the United Kingdom during training in the lead-up to the Invictus Games, in Toronto on Friday, Sept. 22, 2017.
NATHAN DENETTE/THE CANADIAN PRESS
Sept 22, 2017



Mike Trauner can't put toothpaste on his toothbrush without help from his wife, Leah. "My fingers just don't work," he told a symposium on veterans and their caregivers in Toronto, with Prince Harry looking on.

Mr. Trauner lost parts of both his legs and shattered his left hand after a roadside bomb blast in Afghanistan nearly a decade ago. Since then, his wife has done "everything" for him, he said. "She makes sure to plan every little thing I do every morning from when I wake up, to when I go to bed," he said. "Every morning when I wake up, the war is still there."

It's why the head of a charity that supports military families is urging Canada to do more on behalf of people who care for ill and injured soldiers and veterans ahead of the third Invictus Games, Prince Harry's annual sporting event for that group, which begins on Saturday.

Shaun Francis, executive chair of True Patriot Love, which organized the symposium, said that funding for the families of Canadian veterans was "very minimal" and that the government should do more to cover the unusual costs of family members who have to care for veterans.

He also called on ordinary Canadians to get to know veterans and their families, who often have limited social networks after leaving the military, arguing that civilian and governmental support for the current cohort of Canadian veterans was a "generational commitment."

Since it was founded in 2009, True Patriot Love has raised $22-million for veterans and military families, Mr. Francis said. But the medical industry executive had sharp words for the government's approach to the issue.

"A wounded soldier gets taken care of, but the caregiver and the entire family system doesn't get any real support," he said on Friday.

"We move veterans around the country, and wounded veterans have to travel many, many miles for their care, but what if that family has kids, special-needs kids?" he said. "It's actually not a good situation."

The difficulty that veterans face reintegrating into civilian life has come to national attention amid growing global recognition of post-traumatic stress and, in Canada, a Globe and Mail investigation into military suicides and their tragic aftershocks. In remarks to the symposium, Mr. Francis argued that Canada was unprepared for the long tail of suffering that deployment in the war in Afghanistan could yield.

"One of the things that we hadn't anticipated was the consequences and cost of injury, and the impact on the family," he said.

At a separate event in Toronto on Friday, Veterans Affairs Minister Seamus O'Regan said the government wants to improve the wellness of both veterans and their families. He noted that Canada's new defence policy has committed an additional $6-million a year for improving the military's family support programs.

"Military families, they need support, too," the newly appointed minister told senior military health officials.

https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ahead-of-invictus-games-charity-urges-ottawa-to-support-veteranss-families/article36374999/?ref=http://www.theglobeandmail.com&

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Post by Guest Fri 22 Sep 2017, 07:27

Toronto rolls out the welcome mat for Team Canada ahead of Invictus Games

Athletes from 17 countries will compete in 12 sports


By Nick Boisvert
Sep 21, 2017


Invictus Games 2017 / Topics & Posted Articles - Page 2 Invictus-games-team-canada
Canadian athletes were welcomed at Toronto's Union Station, two days before the Invictus Games officially begin. (Ousama Farag/CBC)

The team representing Canada at the Invictus Games has landed in Toronto.

Ninety athletes competing in 12 sports arrived at Union Station Thursday morning, just two days before the games officially begin.

The one-week competition is for men and women — both veterans and active members — from armed services around the world who are wounded, injured or sick. The Toronto games will be the third and largest edition of the games with athletes from 17 countries.

During their first day in Toronto, the Canadian athletes saw TTC vehicles outfitted with Invictus Games banners and toured the Veterans Centre at Sunnybrook Hospital.

Invictus Games 2017 / Topics & Posted Articles - Page 2 Veterans-at-sunnybrook
Veterans at Sunnybrook Hospital hosted the athletes Thursday afternoon. (Petar Valkov/CBC)

Veterans at the hospital say they're thrilled by the opportunity to see the games up close.

"It's just amazing what those guys do and I'm lucky to be going to the closing ceremony," said Royal Canadian Navy veteran Richard Ratcliffe, who said he also wants to attend the basketball competition.

Canadian athletes like two-time Team Canada representative Stephen Moreau say that while the competition is intense, the power of the games lies elsewhere.

"All the nations, although we're competitors ... there's also this friendship aspect that is probably greater than any other sport," Moreau told the crowd at Sunnybrook.

"The bond was instant," he said of his experience at the inaugural competition in London in 2014.

Along with the kinship towards his fellow athletes, Moreau says the games helped him cope after a naval accident suffered years earlier.

Invictus Games 2017 / Topics & Posted Articles - Page 2 Stephan-moreau
Two-time Invictus Games athlete Stephan Moreau says the games helped him overcome PTSD. (CBC)

"I was struggling with [post traumatic stress disorder] and depression and then I went to the games and it gave me a purpose again," he said.

Natasha Dupuis, Team Canada's co-captain for the 2017 games, spoke about a similar experience.

She suffered PTSD after watching two of her comrades die during a tour of duty in Afghanistan.

"[The games] gave me the extra push I needed to regain control over my injury and over my life."

The opening ceremony takes place Saturday at the Air Canada Centre. The games conclude Saturday, Sept. 30.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-rolls-out-the-welcome-mat-for-team-canada-ahead-of-invictus-games-1.4300986

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Post by Guest Thu 21 Sep 2017, 15:19

Bell Media provides exclusive coverage of Invictus Games Toronto 2017

TORONTO (September 21, 2017) –As the event’s exclusive Canadian broadcaster, Bell Media today announced its extensive coverage for INVICTUS GAMES TORONTO 2017. Throughout the eight-day competition, Bell Media networks provide viewers with comprehensive coverage across conventional and digital platforms, headlined by CTV’s broadcast of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. Additionally, viewers can find French-language coverage of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies on RDS INFO, and live event coverage on TSN and TSN GO, with a slate of complementary programming available across Bell Media properties. Click here to view the full coverage schedule.

CTV primes fans for the Opening Ceremony with the UNCONQUERED: W5 INVICTUS GAMES SPECIAL on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. ET, immediately followed by CTV’s live coverage of the INVICTUS GAMES TORONTO 2017 OPENING CEREMONY at 8 p.m. ET/PT, featuring performances by JUNO award-winners Alessia Cara and The Tenors, as well as Grammy and Juno award-winner Sarah McLachlan, plus Laura Wright and La Bottine Souriante.

Following eight days of competition, CTV airs exclusive coverage of the INVICTUS GAMES TORONTO 2017 CLOSING CEREMONY, featuring music legend Bruce Springsteen alongside a slate of iconic rockers including Bachman & Turner, Bryan Adams, Coeur de Pirate, and Kelly Clarkson, on Saturday, Sept. 30 at 8 p.m. ET.

Award-winning broadcaster Brian Williams hosts coverage of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, as well as TSN’s primetime event broadcasts live from Nathan Phillips Square in downtown Toronto. Paul Franklin, a Canadian medic and Afghanistan war veteran joins Williams for CTV’s Opening and Closing Ceremonies coverage to provide analysis. Rounding out the broadcast team is TSN’s Vic Rauter, who delivers play-by-play commentary, alongside highly decorated Paralympians Paul Rosen, Andrew Haley, and Rob Snoek, who provide analysis for select events. SPORTSCENTRE’s Laura Diakun reports from the floor of the Opening Ceremony, with Jennifer Hedger reporting from the Closing Ceremony.

Each evening TSN delivers comprehensive live event coverage with INVICTUS GAMES PRIMETIME, with coverage of multiple events also available on TSN.ca and the TSN GO app. TSN also provides a nightly recap show, revisiting the day’s biggest highlights at 12 midnight ET. Throughout the competition SPORTSCENTRE delivers highlights, recaps, and daily features surrounding the wounded warriors competing in the Games.

Programming Highlights

Bell Media networks feature a comprehensive slate of programming surrounding INVICTUS GAMES TORONTO 2017, including the following highlights. For the complete broadcast schedule, click here: http://www.bellmedia.ca/pr/press/bell-media-invictus-games-toronto-2017-broadcast-schedule/

TSN ORIGINAL: UNCONQUERED – Friday, Sept. 22 at 7:30 p.m. ET on TSN

Fronted by TSN Senior Correspondent Rick Westhead, the TSN Original Special UNCONQUERED spotlights Retired Canadian Sgt. Kevin Nanson, U.S. Army Spc. Stephanie Morris, and Retired Canadian Master Cpl. Mike Trauner, as they prepare to compete in their inaugural INVICTUS GAMES. CTV delivers an encore broadcast of the special on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 1 p.m. ET on CTV, and RDS airs a French-language version at 1:30 p.m. ET on RDS.

UNCONQUERED: W5 INVICTUS GAMES SPECIAL – Saturday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. ET on CTV

Immediately before CTV’s exclusive broadcast of the INVICTUS GAMES TORONTO 2017 OPENING CEREMONY, UNCONQUERED: W5 INVICTUS GAMES SPECIAL profiles Canada’s wounded warriors as they prepare for the Games in Toronto, providing an on-the-ground look at the veterans of the Afghanistan conflict who are living with disabilities resulting from combat injuries. The one-hour documentary also follows exceptional and inspirational members of the Canadian Invictus team as they train for the Games, and reveals how sports has helped them heal.

INVICTUS GAMES on DAILY PLANET – Sept. 22, 25, 26, and 27 at 7 p.m. ET on Discovery

Discovery’s flagship, award-winning series, DAILY PLANET celebrates the INVICTUS GAMES TORONTO 2017 in a series of four features spotlighting the incredible advanced technologies allowing active duty military personnel and veterans to compete in sport and even continue their deployment.
The series goes behind the scenes with Captain Christy Wise while she prepares for her training with five different prosthetics specialized for various sports (Sept. 22), and is alongside U.S. Marine Dan Lasko as he demonstrates his new 3D-printed prosthetic, allowing him to swim (Sept. 25). DAILY PLANET also visits active duty soldier Captain Simon Mailloux as he shares the technology that has enabled him to contribute to another deployment in Afghanistan, and achieving the title of Captain for Team Canada in the INVICTUS GAMES (Sept. 26). DAILY PLANET also catches up with a war veteran who created a stand-up wheelchair so he could participate in sports again (Sept. 27).

INVICTUS GAMES on CTV

  • ETALK reports from the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, featuring interviews with performing artists airing Monday, Sept. 25 and Monday, Oct. 2

  • THE SOCIAL hosts INVICTUS GAMES Celebrity Ambassador Derek Hough on-set for a special sit down interview on Wednesday, Sept. 27, with additional coverage throughout the Games

  • THE MARILYN DENIS SHOW interviews INVICTUS GAMES ambassadors Derek Hough and U.S. Army veteran and motivational speaker Noah Galloway on Tuesday, Oct. 3 at 10 a.m. ET, with additional coverage throughout the Games

  • YOUR MORNING provides coverage the INVICTUS GAMES throughout the week with a series of interviews including a live hit with Melissa Grelo from the Wheelchair Tennis event from Nathan Phillips Square on Monday, Sept. 25, and a post-event recap with INVICTUS GAMES TORONTO 2017 CEO Michael Burns on Monday, Oct. 2


Established by Prince Harry in 2014, the INVICTUS GAMES is the only international adaptive sporting event for ill, wounded, and injured active duty and veteran service members.

http://www.tsn.ca/bell-media-provides-exclusive-coverage-of-invictus-games-toronto-2017-1.863023


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Invictus Games 2017 / Topics & Posted Articles - Page 2 Empty Port Hope welcomes Invictus Games flag relay

Post by Guest Wed 20 Sep 2017, 16:03

Port Hope welcomes Invictus Games flag relay

Invictus Games in Toronto from Sept. 23 to 30

By Karen Longwell
Sept 20, 2017

Invictus Games 2017 / Topics & Posted Articles - Page 2 PH_Z_InvictGames1___Super_Portrait

PORT HOPE -- Heroes Highway Ride and Rally riders, including Paul “Trapper” Cane, president of the Canadian Army Veterans, front, ride up Thomas Street to the Port Hope Legion for the Invictus Games flag relay on Sept. 18, 2017. - Karen Longwell / Metroland


PORT HOPE — With a tearful speech from Canada’s Silver Cross Mother and the rumbling of more than 60 Heroes Highway motorcyclists, Port Hope welcomed the Invictus Games flag relay Monday.

Heroes Highway Ride and Rally riders rode from 8 Wing/CFB Trenton to the Port Hope Legion on Sept. 18 for the Invictus Games flag relay.

The Invictus Games is an international sporting event for wounded, injured and sick military personnel, both serving and veterans. The event started in London, England in 2014 and the third annual Invictus Games are in Toronto from Sept. 23 to 30. In advance of the games, a nation-wide flag relay started in Victoria, B.C. on Aug. 16, said Frazer Hadwin, senior manager, Special Projects 2017 Invictus Games. The flag relay has been to 22 military bases, more than 20 legions, and about 50 communities across Canada, said Hadwin. The flag has travelled by land, air and boat, he said.

Port Hope was selected as a stop for the relay because of the community's support for fallen soldiers on the bridges at the Highway of Heroes. Also the Heroes Highway Ride and Rally has ended in Port Hope the last two years and plans to return next year on the first Saturday in June.

In the ceremony at the Port Hope Legion Heroes Highway riders carried the flag and Canada’s Silver Cross Mother Colleen Fitzpatrick, from Prince George, B.C., spoke. Fitzpatrick lost her middle son, Corporal Darren Fitzpatrick, after he stepped on an improvised explosive device while on patrol in the Zahari district, near Kandahar City on March 6, 2010. He survived another two weeks, giving his parents time to spend with him. He had enlisted in the military in 2006 and was on his first tour of Afghanistan.

Fitzpatrick described her son as “a red-headed, mischievous boy.

“It was truly devastating to lose our son,” she told the crowd, adding it is an honour to be the Silver Cross Mother for Canada.

Invictus competitor and veteran Denise Hepburn also carried the flag. Hepburn survived a tour of Afghanistan but was injured in a training exercise in Quinte Bay. She broke her neck during a jump out of a helicopter, said her husband Major Chris Hepburn from 8 Wing/CFB Trenton.

“Denise is an incredibly strong person,” said Major Hepburn.

The flag continued on to Toronto where it was to be raised at Nathan Phillips Square.

https://www.northumberlandnews.com/news-story/7566520-port-hope-welcomes-invictus-games-flag-relay/

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Invictus Games 2017 / Topics & Posted Articles - Page 2 Empty Invictus Games flag passes through Trenton

Post by Guest Tue 19 Sep 2017, 06:34

September 18, 2017
By mike postovit Global News
Invictus Games flag passes through Trenton



Listen: https://app-na.readspeaker.com/cgi-bin/rsent?customerid=8024&lang=en_us&readid=gnca_article_body_for_read&url=http://globalnews.ca/gnca-ajax/read-aloud/3753970/

The Invictus Games get underway later this week in Toronto.

The competition was founded by Prince Harry, who was inspired following a visit in 2013 to the U.S.-based Warrior Games for wounded, ill and injured military personnel and veterans. The first Invictus Games was held in 2014 and were seen as a way to inspire and motivate wounded soldiers on their path to recovery.

On Monday, the Invictus Games flag tour touched down at CFB Trenton.

Following a ceremony at the Afghanistan Repatriation Memorial, the flag is now en route to Toronto for the opening ceremony on Saturday.

8 Wing Commander Col. Mark Goulden was proud to host the noon-hour event.

“The Invictus Games serve as a powerful reminder of extraordinary courage and determination of those who have acquired a physical or mental health injury or illness while serving their country. We stand together today in raising awareness of the rehabilitative power of sports.”

Retired Master Corporal Warren Brace was one of a handful of Canadian athletes at the ceremony, he’ll compete in the swimming and sitting volleyball.

“I find as we get closer, the more intense the feelings have become. I’ve worn the maple leaf for 22 years in the military, so now it’s just a different way of doing it. It’s an honour and a privilege.”

http://globalnews.ca/news/3753970/invictus-games-flag-passes-through-trenton/

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Invictus Games 2017 / Topics & Posted Articles - Page 2 Empty Disabled veterans will do Canada proud at Invictus despite the government, not because of it

Post by Guest Thu 14 Sep 2017, 06:03

Disabled veterans will do Canada proud at Invictus despite the government, not because of it

These games will give the impression that all is well among our disabled veterans. It's not

By Robert Smol, for CBC News Posted: Sep 14, 2017


Invictus Games 2017 / Topics & Posted Articles - Page 2 Invictus-games-20160501
The assumption among many civilians is that veterans like me should be entirely behind these games. Well, that's not entirely the case. (Nathan Denette/Canadian Press)

Later this month, Toronto will play host to the Invictus Games, an adaptive sports competition involving disabled military veterans from around the world.

These games, started by Prince Harry in 2014, are meant to showcase the indomitable spirit of military veterans who are rising above their service-related disabilities. They are a gathering of the empowered, showing this country and the world how a select few of our veterans are able to "soldier on" and remain strong in spite of their conditions.

The name is inspired by the poem Invictus by William Ernest Henley, which ends with the lines:

I am the master of my fate

I am the captain of my soul

The assumption among many civilians is that veterans like me should be entirely behind these games. Well, that's not entirely the case.

A showcase of strength and resiliency

I have no doubt that the men and women who participate in these games will be a great source of pride for their respective nations. Good for them!

The flipside of that, however, is that this showcase of perseverance will inadvertently give the impression that each and every disabled veteran likewise has the personal strength and fortitude to rise about his or her service-related disabilities. That is simply not the case.

The issue is particularly sensitive in Canada —this year's Invictus host — where successive governments have spent the last 12 years trying to divest or delay their legal and financial responsibilities to care for today's younger disabled veterans.

By cheering, supporting and parading these select disabled veteran models of strength and success, the government might as well be proclaiming its strategy and commitment to Canada's disabled veterans has also been a success.


It was in May of 2005, just as Canada's combat mission in Afghanistan was really ramping up, that Paul Martin's Liberal government passed the so-called New Veterans Charter. The Act had the support of all three political parties and, among other changes, eliminated lifelong disability pensions and support, and swapped them for one-time lump sum payments or "awards."

Lump sum payments significantly diminish the taxpayer's liability in the long-term, which is why governments prefer this route. Nonetheless lump sum payments place the onus of investing and otherwise maximizing the long-term benefit of the monetary award in the hands of the sick disabled veteran, who may not necessarily have the advanced financial skills required. Pensions, on the other hand, provide a greater assurance of financial stability and consistency, which is important to make it through the peaks and valleys of recovery and post-service life.


Budget cuts and empty promises

The Conservative government under Stephen Harper not only implemented the Liberal legislation — even as scores of Canadian wounded continued coming home — but also cut budgets and services to veterans and their families.

So it was most refreshing to our demoralized community that, in the last election campaign, the Trudeau Liberals promised not only to bring back disability pensions, but also promised that no veteran would have to fight Veterans Affairs to get the compensation they deserve. As an added bonus, Trudeau also vowed that veterans would get up to four years of free university tuition.

But apart from the re-opening of a few veteran affairs offices, there has been no movement on any of the Liberal promises two years into their mandate.

It is to this political backdrop that our Canadian Invictus athletes are competing. Through no fault of their own, their very public show of individual strength and perseverance will give the very mistaken impression that all is well among those who have returned from war.


This is not the case, as disabled veterans and their families know all too well. But with such steadfast examples of power-over-PTSD on display at Invictus, why should there be more funding for veteran services? Is a return to lifelong disability pensions really necessary when Herculean displays of teamwork and testosterone are shown by our limbless combat vets?

No doubt the entire Canadian Invictus contingent is well aware of the fact that way too many of their fellow disabled veterans are languishing physically, mentally and financially. Certainly the very real stories of our Invictus athletes' personal struggles will bring tears to the eyes of listeners and attending celebrities, as they have done in previous games.

But then what? Will Invictus spectators flock to their respective member of Parliament, demanding that the current government bring back disability pensions, ensure disabled veterans don't have to fight to get benefits to which they are entitled and demand that the Liberals fulfill their promise of free university education for all veterans?

Permit me here to assume the answer: no. More than likely, the fate of the vast majority of this country's younger disabled veterans will continue much as it has for just over a decade.


Go Canada.

About The Author
Invictus Games 2017 / Topics & Posted Articles - Page 2 Robert-smol
Robert Smol

Robert Smol served over 20 years in the Canadian Armed Forces. He is currently a teacher and freelance writer in Toronto.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/opinion/invictus-games-1.4287901

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