What can Veterans expect from the Liberal Majority Government

Well propat if you were "told" properly you would have learned that the OVO does not openly speak, support or lobby his beliefs because it is not within the mandate of the Ombudsman's office.

The Ombudsman's mandate is to investigate problems with what is in the NVC. In other word's he cannot call a press conference to express his peronal beliefs, like Pat Stogran did.

The only time the Ombudsman publicly supported anything the Con's did was if a change to the NVC was appropriate or beneficial for the veteran community.

Because the Ombudsman does not have complete independance from VAC they are basically a veteran complaint department with a budget.

Go to the OVO website and start reading the reports from the last 5 years. You will get a better understanding on not just his mandate but how his department stayed within the mandate but embarassed the Conservatives on their handling of the department.

So if JT wants to make sure he is not scorched in the same manner he had better read the reports as well.

Don't go with what people tell you read the reports and you will see how those reports improved the NVC benefits for veterans over the last 5 years.

teen how in the frack am I off base ???

I was told he personally thinks the buyout is wrong but come out publicly and supported the fracking thing against his own personal beliefs when he could have chosen to not comment on it at all .

not commenting would be a political move .

publicly supporting it IS IN FACT flat out puppetry !

OR

was it when I said he did a lot of good work .

I still think he did and I stand by that statement as well !

propat

the thing that gives me the most hope is my belief that JT is in this for the long haul . im sure he does not want to be a one time prime minister .

maybe he truly gets it maybe its all political or a combination of both cant read minds so I cant say for sure .

I find it hard to count on politicians for anything most of the time so I really remain sceptical until things actually happen .

if you are counting on the power hunger and greed of a politician however you just may find them a little more predictable .

in the end the ' why things get done ' is still important but pales in comparison to the ' what actually gets done '.

propat

Have to chime in here....propat you are so far off base about the Ombudsman it's absolutely ridiculous.

1. The Ombudsman was not a Con puppet/supporter. If he was why would he have produced reports on VRAB, the NVC, bump the ELB/LTD to 85%, constantly testify to the Senate and Standing Committee's about how vet's who turn 65 will be living below the poverty line, bring in a "red flag" application for vets near the end of their lives, actually do an actuarial to prove the inefficiencies of the NVC.

2. Also like most government departments they basically shut down during elections and do not comment unless it is a neutral question about policy only.

3. Trooper the OVO is not an advisor to the MVA that is the VAC DM's job, Walt Natnzyk Gen ret'd. The OVO's job is to find systemic problems within VAC, study them, recommend changes/improvements, report them.

I highly recommend to everyone to go to the Ombudsman website and start reading the reports. You will discover the office under Guy Parent has done a hell of a lot more good for the veteran community then Pat Stogran's scorched earth policy!

Oh and a lot of questions I answered for everyone over the years came from the OVO so show some respect for the one department within VAC that is actually caring for veterans.

Good point pinger.....here's what JT said publicly to the whole Conutry;

A Liberal government will live up to our obligation to Canada’s veterans and their families. We will demonstrate the respect and appreciation for our veterans that Canadians rightly expect, and ensure that no veteran has to fight the government for the support and compensation they have earned.

So there you have it , something to hold them accountable for , I truly believe that the Liberals understand full well the ignorance of our past Conservative government towards Veterans , the whole Country understands this.
I also believe that the Liberals want to right the wrong that the Liberals brought forward with regards to the NVC before loosing to the Conservatives.

Guess were all itching to see how the next few months will pan out. To me, more importantly than who becomes the new VAC minister, will be JT's rapport with whoever it is. He can't be as arrogant a puppetmaster as his predecessor. And how that minister will play with advocates as well as the OVO.
Actions speak louder than words (or reviews).

Guy Parent has been given a three year extension as of July 28th of this year.

I agree with propat in saying that Mr. Parent did some good work on behalf of Veterans , but I'm also skeptical on some of his points of views , in other words I would disagree on some of his views an blogs.
Remember it was both Parent an O'Toole who said ( CONSTANTLY ) that the NVC was misunderstood by many Veterans - an also that there were many other benefits in the NVC besides the lump sum.
This when Veterans were complaining about the lump sum.
I think it's important to remember what parent said in the past , rather we agree with him or not.
He is suppose to be neutral in both Veterans an the government , but I think he also played a role as an adviser to O'Toole.

The only thing I can say is that I hope our new MVA is a solid individual who stands by his parties promises to Veterans , push anyone aside who gets in the way of getting the job done , advice an recommendations to him or her absolutely , influence , absolutely not.

the cons got a lot of VAC related positions done before the election . if im not mistaken this was one . not sure how ya can get rid of him at this point .

given his past support of the previous government on issues obviously detrimental to the well being of disabled vets problems the new government SEEMS intent on fixing im not sure where he fits in anymore.

what happens to his jigsaw puzzle of recommendations ? if the buyout is ended a lot of these kinda become irrelevant .

what will he do now lobby against the reinstatement of lifetime pensions ????

yup he has done a lot of good work no doubt but has been far to political about it while the cons were in .

im lookin at 2 things .

1. he seems to me like a puppet of the cons and im sure as hell the libs look at him the very same way so he very well knows he will not get another term . he is not beholding to the libs and has nothing to lose by not being political and saying what he should be saying freely .

that's the good

2. if the libs do as they promised they would improve the life of vets far more than his past recommendation's so would his voice actually carry any weight ???

that may be the not so good .

JMO

propat

Is ombudsman keeping his chair? I read somewhere that he was not very complementary to some vets during the cons campain.
Maybe I misunderstood it. And, it seems to me that he is very quiet lately (after JT got in).

it would be interesting to see what changes, if any, are being done behind the scenes at VAC.

Canada post suspended their community mail box program . is that a sigh of things to come ??

propat

Teen,

I think it matters a lot who our new MVA is , like I said , I would not want to see someone play that role who is weak.
I think it's important that our new MVA takes the lead , I agree that someone like Walter Natynczyk could give some advice but that's as far it goes.
I would like to see our new MVA make their own decisions making him or her play the part of their role , getting feedback - or advice from their cabinet is all good but the final has to come from the MVA.
Influence is not good , the platform an promises are doable , if any advice is given towards accomplishing the promises , it still has to be viewed by the MVA as advice only.
It's only as difficult as they make it to be , we need an MVA that gets it done regardless of what difficulties may surround getting it done.
Anything different then that is just not acceptable.
If you take a look at what promises were made from the Liberals to Veterans an take into account the status quo from the conservatives an what the NDP offered , it is clear that someone in the Liberal party had enough smarts to understand how to gain back the respect from Veterans.
One thing is for certain , an that is the Liberals platform to Veterans now has to become something that is implemented in accordance with that platform , how long it takes to accomplish this is not as important as accomplishing it , that is why in my view we need a strong MVA that insures that the job gets done regardless of any road blocks that may come before him or her.
With respect to the lifelong pension , Veterans on the old plan are receiving this today , an continue to receive it.
With this in mind , the pension itself is there for all to see , it is not something new in the minds of those who would be looking at bringing this back into play , they are obvious several different options available in how they finally decide to do this , but like I said as long as it gets done in a way that was promised , regardless of how long , or how difficult it may prove to be , as long as it gets done is what matters.
This is why I say the importance of who we end up getting as our new MVA is crucial in accomplishing all that was promised in their platform.

Hi Teen. Last I heard Walt was appointed to Space agency by harper and... Deputy Minister of Veterans Affairs in 2014, by harper. Did he change his spots from tories blue to grits red recently? I must be missing something. How does JT pick him up?

There was another read I had somewhere, the line of thought being to not appoint a VAC minister with any military or family history of it at all. Sounds nutso but it just may have merits.
Like a fresh point of view, someone (very intelligent and not swayed or biased) to look from the outside... in.
And not just regurgitate history either. Rather, learn from it and truly MOVE FORWARD. Just some thoughts. pinger.

good point there teen something I did forget . more food for thought .

but I still think it matters but given the memory enhancement lol im thinking to a lesser degree .

propat

Everyone is missing a very important point in who should be the next MVA. It doesn't matter who is the next one because for once, in a very long time, there is a rock solid Deputy Minister at VAC....Walt Natnzyk!

He asked to be the DM when he had a great postion in the Space Agency he could have rode until he hit 70.

He is already making an impact at VAC. So as long as JT's appointment doesn't get all ego and tries to walk over Walt things will get done because Walt will definitely train the new guy.