Veteran in need of HELP ASAP

N.S. couple may be saved from long-term care separation

There may be a happy ending to the story of a long married Nova Scotia couple facing the prospect of being separated.
He is a Second World War veteran, who is allowed to live at Camp Hill Veterans Memorial Hospital, She is not, but there may be a way around the problem.
Harold and Virginia Cameron’s love story began 70 years ago, in the United Kingdom, when the pair first met as Harold served overseas.

Harold lives with Alzheimer’s and Virginia also needs 24 hour care.
Their family started an online petition to allow the couple, who has never spent a night apart, to stay together in their final years.
The petition took off, with more than 30 thousand signatures.
Since Virginia isn’t a veteran, the family was told the couple wouldn’t be allowed in Camp Hill, though; they may get the next best thing.
Nova Scotia Health Minister Leo Glavine told their daughter that he would make sure the pair would end up at a place that would allow them both.
“Honourable Glavine is standing by me now and makes me feel really good,” says daughter Pamela Campbell. “Then when the time comes, there will be a place for them together near their family.”
Veterans Affairs Canada wouldn’t discuss the Cameron’s specific case, but officials say financial support is available for eligible veterans based on need, disability, income and military service.
Family members say they’re taking solace in the fact that wherever Harold and Virginia go, at least they’ll be together.

http://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/n-s-couple-may-be-saved-from-long-term-care-separation-1.2814254

Veterans’ benefits tangled up in rules

Appearing before the Senate veterans affairs committee (last week), veterans ombudsman Guy Parent said veteran benefits have become too tangled up in complex and “byzantine” rules and too little focused on outcomes we want to achieve for our veterans.
Unless that changes, he argued, “we will continue to disadvantage many of our veterans and their families, as we have done for almost 100 years.”
It would be hard to think of a better example of what Mr. Parent is saying than the sad case of Second World War veteran Harold Cameron and his wife Virginia.
They met and married during the war and have been inseparable for 70 years. But those byzantine Veterans Affairs rules won’t allow Mr. Cameron to receive long-term care benefits unless he lives separately from his wife — something he and his family understandably find unacceptable.
Harold and Virginia Cameron are both in their 90s and both are in need of 24-hour long-term care. He has Alzheimer’s and she is developing dementia. Mr. Cameron qualifies for care at Camp Hill Veterans Hospital, but Veterans Affairs says his wife does not, because she isn’t a veteran.
The agency won’t allow them to live at Camp Hill as a couple.
They are determined not to live apart.
Their loving loyalty to one another is something any family can understand. The injustice of making them suffer for an inflexible interpretation of a poorly-conceived rule is obvious as well.
Is this really the outcome the Government of Canada wants to achieve for frail, elderly married veterans — to destroy the love and support they can derive from the last few years of their marriages?
Last week, former New Democrat MP Peter Stoffer called upon Veterans Affairs Minister Kent Hehr and Nova Scotia Health Minister Leo Glavine to do the right thing and to arrange for Mrs. Cameron to be admitted with her husband to Camp Hill.
We support that call wholeheartedly. The ministers should use their authority to provide the compassionate outcome Harold and Virginia Cameron deserve.
As Mr. Stoffer points out, the two governments have agreed in the past to allow non-veterans to use available Camp Hill beds and are doing so today.
And the Veterans Act clearly gives the minister that authority. It says his duties and functions “extend and apply to” not only the care and treatment of Canadian Forces and Merchant Marine personnel, but also “of any other person designated by the Governor in Council.” It also gives the minister authority over “the care of dependants or survivors.”
So Mr. Hehr either has the authority, or can obtain it from cabinet, to have Mrs. Cameron designated for care at Camp Hill.
Keeping the Camerons together is also in the spirit of the mandate letter Mr. Hehr received from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“Your overarching goal,” it proclaims, “will be to ensure that our government lives up to our sacred obligation to veterans and their families.”
“I expect you to ensure that veterans receive the respect, support, care, and economic opportunities they deserve.”
Harold and Virginia Cameron deserve to receive care at Camp Hill as the devoted couple they are. As Mr. Stoffer says, it is the right thing to do.
An editorial from the Halifax Chronicle-Herald (distributed by The Canadian Press)

http://lethbridgeherald.com/commentary/opinions/2016/03/01/veterans-benefits-tangled-up-in-rules/

Please help stop Bullying! Liberals, make sure you get it correct.

C'est pas Correct is what I told the media. That is the only three words the GOC needs to know.
I am the younger vet looking down at my cellphone in the picture published by the Ottawa post and there are many, many more of us who are on the same page (fix the gaps).

I am a proud Bluenoser.

Well said teen...I totally agree with that.

Unfortunately this is more common then one thinks.

The problem is VAC downloads a lot of their responsabilities to the provinces and their rules. Why do they do this? Because the GoC does not want the public to know that vets are being treated differently and given preferrential treatment then they get from their provincial gov't.

And with the baby boomers now entering their twilight years there is more of them there is vets. So rather then show respect to veterans it's easier to take the odd hit in the media which can be easily fixed. This is a win/win situation. The public feels good, the provincial gov't looks humble and it is remembered at election time. Meanwhile those who don't go public are treated the same as usual.

Double Standards

Painful to read.....Just f-ing painful.

Separation disgraceful

I am proud to be Canadian and Nova Scotian. Sometimes, however, I find myself embarrassed to be both.


Where is the conscience of elected officials who deal with our veterans? How do they not see that separating a wife and her war veteran husband is a bad idea?

Thank goodness we have Peter Stoffer, as he appears to be the only federal politician (now retired) who sees right from wrong?

Common sense seems completely lost on the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Nova Scotia Department of Health.

Mr. Stoffer has stated it would be simple for Veterans Affairs Minister Kent Hehr and provincial Health Minister Leo Glavine to have a conversation and quickly fix the problem.

I wonder if either of these officials could look Harold and Virginia Cameron in the eyes and explain to them why, after 70 years of marriage, they can’t be together at Camp Hill. I don’t think they could.

To the contrary, they should both shake this veteran’s hand, thank him for his service and tell the couple they will be admitted immediately.

This archaic rule that only a veteran of the Korean or Second World War can be admitted to Camp Hill makes little sense today, especially when you factor in the age of these veterans.

Once again, common sense is lost on the decision makers. How many such veterans are left? How many would still have their spouse? The government should be doing everything imaginable to make this couple’s final years as pleasant as possible. Did I mention Harold Cameron is a veteran of the Second World War?

The fact that we have federal and provincial minsters willing to sit on their proverbial butts and hide behind red tape while this very sad situation plays out, is disgraceful.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/letters/1345108-voice-of-the-people-february-26-2016

Focus on veterans, not dumb rules

Appearing before the Senate veterans affairs committee this week, veterans ombudsman Guy Parent said veteran benefits have become too tangled up in complex and “byzantine” rules and too little focused on outcomes we want to achieve for our veterans.

Unless that changes, he argued, “we will continue to disadvantage many of our veterans and their families, as we have done for almost 100 years.”

It would be hard to think of a better example of what Mr. Parent is saying than the sad case of Second World War veteran Harold Cameron and his wife Virginia.

They met and married during the war and have been inseparable for 70 years. But those byzantine Veterans Affairs rules won’t allow Mr. Cameron to receive long-term care benefits unless he lives separately from his wife — something he and his family understandably find unacceptable.


Harold and Virginia Cameron are both in their nineties and both are in need of 24-hour long-term care. He has Alzheimer’s and she is developing dementia. Mr. Cameron qualifies for care at Camp Hill Veterans Hospital, but Veterans Affairs says his wife does not, because she isn’t a veteran.

The agency won’t allow them to live at Camp Hill as a couple.

They are determined not to live apart.

Their loving loyalty to one another is something any family can understand. The injustice of making them suffer for an inflexible interpretation of a poorly-conceived rule is obvious as well.

Is this really the outcome the Government of Canada wants to achieve for frail, elderly married veterans — to destroy the love and support they can derive from the last few years of their marriages?

In our Opinions section today, former New Democrat MP Peter Stoffer calls upon Veterans Affairs Minister Kent Hehr and Nova Scotia Health Minister Leo Glavine to do the right thing and to arrange for Mrs. Cameron to be admitted with her husband to Camp Hill.

We support that call wholeheartedly. The ministers should use their authority to provide the compassionate outcome Harold and Virginia Cameron deserve.

As Mr. Stoffer points out, the two governments have agreed in the past to allow non-veterans to use available Camp Hill beds and are doing so today.

And the Veterans Act clearly gives the minister that authority. It says his duties and functions “extend and apply to” not only the care and treatment of Canadian Forces and Merchant Marine personnel, but also “of any other person designated by the Governor in Council.” It also gives the minister authority over “the care of dependants or survivors.”

So Mr. Hehr either has the authority, or can obtain it from cabinet, to have Mrs. Cameron designated for care at Camp Hill.

Keeping the Camerons together is also in the spirit of the mandate letter Mr. Hehr received from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

“Your overarching goal,” it proclaims, “will be to ensure that our government lives up to our sacred obligation to veterans and their families.”

“I expect you to ensure that veterans receive the respect, support, care, and economic opportunities they deserve.”

Harold and Virginia Cameron deserve to receive care at Camp Hill as the devoted couple they are. As Mr. Stoffer says, it is the right thing to do.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/editorials/1345110-editorial-focus-on-veterans-not-dumb-rules

http://globalnews.ca/news/2529144/peter-stoffer-says-no-spouse-rule-can-be-changed-at-halifax-veterans-care-home/

This is the shit I am talking about.  Cut the politics sign the papers, work together for F sakes. This couple fought together for this country; they deserve the best this country can provide.

I am sure this will be resolved in a respectful manner in due time. Like now!