MVA says "Keep an eye on the budget"

Well I'm glad we have the Law Suit in place , this , to keep them in place.

if they were in fact going to restore the PA pension the lawsuit would not be a factor .

propat

kind of agree with that . a lot of what moast vets would like to see will be addressed .

the one thing that some vets are desperate to see immediately will be ignored for no other reason but the price tag.

I wish they would stop looking at this as additional funding but as replacing funding that was stripped away.

propat

My prediction for what I think will be in this up coming budget for Veterans is firstly what teen said , ELB/LTD increase.
The hiring of staff , the re opening of the districts offices an the homelessness issue has already been made public so I'm unsure if any of the three will be mentioned in this budget.

To add from the ELB/LTD increase I'm thinking perhaps something on the expansion of the PIA , Veterans Education Benefit , increase in the survivor's pension from 50% to 70% , elimination of the marriage after 60 clawback clause and finally the doubling of the Last Post Fund.

With respect to the lifelong pension I agree with teen that they won't mention that in this budget.
What we have to keep in mind with the lifelong pension is that the Equitas Law Suit has not ended , it is only on hold until May of this year.
I'm thinking that there's some backroom talk going on with respect to the Lawsuit , so either way , we should know more on the lifelong pension by the end of May or April of this year.

ya that would be good but what about the union lol. doesn't less complicated mean less employees ? less union dues?

nevermind just thinkin out loud .

yup be nice to see but my paranoia says we will not here a peep .

propat

heck the last government made changes before they left that were a whole crap load more complicated than this one . im sure the burocrats whined and cried about that but in the end it got done . no reason this government cant do the same.

propat

What would be great to hear is the CM's, CSA's come forward and say they encourage a merge to make a veterans life easier and only having to understand one act.

well yes I got that but it still leaves you with a new act they have never used so when they start using it their WILL BE a huge learning curve . that's why I say if they cant figure out one small change of a simple choice (the only thing that actually changes is the choice) between two benefits they have already been using for the last 10 years one actually much longer . well good luck with the merger thing that's a whole new act they do not know while elimination the two they should because they just aint gonna get it .

the simple language thing is great but the DOJ will not be happy nor any legislator that happens to be a lawyer . those guys are very protective of their language because it makes them indispensable . so in the end it would receive a lot of resistance especially from the people who have to physically wright the end product but I would sure love to see it .

propat

Well actually if there is a merger then you basically eliminate the NVC, as all the NVC vets move to the new act and the PA vets are absorbed into the new act.

As for the simple language that is where vets like us come into play. A panel of vets from Pvt to CWO, no officers as they are trained in bureacrat-ease, to either accept the wording or send the amended part back. With input from 3/4 VAC CM's to make sure they understand it too.

seriously teen the PA pension has been around for a long time buds and the charts are very simplistic . if they aint got it by now they never will . and as much as I like the merger idea that will lead to even bigger comprehension problems albeit in the short term because of dealing with a new act they have never delt with before . these guys are already dealing with two acts my legislation does not change that very small learning curve their and a crap load less than a whole new act with this in it. and when the new legislation does come out years down the road with a merger if it that's one less thing they will have to learn thus giving it a smaller learning curve .

and if they cant figure the choice thing out over a 3 years then I would defiantly be against a merger because they will never figure out a completely new act over 30 years .

propat

Like I said as good as your idea is it just doesn't fly with the bureaucrats because "slipping" clauses from one act into another act only leads to comprehension problems for the frontline VAC workers that help vets.

That was, and still is, a major problem with frontline workers....comprehension of the NVC and PA.  Not to mention the comprehension the adjudicators have, as we all know.

That would be another advantage of merging....simple language which leads to simple applications, adjudication, appealing etc.

I truly believe that if Hehr and the Libs really want to bring back the lifelong by merging then all they have to do on budget day is say so and get to work on it. Two years tops.

I agree with the merger idea but this will take a long time and primarily need , whether in practice or not , require some form of harmonization. my legislation harmonizes the pain and suffering payments . done and done .

so they could put that in the grinder and work on the rest of it for the next few years while NVC vets loose their homes families and even lives until they put it all into practice 3 years down the road OR they could put this in practice immediately then work on the rest .

propat

well you are right teen but as my legislation goes they ARE under the NVC they just draw their pain and suffering payment from the PA. my claimes are under the PA only but I get PIA and sup ELB ta boot .

that's what my legislation was about having ALL vets treated equally . you know afgan vets given the same as me and all that .

the major flaw with the PA has been eliminated already .

my legislation eliminates the other .

ya really cant beat that with a stick.

propat

As good as your idea is propat you have to remember the flaws of each one.

The PA is good financially but poor in rehab/education benefits.

The NVC is good in rehab/education benefits but financially poor.

These two flaws is the problem so the only way to fix the flaws is merge the two good points of each act.

Last year the merge idea was shot down and ignored. Now they are actually looking at the merge as a solution. Personally I see the merge as the best move for future vets. Especially with more boots on the ground in Afghanistan.

although I really like the merger idea I don't see that happening ANY TIME SOON .

teen I alredy sent them the legislation they need to get this done . if you choose to take the lifetime pension you get the PA pension FROM THAT ACT exactly the same as an RCMP officer would get today . same TOD,S , same pay tables same everything because its not just exactly the same as the PA pain and suffering pension it actually IS the PA pain and suffering pension .


perfectly equal ya just cant get any fairer than that.

I think they are stuck on a way to frack us but make it look like they are helping . you know the old NVC switcheroo .

but maybe that's just my paranoia and distrust of politicians and burocrats coming through . hard ta say .

one thing I belive if they are going to do the right thing we will see it very soon . if we don't see it ill bet my bottom dollar they are trying to frack us once again .

propat