Trudeau's Liberals Anything But Sunny Ways For Veterans

Do Not Promise Veterans What You Refuse To Deliver

Bruce Moncur
Former Soldier, PSW, B.A. History, Windsorite

To the Honourable Kent Hehr,

Thank you for the timely response. It was a great lesson on how to say something without saying anything at all. I do feel however, that you failed to acknowledge my biggest concern, that you and the prime minister appear to have had prior knowledge of the renewal of the court case Equitas at each of your respected military events.

The title of your response is states that "you want to hear from veterans even if they are mad at you."

The problem is once you have heard their concerns, that is where the issue ends. When people start asking you to do the same thing over and over again, that's when you know you're way too close to something that you don't want to be near. To be perfectly honest, I am not mad, just disappointed.

The issue I have with the impending litigation is that for the last year, the Liberal government has time after time championed veterans' causes. On May 14, 2015, Fin Donnelly proposed an Opposition Day Motion that passed unanimously, and it was a significant victory for veterans' rights. Fin asked the government to stop fighting veterans in court and start delivering the services they deserve.

"Canadians recognize that the federal government has a moral, social, legal and fiduciary obligation to the women and men who courageously serve our country," said Donnelly.

Meaning that the Liberal government voted to the MP that there is a moral obligation to the veterans, the very premise of the Equitas lawsuit re-opened by the Liberal government last month.

During the election Justin Trudeau delivered a speech on Aug. 24, 2015 in which he released his veteran platform. In it he stated, "We will reinstate lifelong pensions in line with the obligation that we have made to those injured in the line of duty." Flanked by soldiers on either side with serious hardware, he stood there and promised everything the veterans had been asking for.

Not to be outdone, the newly elected prime minister gave you your mandate letter and even took the unprecedented step of releasing it publicly. It highlights the priorities you have to work within.

The second priority states, "Re-establish lifelong pensions as an option for our injured veterans, and increase the value of the disability award, while ensuring that every injured veteran has access to financial advice and support so that they can determine the form of compensation that works best for them and their families."

At the time, these three moments seemed to suggest that veterans' struggles with their pensions were about to be resolved.

Now if you look at what the Liberal government has said and what it has done, you see two different stories. One of the first things that came to pass was giving MPs and senators a raise and budget increases. An additional $25-million cost to the Canadian tax payer. MPs have the option of freezing their own salaries through federal legislation, but the government decided not to do so.

Interestingly, what was left off of Budget 2016 as well as the reestablishment of lifelong pensions was a line stating "increase the veteran survivor's pension amount from 50 per cent to 70 per cent." This means that every day 30 veterans are dying and their widows or widowers are still having their partner's pension cut in half. A $25-million increase in budgets and salaries on the one hand, and every day 30 widows have their incomes cut in half on the other.

Then there is the case of Second World War veteran Petter Blindheim, who was denied long-term care by the government. Is it not hypocritical of someone to tweet a commemoration to D-Day one day and then refuse to help a survivor on another? Your interview in defence of your department was painful to watch.

The warning signs came to be in your initial days as minister when you gave an interview refusing to commit to the reopening of the nine veteran affairs offices (still not open and predicted to take another year before they are). The public backlash was swift, and in the end a spokesman had to correct your comments.

You do not have a veteran working on your staff and you have surrounded yourself with young, partisan staffers that will toe the party line at the veteran's expense. Furthermore, your deputy minister and the associate minister still report to the treasury department, not directly to you.

Former Liberal veterans affairs critic Frank Valeriote worked in unison with Peter Stoffer on many of the issues disparaging the Conservative tactics you have continued to use. At least with the Conservatives, they told you no -- they did not promise you something they had no intention of delivering.

I reached out to Peter Stoffer and Erin O'Toole after you published your response, and Mr. Stoffer was of great help. His voice is greatly missed by the veteran community. He encouraged me to write this and his support was much needed.

He reminded me that benefits delayed are benefits denied, raising the question of why the Liberals are attacking veterans in court if they cared about them so much. He also told me that "the men and women that serve our country have the unlimited liability, and then as a grateful nation it is we that have the unlimited responsibility to them all the way to and including the headstone. Lest we forget."

Regards,
Bruce Moncur



http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/bruce-moncur/veterans-benefits_b_10396028.html





Cheers

This is the guy vets need to appreciate.  He has the skills to be direct and respectful at the same time.

Minister Hehr you have met your match and to quote what I heard JT say yesterday at the CFB Borden Monument Dedication....."We punch above our weight."  Sadly Minister you are nowhere near Mr. Moncur's weight class.

One more thing; we know Mike Blais is going to defend Minister Hehr and JT and I can't wait to read what BS spin he is going to use this time.

Tx for posting that 6608.

What he wrote was direct, intelligent, and all the while very tactful...

OMG, praise Otoole????????? This MVA has stated numerous times that no pension was coming from his government, and the liberal increase in the lump sum was a bad idea! It's back and forth when the conservatives are in the liberals are the heroes and when the liberals are in the conservatives are the heroes. Everyone needs a good shot of Wake the Frack up sauce and realize that no party is good for disabled veterans because no party and no government likes looking after disabled people. If they did there would never be any problems! This war is over, nobody and I mean nobody except the courts can win benefits for veterans and I am glad the Equitas lawsuit is going ahead because that way when they win, they win and there's nothing the government can do about it. They can't bring in BS benefits that nobody can access and stupid retirement pensions, RISB, that have every deduction possible, the courts are our only friends and the only way to go, if not well all be sitting here in 10 years cheering for another party that promises everything and all the advocates will still be screaming but nothing will change!

Navvy wrote " OMG, praise Otoole????????? "

"Praising" O'toole wasn't even in the said article for crying out loud.

That's a conjecture on your part.

The article states... " I reached out to Peter Stoffer and Erin O'Toole after you published your response, and Mr. Stoffer was of great help. His voice is greatly missed by the veteran community. He encouraged me to write this and his support was much needed. "

I'm not taking back what I said about Otoole that's a fact! As for Peter Stoffer I had a lot of respect for him until he turned on veterans as did the ndp stating that they would also not bring back pensions!

You say "I'm not taking back what I said about Otoole that's a fact! " Navrat, that's your opinion.
But don't take any article OUT of context and run with it.
Just say for instance, you don't like O'Toole, Hehr, or JT, Harper, Orange crush or Pepsi-frackin Cola.
Regardless if you love or hate them.

Anything less is BS and a waste of time. End of story.

Liberal MP's flyer wrongly tells constituents Liberals restored veterans' pensions
'Personally, I think he's trying to pull the wool over people's eyes,' father of Afghan veteran says.

A Liberal MP has sent flyers to his constituents touting the government's record on the veterans file, claiming it has already restored lifetime pensions for wounded veterans — when in fact it has done no such thing.

CBC News first reported last month that the Liberal government is actually taking veterans, who are pushing for the restoration of this benefit, back to court after a legal truce of sorts reached by the former Conservative government expired in May.

Court action over veterans benefits turns 'Liberal election campaign into a lie,' lawyer says
Frustration over New Veterans Charter boils over in lawyer's letter to Liberal MPs
'Doing right' by injured veterans with lifelong pension plan, Trudeau says
Justice department lawyers are now purportedly advancing the same legal arguments used during the Harper era, namely that Canada does not have a social contract or covenant with veterans, and that a "scheme providing benefits cannot be said to amount to a deprivation merely because claimant views the benefits as insufficient."

But a flyer sent to constituents in Robert-Falcon Ouelette's Winnipeg Centre riding presents a list of of "Some of what we've done (so far)," and includes "Reformed veteran's benefits and the delivery of services to veterans, including bringing back lifelong pensions for injured vets," among other achievements.

The flyers — which are colloquially called "10 percenters" or "householders" — caught the attention of one of Ouelette's constituents, Bill Paolini, the father of an Afghan war veteran who has been following the Equitas lawsuit and the prolonged struggle by the plaintiffs in that case to secure pensions for injured veterans.

"Personally, I think he's trying to pull the wool over people's eyes," Paolini said of the MP's flyer. "I think he should retract the flyer and issue a correction and apologize. It's very deceptive to think that that went out to the whole riding."

Paolini said he donated money to the Ouellete campaign, and voted for the Liberal party in the last election in part because of its promise to help veterans like his son, who fought primarily in the Panjwai district of Afghanistan.

His son would not be entitled to a wounded veteran pension even if it is restored, he said, but he has a vested interest in seeing other soldiers who face crippling mental and physical ailments get their fare share from the government they served.

"It makes me feel like I've been lied to. I really thought the Trudeau government was going to do something. That's one of the big reasons why I voted for the party, was because of their stand on veterans and making things right for them. I feel like the I've been let down and I've been led down the garden path," he said.

Paolini reached out to Ouellette's office after receiving the flyer in the mail, asking for an explanation but received an answer with information about different programs.

He also sent an e-mail to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office with a heartfelt plea: "Do the honourable and right thing and restore the veteran's pensions. Don't make them fight the battles they have already fought. Don't let them suffer any longer," he wrote.

When contacted by CBC News, Ouellette's office said that the reference to "lifelong pensions" was an error.

"As someone who has served in the armed forces, this is an issue that is of particular importance to me," Ouellette said in a statement. "The government of Canada is taking historic steps to ensure Canadian veterans and their families receive the care, compassion and respect they deserve, especially veterans with disabilities," he wrote, pointing to the budget 2016's substantial new funding commitments.

Trudeau campaigned on restoring lifelong pensions

The promise to restore lifelong pensions for injured veterans was in Veterans Affairs Minister Kent Hehr's mandate letter from the prime minister, but was notably absent from the government's first budget introduced in March.

The government did commit new pools of money for other campaign promises, including increasing the disability award and boosting the earnings loss benefit for injured veterans and expanding access to the permanent impairment allowance — but pensions remain the biggest sticking point.

Trudeau promised to restore that benefit — which was replaced by lump-sum payments with the introduction of the New Veterans' Charter in 2006 — on the campaign trail during the last federal election.

Liberals also promised veterans in their platform that they wouldn't have to "fight the government" for the support and compensation they have earned.

The plaintiffs in the Equitas lawsuit have argued in court that the lump-sum payment wounded veterans receive under the new charter is inadequate compensation, as they receive less money over the course of a lifetime.

Hehr's office — and the minister himself in question period — has repeatedly laid blame on the previous Conservative government for forcing veterans to go to court to "ensure their own well-being."

But Hehr has not explained why he has allowed the peace agreement of sorts, struck by the former veterans affairs minister Erin O'Toole, to lapse.

"I cannot discuss the specifics of an ongoing court case," Hehr said in a recent statement.

The Alberta cabinet minister has said he was "given a strong mandate to restore critical access to services for veterans," by the prime minister, and that includes "providing a pension option for injured veterans, and I can assure Canadians that I remain committed to this, and to fulfilling all items in my mandate letter."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/liberal-mp-veterans-flyer-wrong-1.3628574

Who are the lawyers/crown fighting Veterans?
Names of these lawyers should be published or are they?
We know Hehr worked for a law firm helping people to avoid taxes.
Fair, equal, care

Minister Hehr to make important announcement for Veterans and Canadian Armed Forces members.

St. John’s, NL — The Honourable Kent Hehr, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, will deliver a keynote address at the opening ceremony of the Royal Canadian Legion (RCL) Dominion Convention. Minister Hehr will highlight how new measures in Budget 2016 will provide improved support for Canadian Armed Forces members, Veterans and their families.

Location:
St. John’s Convention Centre
Bowring Ballroom
50 New Gower Street
St. John’s
Date:
Sunday, June 12, 2016
Time:
1:00 p.m.


http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do?nid=1083549

Winnipeg MP makes error in reference to ‘lifelong pensions' for injured vets.

Published Saturday, June 11, 2016 4:35PM CST
Winnipeg Centre MP Robert-Falcon Ouellette says an error was made in flyer sent to people in his riding this week.
The flyer said the government has "Reformed Veterans Benefits and the delivery of services to veterans including bringing back lifelong pensions for injured vets."
But the federal government hasn't brought back lifelong pensions to injured veterans. It was a promise Justin Trudeau made in the 2015 election campaign.

Carolyn Grant's husband's is a veteran and has an active son is in the armed forces. She said the MP needs to be more careful with his words.
“I am very disappointed with Mr. Ouellette. I mean I’ve heard some really good things about him but this flyer is telling things that are not true and it gives the wrong impression,’ said Grant on Saturday.
“It’s nice to have your own newsletter, but it doesn't give you the right to say things that aren't true."
In a statement to CTV News, Ouellette said he made an error about the reference to lifelong pensions in the flyer.
"As someone who has served in the armed forces, this is an issue that is of particular importance to me. However, we are making tremendous progress in ensuring Canadian veterans and their families receive the care, compassion and respect they deserve, especially veterans with disabilities," said Ouellette.
Canada’s Minster of Veterans Affairs, Kent Kehr sent a statement to CTV saying the government is still committed to lifelong pensions.
“I was given a strong mandate to restore critical access to services and ensure the long-term financial security and independence of disabled Veterans and their families. This includes re-establishing lifelong pensions as an option for injured Veterans and I can assure Canadians that I remain committed to this, and to fulfilling all items in my mandate letter.”

http://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/winnipeg-mp-makes-error-in-reference-to-lifelong-pensions-for-injured-vets-1.2941955

Just to clarify things here....the veterans took the DND to court for our LTD benefits. Not VAC.

The Equitas lawsuit is the first time a group of veterans are taking VAC to court.

If you want clarity, neither DND or VAC have actually been taken to court. The GoC has been taken to court over benefits that are offered to Veterans, and the government department that actually controls those benefits doesn't matter. But even so, this is not the first time that VAC has been the subject of a lawsuit, as there was a lawsuit over interest that had been accrued on Veteran's money that was controlled by VAC, because they were deemed incapable of managing it properly. That case was eventually lost because the Supreme Court refused to hear it.