Ontario woman upset at Veterans Affairs for denying payment to late father

The family is still alive and well and willing to fight for Veterans.
Veterans Affairs Canada does deserve kudos!
They did get the die part in the "three D's" right, Delay, Deny and Die tactic, but forgot the family still remained to continue with the application and the fight.

"I am just counting on my lucky stars that I am not dead "yet" to advocate on my behalf, just saying".

'I think my dad is smiling on me.' Daughter of Second World War vet gets long-delayed payment.

Gail Baker’s father, Louis Gelman, died waiting for Veterans Affairs cheque.

Aug 02, 2016

After seven months of frustration, the daughter of a Second World War veteran has received a one-time payment she says was promised to her late father but was delayed for so long that he died while still waiting for it.

Gail Baker's father, Louis Gelman, was one of thousands of veterans who received an offer of the one-time payment from Veterans Affairs Canada in recognition of his service.

Baker filed the paperwork for him but months passed, and Gelman died unexpectedly in January.

At that time, the government said he no longer qualified for the payment.

"That's when I really got very upset and I thought 'this just doesn't seem right,'" Baker told CBC News this week. "And I'm usually a pretty even keeled person. And I just thought 'this is not how I want my dad to go.'"

After CBC News first reported Baker's plight last month, Veterans Affairs changed its mind.

"I think my dad is smiling on me," Baker said. "I think he would think I did a good job, and I feel pretty proud I was able to do this for him as a last gesture."

Baker says she received a letter from the federal department along with a cheque for $6,400.

Baker says she's confused about how the government came up with that figure, because the letter doesn't explain their review process.

"This is what they feel he would have gotten had he lived," she said.

She said she appreciates the money, but also said "it's been a long time coming."

Last month, Veterans Affairs told CBC News that it reviewed all of its files and found 13 cases similar to Gelman's. Staff are now working to ensure those families receive compensation.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/veterans-daughter-payment-1.3705139

This is what pisses me off to no end. The Veteran has passed away and .. if he was eligible for that $ when he was alive so he should be entitled to it when he is dead (or his family).
How about a crazy idea: once you 'become' a veteran (file with VAC) they move their asse..ts and comb through it and say:" hey, you ARE entitled to it and we will be sending you $1C (one).
Would you like it in monthly installments or in lump sum payment? We are pleased to help'. Instead of hiring hundreds more of paper pushers to look for ways how to deny, delay, be dead. That is what pisses me off to no end (to quote a famous contributor to this forum).

Originally posted by Dannypaj.

This is what pisses me off to no end.
The Veteran has passed away and people are still trying to make money off his back (VAC & FAMILY).
If the Veteran was alive and was being denied, then I'd probably stand up and say more to help the cause, but he is no longer alive and the money wouldn't be going to the veteran (for whom the money was intended for in the first place).
But! the paper work was filed prior to his passing. He may have had plans for this money and now that he is no longer here to defend himself, his family now fights the GOC.
O o Canada! Is right.

Archived - Thousands of Veterans to receive voluntary one-time payment.

Reference N14025E

March 28, 2014 – Ottawa, Ontario – Veterans Affairs Canada

Today Minister Fantino is pleased to announce that thousands of Canadian Veterans will receive additional support as a result of Economic Action Plan 2014.

The Government of Canada is taking steps to provide eligible Veterans, survivors or dependents with voluntary compensation for Earnings Loss (EL), Canadian Forces Income Support (CFIS) and War Veterans Allowance (WVA) benefits dating back to May 29, 2012. This measure is meant to cover the gap between the Government's decision to end the disability pension offset and the day the decision came into effect.

Changes to the way Earnings Loss and Canadian Forces Income Support benefits are calculated came into effect on October 1, 2012, and a similar change to the War Veterans Allowance calculation came into effect on October 1, 2013, at a total cost of $273.1 million over five years. These voluntary changes also mean improved services for Canadian Veterans, including approximately 560 additional Veterans now having access to the Veterans Independence Program for snow clearing, grass cutting and home cleaning services.

The compensation announced today will be made through a one-time payment to more than 5,000 eligible individuals, including Veterans, survivors or dependents. The Department is beginning the work necessary to implement these changes, which are subject to parliamentary approval of the Budget Implementation Act 2014.

Quick Facts
The Government of Canada is committing $19.9 million to compensate eligible Earnings Loss Benefit (EL), Canadian Forces Income Support (CFIS) and War Veterans Allowance (WVA) applicants and recipients for Disability Pension offsets, between May 29, 2012, and the day before Veterans Affairs Canada ceased offsetting the Disability Pension for each of those benefits.
More than 5,000 Veterans, survivors or dependents will benefit from this one-time compensatory payment.
Changes to the way Earnings Loss and Canadian Forces Income Support benefits are calculated came into effect on October 1, 2012, and a similar change to the War Veterans Allowance calculation came into effect on October 1, 2013, at a total cost of $273.1 million over five years.
As a result of the changes made to War Veterans Allowance calculations on October 1, 2013, approximately:
560 additional Veterans now have access to Veterans Independence Program services (their survivors will also be eligible for VIP housekeeping and grounds maintenance benefits in the future, if needed);
460 additional Veterans have become eligible for treatment benefits; and
2,050 Veterans now pay less for the cost of their long term care accommodation and meals.

http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do?nid=831669

See, the only thing that I remember about changes to the War Veterans allowance, was that they were no longer going to include PA pensions in their calculations. So she could be talking about the four months of retro money, between when the change was announced, and the changes took affect. But even though, like you pointed out, it is only paid to surviving spouses, or dependent children, it should still be paid to his estate, because it was for a time period in which the Veteran was still alive.

well if ya read this one part

That's because the one-time payouts — which are considered voluntary compensation for earnings loss, Canadian Forces income support and war veterans allowance benefits dating back to May 2012 — are available only to veterans, their spouses and dependent children.

there's 3 things this was for, something on Earning Loss, Hmm doubtful

canadian forces income support, Naaaa

war veterans allowance ------------------------------------ Yes I'd say this one since it states..

"He was wounded in the leg by a hand grenade and was held as a prisoner of war in Hamburg, Germany. In the same battle in which he was injured, the rest of German's company was killed, he said."

Prisoner of war in Germany, so I assume it was something with that War veterans allowance
but I have no clue as to what goes on within that group of things

Yup, once again BS. They complicate it so much that ... it is an insurance company after all.

Once again there is key information that is missing from the article, to make a decision beyond your gut reaction.

1. Had he received a lump sum award under the PA, or was he fully covered by the PA? Since the announcement she was referring to seems to be the lump sum top up, he would not have been eligible unless he had received a previous lump sum award.

2. If had been eligible to get the lump sum top up, was she flat out denied, or was she told that piece of the legislation does not come into effect until Jan 2017, when the money will be paid to his estate? They can't give a payment in advance of that, simply because she asked for it.

3. If he was a PA veteran, and a widower, did VAC actually refuse giving her his PA survivor benefits, because she is an adult child? And she only assumed that they were denying the top up. Not many Canadians fully understands the full scope of benefits that are available between the two pieces of legislation, and who is entitled to what.

Ontario woman upset at Veterans Affairs for denying payment to late father.

'I think they should make it good and do the right thing,' daughter says of disability payout.

Jul 04, 2016 10:33 PM ET

The daughter of a Second World War veteran who died before he could receive compensation from Veteran Affairs Canada is angry that Ottawa did not process the paperwork for her father in the time she alleges was promised.

Gail Baker alleges her father, Louis Gelman, may have been eligible for the one-time payment announced by the former federal Conservative government in 2014. The package was meant to offset the changes they made to veterans' disability pensions.

Baker said she mailed the paperwork on her father's behalf in October 2015 and alleges she was told by Veterans Affairs they would process the package within two to three weeks.

But her father died in Toronto on Jan. 7, 2016. The payment had not been settled.

And Baker said she learned from a Veterans Affairs letter in March that any settlement would have been for Gelman, a surviving spouse or dependent child. His surviving adult children are not eligible for the payment now.

Born in Poland, fought for Canada

"I am upset that they did not carry through in a timely manner. I don't think we should be penalized for the fact that it didn't happen," the Vaughan, Ont., woman told CBC News. "Out of respect for a veteran who served his country and who was being offered this package, I think they should make it good and do the right thing."

Gelman, born in Radom, Poland, came to Canada as a child, and grew up to serve in this country's Central Ontario Regiment. He joined the army "because I felt they needed help," he told The Memory Project as a younger man.

He was wounded in the leg by a hand grenade and was held as a prisoner of war in Hamburg, Germany. In the same battle in which he was injured, the rest of Gelman's company was killed, he said.

Gelman was liberated on April 12, 1945, and returned to Canada to start again. He was 21 at the time.

His spent his civilian life working in a garment factory in Toronto after the war. And before he died, he was cared for at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.

Baker said that her father's sacrifices for Canada should be recognized. In April, she appealed the decision denying the payment of compensation to surviving family members.

She said that she does not know how much money her father was to receive. When she first learned of it during his life, she said she wanted to use it to take him on small trips.

Veterans Affairs reviewing Gelman's case

Janice Summerby, spokesperson for Veteran Affairs, said Monday that her department is reviewing the situation.

"It is always difficult to hear of any individual who does not feel their family is receiving the support they need," the department said in an email. "The department is in contact with the family and the situation is being reviewed."

Baker said she learned in 2014 that her father might qualify for a payout after the change to the disability pension program. She did not send in the paperwork, however, until October 2015.

"I phoned regarding this, and asked, 'Are you in a hurry? Is there a timeframe?' They said, 'No, it was open for now, send it when you can.' I left it for a period of time. They said they are so busy right now with everybody was sending it in that, if you wait, it's not a big deal."

To qualify for compensation, Ottawa asked veterans to send in tax returns from 2010-2012. Baker said she sent those by registered mail and was told by Veterans Affairs that it would take between two and three weeks to process them.

"The deluge was done," she said. "It wasn't backed up anymore."

After her father died in January, she received a letter from Veteran Affairs that said he was no longer eligible because he had died.

That's because the one-time payouts — which are considered voluntary compensation for earnings loss, Canadian Forces income support and war veterans allowance benefits dating back to May 2012 — are available only to veterans, their spouses and dependent children.

Baker said that it's been hard for her since losing her father, saying he was always a positive person.

"He was a fun-loving kind of guy that everybody would love to have as a dad," she said. "I miss him very much."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/veteran-affairs-compensation-death-daughter-1.3664402