A Study of the New Veterans Charter

A Study of the New Veterans Charter

Disability Award

There are three areas of concern directed at the Disability Award. Some
witnesses were unclear as to the nature and purpose of the award, some
felt it was inadequate and some suggested that it was inappropriate to
pay out the Disability Award in one large sum to a CF member or
veteran who may not be in a fit physical or mental state to make sound
decisions on what to do with the money.
Since October 2011, the disability award may be paid as a lump-sum or
in instalments. This seems to have appeased concerns about misuse by
injured veterans. However, a significant proportion of veterans will
choose to receive the disability award as a lump sum.
To review, VAC may pay a Disability Award to a member of the CF or
a veteran who is disabled by a service-related injury or disease, or a nonservice-related
injury or disease aggravated by service.

The amount awarded is commensurate with the degree of disability. The maximum
amount in the original legislation was capped at $250,000. Since then,
being indexed for inflation, the current maximum Disability Award for
2012 is $293,308.

Among those CF members and veterans who came before the
Subcommittee, there was some confusion as to the true purpose of the
Disability Award. Consider this testimony from one witness:

Depending on what Veterans Affairs Canada literature you
read, the department keeps changing its tune on what that
maximum $250,000 one-time lump sum payment is for. I have
been told it is compensation for the loss of your limbs. I have
read that it is compensation for pain and suffering, and I
have also read that it is now intended to assist in satisfying
the immediate financial needs of the injured soldier.

The VAC website is clear and states, “The Disability Award is a onetime,
tax-free cash award designed to compensate for the non-economic
impacts of a service-related disability such as pain and suffering. The
NVC Disability Award is not intended to be used for necessary home
renovations, prosthetics or automobile adaptations. There are other funds
and programs available to meet those requirements.

Perhaps this misunderstanding of the Disability Award is the basis of
criticism that the NVC is inadequate. The same witness explained:

I can tell you my $250,000 disappeared very, very quickly. I
had to buy a brand new minivan for $32,000 because they
would only modify a brand new vehicle. Also, since my house
was deemed unsuitable for renovation to make it wheelchair accessible, I had to sell that house and construct a new
barrier-free home. That money was gone immediately.


Depending on what we are calling it and what it is for, is $250,000 adequate compensation for the loss of your legs
and the loss of quality of life for your family? It completely
disrupts the entire family; it is not just the soldier. Everything
is upside down. My wife has twice the stress.


I have chronic phantom limb pain two or three nights a week
where I cannot sleep. Is $250,000 adequate compensation for
that and for a lifetime of pain and suffering? I would suggest it is not.


I would also suggest a cap of $250,000 based on the loss of
two limbs, or the equivalent in terms of eyesight, is
completely inadequate. What about the soldier I know, a
young reserve corporal in Sudbury, who is missing not just
both legs but also an arm? He received no additional
compensation for that arm. Once you max out at $250,000 that is it. Half of my injuries... are not considered because I
maxed out with two legs. The ruptured right eardrum and the
loss of hearing are not compensated in any way, shape or
form.

It is difficult to measure such unsettling distress, but the
Subcommittee notes that the NVC Disability Award is not the only sum
awarded to CF members or veterans, at government expense, for pain
and suffering. All serving CF members, both Regular and Reserve Force
are covered, at no charge, by the Accidental Dismemberment Insurance
Plan (ADIP), sponsored by the CF and governed by the Treasury Board
of Canada. The ADIP may pay a maximum disability benefit of $250,000
for, as examples, the loss of two feet, or two hands. In this way,
way, as a result programs entirely funded by government, CF members
or veterans disabled as a result of service might receive up to $500,000.

CONCLUSION

Veterans and CF members have accepted unlimited liability in the
service of Canada. Those who die or are injured in the course of duty
deserve the best program of compensation and benefits Canada can
provide. VAC and the NVC are serving the majority of CF members,
veterans and their families well, but the NVC can be enhanced to
provide improved compensation and benefits and provide a sense of
security for disabled CF members, veterans and their families.
Government as a whole should endeavour to ensure its broad obligations
are met, not just in a majority of cases, but in every case.

http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/411/secd/rep/rep09mar13-e.pdf