Liberals’ pension plan for disabled veterans won’t take effect until 2019

The Trudeau government is promising to provide injured veterans with more financial compensation and assistance in the form of long-promised lifelong disability pensions for those injured in uniform. Veterans Affairs Minister Seamus O’Regan unveiled the new pensions Wednesday, more than two years after the Liberals promised them during the last federal election — and only days before Christmas.

“Our pension-for-life plan is a combination of benefits that provide recognition, income support and stability to veterans and Canadian Armed Forces members who experience a service-related illness or injury,” O’Regan said in a statement.

“We are addressing concerns made by the veteran and military communities by allowing those with a servicerelated injury or illness to determine the best form of compensation that works for them and their families.” The changes are complex and multi-layered, and represent the most-significant overhaul in more than a decade to benefits and services available for disabled veterans. They are expected to provide more money to injured veterans than the current suite of benefits, particularly the most severely disabled who are unable to work and continue to suffer from service-related injuries.

But the Liberals’ plan offers only modest increases for those on the other end of the spectrum, and continues to provide many veterans with less than the previous lifelong disability pensions, which were abolished in 2006. Those pensions were replaced with a lump-sum payment, rehabilitation and targeted income-replacement programs, known collectively as the New Veterans Charter. While the charter has been criticized as offering less money than the old pension system, the government says the charter and new pension scheme offers more flexibility and assistance through rehab and career training.