Ottawa to reimburse vets $165M

OTTAWA • Repaying hundreds of thousands of disabled veterans and their survivors for a calculating error that deprived them of some of their pensions for seven years will cost $165 million, the federal government says.

Veterans Affairs Minister Seamus O’Regan revealed the error and compensation package Monday, on the eve of Remembrance Day, even as the NDP called on the government to ensure all money earmarked for veterans’ benefits is actually spent.

O’Regan’s department miscalculated adjustments to the disability pensions of 270,000 veterans, RCMP members and their survivors between 2003 and 2010 because it didn’t properly account for a change in personal tax exemptions, he said.

“Most individuals will receive a few hundred dollars, while the maximum amount to be paid would be a couple of thousand dollars,” he said.

The miscalculation was identified last year by veterans’ ombudsman Guy Parent, who said his team stumbled upon the problem while looking at another issue and subsequently flagged it to the government.

While O’Regan promised that all veterans would be compensated, payments aren’t expected to begin until 2020, which the minister blamed on the sheer number affected.

Complicating matters is 120,000 of the affected veterans, notably those who served in the Second World War and in Korea, have died. O’Regan’s spokesman, Alex Wellstead, said their survivors and estates will still be eligible.

Meanwhile, the New Democrats tabled a motion Monday designed to pressure the Liberals to spend $372 million earmarked for veterans’ benefits in recent years but wasn’t spent.