270,000 veterans shortchanged $165M after accounting error

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 spent.

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

Most of the affected veterans were shortchanged several hundred dollars, though some lost thousands of dollars because of the error. O’Regan said it was only recently flagged to the government by veterans’ ombudsman Guy Parent.

While the minister promised that all veterans would be compensated, payments aren’t expected to begin until 2020, which he blamed on the sheer number of Canadians affected by the problem.

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

The news came as the NDP tabled a motion designed to pressure the Liberals to spend $372 million that was earmarked for veterans’ benefits in recent years but wasn’t spent.