Grits facing backlash from injured veterans
OTTAWA • The Trudeau Liberals are going into the second half of their mandate facing anger from many disabled veterans over what some are calling a betrayal: the government’s new pension plan for those injured while in uniform.
The National Council of Veteran Associations, which represents more than 60 veteran groups, has become the latest to come out against the pension plan, which Veterans Affairs Minister Seamus O’Regan unveiled before Christmas.
The new scheme was intended to fulfil the Liberals’ campaign promise to reinstate lifelong pensions for disabled veterans, which were replaced in 2006 with a lump-sum payment and other targeted assistance.
But while the government says its plan will provide disabled veterans with more compensation, the council said its analysis had found most injured ex-soldiers would not see any real benefit.
That means the financial disparity between veterans injured before and after 2006 — the source of much anger for many veterans — will continue to persist, said council chairman Brian Forbes. “I can’t find too many illustrations of anyone who comes close to what they would have received under the Pension Act, even with these new enhancements,” said Forbes, who is also executive director of The War Amps Canada.
“So if you were injured in 2003 in Afghanistan as opposed to being injured in 2007 with the same disability, you have significantly different financial benefits. How is that acceptable? Same war, same conflict, different benefits.”
Many veterans voted for the Liberals in the last election expecting that disparity to be addressed, either through reinstatement of the previous pension system or dramatically increased benefits, including to those who are moderately injured.
O’Regan acknowledged when he rolled out the pension plan Dec. 20 that it would not please everyone, and veterans have not shied away from expressing their anger and disappointment on social media.
But the fact one of Canada’s largest veterans’ organizations has come out against the scheme is noteworthy, particularly as the parties begin making plans for the 2019 federal election.
A spokesman for O’Regan defended the new plan on Monday, saying it would provide more money to all disabled veterans, and asserting that the old pensions did not provide enough support.
“With the exception of the most seriously disabled, the rates were insufficient to support veterans who were struggling to re-establish into their post-service life,” Alex Wellstead said in an email.
The Liberals were the only party to promise to reinstate lifelong pensions for disabled veterans during the election.