Veterans’ disability rights violated: ombudsman

OTTAWA – The veterans’ ombudsman has blasted the way Canadian veterans are being notified that their applications for disability benefits have been rejected, saying their rights are being violated and future livelihoods endangered.

Ombudsman Guy Parent said in a report released Monday that Veterans Affairs Canada is not providing clear explanations for its decisions, which are required under both the Pension Act and the Canadian Forces Members and Veterans Re- establishment and Compensation Act. The department’s failure to meet that requirement has a significant impact on veterans’ ability to file an appeal or pursue other options, Parent added.

“Veterans have a right to know why and how decisions are made,” Parent wrote.

“Veterans need assurances that their applications for disability benefits have been fully and fairly considered. A detailed decision letter is the essential source of that information.”

Parent wrote that he was troubled to think many veterans may have been wrongly assessed but were unable, or chose not to, pursue the matter further because the rejection letters did not reveal where the department’s decision might have been flawed.

“The appeal processes available in case of objection are formal, time-consuming, inconvenient, often intimidating to veterans, and may be very costly,” he wrote.

Parent said Veterans Affairs Canada turns away about 30 per cent of disability applications, and that the rejection letters constitute the second-largest-source of complaints to his office.