The words of Sir Robert Borden established a verbal contract with Canada’s veterans, vowing that a grateful nation will provide adequate care and support to those who served, while forever honouring those who gave the greatest sacrifice. This solemn promise still echoes today across the war graves of the fallen; from France to Korea, from Bosnia to Afghanistan.
Stephen Harper, however, rejects this social contract with veterans. He does not believe there is a moral obligation to those who answered the call of duty and fought in Canada’s name. In fact, he has tasked federal lawyers with openly challenging this idea in the courts.
The lawyers have stated in the courts that, as far as the Conservative government is concerned, the social covenant to care for injured veterans, as explained by former Prime Minister Borden, was simply ‘political speech’ and ‘not meant to be taken seriously’.
The British Columbia Supreme Court sided with the six injured Afghanistan war veterans and refused to toss out their lawsuit, but the Harper government is currently appealing the case in the B.C. Court of Appeal.
Essentially, Stephen Harper is exhausting all efforts on the taxpayer’s dime to prevent these six injured veterans from having their day in court.
The dismissal of a moral obligation to Canada’s veterans provides context for the actions of the Harper government over the past year.
more
Canada Eighteen Sixty-Seven : The Harper government's contempt for veterans: year in review
The federal government plans to fight a proposed class action lawsuit filed by a member of the Canadian Forces hit with significant financial losses when the military reposted him.
The legal action was started by Master Warrant Officer Neil Dodsworth who spent 33 years in the Canadian Forces serving in Somalia, Afghanistan and earthquake-ravaged Haiti.
Unable to find a spot in military housing or afford Edmonton’s soaring home prices, he and his family bought a condo row house in Morinville, a town about 35 kilometres outside the city.
He ended up losing more than $72,000 selling that home when he was posted to CDSB Gagetown in New Brunswick.
Dodsworth said he battled for four years for compensation beyond an initial $15,000 offered by the military, submitting documentation showing the Morinville housing market had collapsed by up to 30 per cent.
He went through adjudication, the military grievance board, an ombudsman and appealed directly to the minister of defence.
When that failed, Dodsworth filed the lawsuit in September.
Soldiers thought they would be covered under a federal government program that compensates members of the Canadian Forces who sell in so-called depressed housing markets.
So far the federal government has refused to pay and has asked a federal court judge to strike down the proposed class action lawsuit.
Dodsworth’s lawyer Dan Wallace says it’s a tactic that will only drag out the legal process.
“It's further disappointing that they've taken the position that officer Dodsworth doesn't even have a right to bring this action,” he said.
Wallace says he can't understand the federal government's position, especially since Ottawa already lost a case earlier this year involving another soldier who sued on the same grounds.
In its court motion, the federal government says soldiers can instead launch a grievance through proper channels and argues the lawsuit is little more than an attack on government policy.
Wallace says soldiers have been told they can't launch a grievance through the Canadian Forces and all they want is for the federal government to correctly apply its own program.
"This is a question of fairness for these Canadian Forces members,” he said. “They don't want anything other than what they were promised when they signed up."
A federal government spokesperson told CBC News today it would be inappropriate to comment on a case before the courts.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/canadian-forces-members-face-fight-over-housing-losses-1.2885944
Stephen Harper, however, rejects this social contract with veterans. He does not believe there is a moral obligation to those who answered the call of duty and fought in Canada’s name. In fact, he has tasked federal lawyers with openly challenging this idea in the courts.
The lawyers have stated in the courts that, as far as the Conservative government is concerned, the social covenant to care for injured veterans, as explained by former Prime Minister Borden, was simply ‘political speech’ and ‘not meant to be taken seriously’.
The British Columbia Supreme Court sided with the six injured Afghanistan war veterans and refused to toss out their lawsuit, but the Harper government is currently appealing the case in the B.C. Court of Appeal.
Essentially, Stephen Harper is exhausting all efforts on the taxpayer’s dime to prevent these six injured veterans from having their day in court.
The dismissal of a moral obligation to Canada’s veterans provides context for the actions of the Harper government over the past year.
more
Canada Eighteen Sixty-Seven : The Harper government's contempt for veterans: year in review
The federal government plans to fight a proposed class action lawsuit filed by a member of the Canadian Forces hit with significant financial losses when the military reposted him.
The legal action was started by Master Warrant Officer Neil Dodsworth who spent 33 years in the Canadian Forces serving in Somalia, Afghanistan and earthquake-ravaged Haiti.
Unable to find a spot in military housing or afford Edmonton’s soaring home prices, he and his family bought a condo row house in Morinville, a town about 35 kilometres outside the city.
He ended up losing more than $72,000 selling that home when he was posted to CDSB Gagetown in New Brunswick.
Dodsworth said he battled for four years for compensation beyond an initial $15,000 offered by the military, submitting documentation showing the Morinville housing market had collapsed by up to 30 per cent.
He went through adjudication, the military grievance board, an ombudsman and appealed directly to the minister of defence.
When that failed, Dodsworth filed the lawsuit in September.
Soldiers thought they would be covered under a federal government program that compensates members of the Canadian Forces who sell in so-called depressed housing markets.
So far the federal government has refused to pay and has asked a federal court judge to strike down the proposed class action lawsuit.
Dodsworth’s lawyer Dan Wallace says it’s a tactic that will only drag out the legal process.
“It's further disappointing that they've taken the position that officer Dodsworth doesn't even have a right to bring this action,” he said.
Wallace says he can't understand the federal government's position, especially since Ottawa already lost a case earlier this year involving another soldier who sued on the same grounds.
In its court motion, the federal government says soldiers can instead launch a grievance through proper channels and argues the lawsuit is little more than an attack on government policy.
Wallace says soldiers have been told they can't launch a grievance through the Canadian Forces and all they want is for the federal government to correctly apply its own program.
"This is a question of fairness for these Canadian Forces members,” he said. “They don't want anything other than what they were promised when they signed up."
A federal government spokesperson told CBC News today it would be inappropriate to comment on a case before the courts.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/canadian-forces-members-face-fight-over-housing-losses-1.2885944
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