From a Conservative: Our Government is failing our Veterans

Count_Lothian

Time Out
Apr 6, 2014
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I'm the conservative.
Unfortunately there has not been a Conservative Party in Canada since Peter McKay was conned into the alliance and then conned into allowing Harper to be the leader. It's long gone, and the Reform party is just a foot note now that Harperism destroyed any semblance to Preston Manning's legacy.
The Harper Government is failing miserably with our veterans past and present and while it is not completely their fault, it is a broken promise.
If it isn't their fault whose is it? The horror story a vet told me on how when he lived through Iraq and then a tour in Afghanistan he was then conned into giving up his retirement for 35 grand. Which he blew admittedly on drugs and alcohol through self medication.
I never got the whole the story but the jist of it .

It sort of follows what I hear in the news.

I knew this man when he was 16 and it was my prodding to get him in the army.
What I saw last summer was a shell of a man.

According to him the fact he used drugs and alcohol and admitted it is the main reason for them hanging him out to dry.
Again the story is sketchy and I am not in touch with the man.



I don't care how much it cost, if we are going to call upon our soldiers and send them into harms way it is our responsibility to be there when they need us.
Yes indeed, but this government does nothing to address these issues, and makes gaffes beyond gaffes and then spend more time on selling themselves and howling about Justin's haircut.
Sadly, while the other two parties are attempting to score points on this
I don't see their job as opposition is about scoring points.

I get an honest concern from both Mulclair and Liberal party members, when they stand up for our vets. I said OUR VETS!!!
Mulclair screams about the issues.

Maybe , your idea that you are a conservative is just misguided loyalty. and it is blinding you from seeing other parties outrage over this issue.
Like I said there is no more conservative party, ask Joe Clark, someone I look up too.

, the fact is that they will be just as lethargic.
You don't know that.

Canadians should hang their heads in shame for ignoring the present state of affairs.
The only people that should be hanging their heads in shame are supporters of this so called present Conservative Party.

Do they deserve your loyalty after what they have done to OUR VETS?


No vet should have to live without a pension. No vet should be conned out of it for 35 grand when they are completely suffering and screwed up with PTSD
this government , according to the man i know, took away Veteran pensions. and conned them into signing some hell thing for 35 grand

My mother was a war widow and she was well taken care of by the DVA till the Harperism cuts came into effect and she was hung out to dry.

She never asked for much but it turned into nothing for her. She had to beg for a walker and then DVA and the Navy fund had Welfare chip in for her.
I wanted to buy it for her but she would not have it, she wanted to prove something, at the request of old friends that worked for the DVA on the phone.

The DVA is a shell of what it was, and who is hanging their heads about that. Harperism is the fault.

You claiming the other two parties are using it for their gain is really unfair.

you want help ,and if some politician cries foul about Harperism you say it's them using the situation.


am I using you? Or am I just calling it as I see it?
 

Liberalman

Senate Member
Mar 18, 2007
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Toronto
I'm the conservative. The Harper Government is failing miserably with our veterans past and present and while it is not completely their fault, it is a broken promise. I don't care how much it cost, if we are going to call upon our soldiers and send them into harms way it is our responsibility to be there when they need us.

Sadly, while the other two parties are attempting to score points on this, the fact is that they will be just as lethargic. Canadians should hang their heads in shame for ignoring the present state of affairs.

Veterans fighting service cuts felt disrespected at Fantino meeting - Politics - CBC News

The Liberals would find a Canadian made solution like taking care of our military's after war needs unfortunately the Conservatives have a final solution on our sick men and women in our military and that is a shame.
 

Retired_Can_Soldier

The End of the Dog is Coming!
Mar 19, 2006
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The Liberals would find a Canadian made solution like taking care of our military's after war needs unfortunately the Conservatives have a final solution on our sick men and women in our military and that is a shame.

What planet are you from? Part of the BS legislation that plagues our veterans was brought in by the Liberal Party of Canada. The only party that has not ****ed over our veterans is the NDP, but it's a given that they would.
 

Count_Lothian

Time Out
Apr 6, 2014
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What planet are you from? Part of the BS legislation that plagues our veterans was brought in by the Liberal Party of Canada. The only party that has not ****ed over our veterans is the NDP, but it's a given that they would.
I could be very well be mistaken, but is it not the cuts and the deal now offered to veterans for their retirement , or lack of retirement,that effects the vets the most.

What piece of legislation are you referring to?

I never saw this amount of vets offing themselves under any other system of care.

I offer any apologies to you if I am causing any angst to you.
You deserve only the finest of care and at the very least a better than average Canada Pension Plan.
From the avatar you fly you seem older than the newer vets. If that is you of course.

You might still be under the guise of the older rules. Have you noticed any changes in the DVA? do you use the DVA?

NDP might not be our best choice.
This morning Mulcair is blaming the government for the newly discovered virus which has Revenue Canada shutting itself down.
 

tay

Hall of Fame Member
May 20, 2012
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DND reverses decision on extended release for soldier with PTSD





Master Cpl. Kristian Wolowidnyk's story made headlines across the country in November when it was revealed he tried to take his own life after the army put him on the fast-track for dismissal.

The military backed down after his case became public, but just last week reversed itself and said he doesn't qualify for the program.




Wolowidnyk, like other soldiers whose cases were documented last fall, wanted to stay in the military to at least the 10 year mark when he could qualify for an unreduced military pension.


The former combat engineer and Afghan war veteran is now unable to comment because, after all the public attention, he was compelled to sign the defence department's social media policy, which forbids criticism of the military and the joint personnel units in particular.


Before qualifying for an extended release on medical grounds, soldiers are required to take what's known as a complexity test, which helps rate their disability.


When the military first tried to bounce Wolowidnyk last fall, it refused to administer the test. But he insisted on taking it and when the results came back his case manager said he was not classified as "severely injured."


But a doctor handling his case a few months later pulled up the file to find the results did label him as "severely injured."




DND reverses decision on extended release for soldier with PTSD - Edmonton - CBC News
 

tay

Hall of Fame Member
May 20, 2012
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The boss has gone crazy! He’s giving away new uniforms! And at only $4.5 million, they’re practically free!








After checking the date to make sure it wasn’t still April 1, many Canadians must have wondered if the Harper Government had completely taken leave of its senses when they learned last week we taxpayers are about to fork over $4.5 million so Canadian Forces officers can have British-style crowns and pips on their epaulettes again, and naval officers big loopy gold braids on their sleeves.




The boss has gone crazy! He’s giving away new uniforms! And at only $4.5 million, they’re practically free! | Alberta Diary
 

Cliffy

Standing Member
Nov 19, 2008
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damngrumpy

Executive Branch Member
Mar 16, 2005
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The review board is designed to be arms length so government can't be blamed
its how WCB works too so you don't get paide.
And YES WE DO OWE VETs and that is a fact of life Yes Vets and seniors and
family allowance for mothers and those programs some call entitlements are
just that. they were won over time like pensions and UI not to mention Medicare.
Government serving people you know priorities instead we praise the lowest
corporate tax rate. That in short means we praise companies for not paying their
share.
I for one get it they are about to be booted out of office by the vets, the seniors and
those with serious illnesses. God help Harpy if Trudeau actually ignites the desire
of young people to vote. Its a ways off yet but more and more I hear older people
saying time to change this guy and go in a different direction. Code for he's messing
with my pension and or benefits and many of those are the vets they claim to
serve so well..
 

Cliffy

Standing Member
Nov 19, 2008
44,850
193
63
Nakusp, BC
Very good cliffy. In a thread concerning Canadian Veterans, you post a pic of american soldiers.
So? What difference does it make what uniform they wear? Soldiers are soldiers and our government treats its soldiers worse than the Yanks do. If you want to go through the trouble of changing the picture but using the same words, then be my guest.
 

tay

Hall of Fame Member
May 20, 2012
11,548
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Canadian soldiers may be hiding health problems to protect pensions






Documents obtained through a CBC/Radio-Canada access to information request show that approximately 1,100 of the 6,200 soldiers discharged because of health conditions since 2009 left the military before serving the years required to collect a full pension.


Glen Kirkland, a former corporal and designated marksman who served in Afghanistan, said that many soldiers continue to suffer from physical and mental injury in silence for fear of losing their source of income, and that the consequences of the Canadian Forces’ pension policy could be dire.


"People are battling with a decision: if they speak up, then they lose their ability to keep food on the table," said Kirkland.


Kirkland himself sustained a serious brain injury and lost most of his hearing when a vehicle convoy he was travelling with in Afghanistan was ambushed and struck with a rocket in 2008, shortly before his deployment was due to end. Three of five soldiers travelling with Kirkland were killed.


He subsequently received notice that he would be discharged from the military. But after speaking out publicly and testifying before MPs to the Standing Committee on National Defence last year, Kirkland received a rare offer to stay in the Canadian Forces until he completed the ten year service term required to collect his pension.




more


Canadian soldiers may be hiding health problems to protect pensions - Canada - CBC News














 

Tecumsehsbones

Hall of Fame Member
Mar 18, 2013
60,781
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Washington DC
Screwing veterans is pretty easy. Much as everybody claims to honour them, few like them as a matter of principle. To liberals they're the unattractive dogs of war: baby-killers, thugs, murderers, &c. To the conservatives they're workers, to be screwed out of every penny possible. To politicians they're an easy way to cut spending.

And I don't know how it is up there, but down here, when the Iraq war started, not one single member of Congress had a child or grandchild serving. As John Kerry, then a senator, put it "It bothers me that I don't know anyone in the military, and I don't know anyone who knows anyone in the military."
 

tay

Hall of Fame Member
May 20, 2012
11,548
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Over $1.1 billion in unspent funds at Veterans Affairs since 2006: cash that critics say should have gone towards improved benefits and services.




The figure, which surfaced this week in the House of Commons, has led to renewed criticism of the Harper government, which is already smarting over its frayed relations with disgruntled former soldiers.


Data tabled in the House in response to a written question shows roughly one-third of the so-called lapsed funds were handed back between the 2011 and 2013 budget years when the government was engaged in a massive deficit-cutting drive.



The Conservatives often trumpet how much the budget for veterans care has gone up under their watch -- right now it's about $3.4 billion a year, up from $2.8 billion when the Tories took office.


What they don't say is that anywhere between 4.7 per cent and 8.2 per cent of the total allocation has been allowed to lapse because of the department's inability or reluctance to spend it all, said NDP veterans critic Peter Stoffer.


Veterans Affairs Minister Julian Fantino met Wednesday in Quebec City with select organizations representing ex-soldiers, but some of the loudest critics of the department's spending on benefits and services were not invited.


On Tuesday, Stoffer put a pointed question about the lapsed funds to Fantino, who answered by tallying up the government's total spending on the veteran's department -- roughly $30 billion since 2006.


"It means improved rehabilitation for Canadian veterans," Fantino said. "It means more counselling for veterans' families. It means more money for veterans' higher education and retraining. It means we care deeply about our veterans."


But that didn't answer the question of why so much of the budget has been allowed to lapse, said Stoffer, noting that the overall budget of the department is something the government is committed to under the law.


Read more: Over $1.1 billion in unspent funds at Veterans Affairs since 2006: documents | CTV News