This isn’t a game. Pain and suffering payments are often the only thing left for the military to know that their sacrifices meant something to Canada and to Canadians. To continue deducting their value also ‘extinguishes’ the value of military sacrifice.
By Sean Bruyea -THE HILL TIMES
Published: Monday, 05/07/2012 12:00 am EDT
OTTAWA—A…
Medically discharged veterans Ron Cundell (left) and Dennis Manuge (centre) listen as Veterans Ombudsman Col. (ret.) Patrick B. Stogran (right) speaks at a press conference in Ottawa on Tuesday Aug 17, 2010.
Sean Kilpatrick/THE CANADIAN PRESS
Michael Tutton
Halifax— The Canadian Press
Published Tuesday, May. 01, 2012 5:31PM EDT
Last updated Monday, May. 07, 2012 4:22PM…
Retired Canadian Forces intelligence officer, shown during an Ottawa conference on Oct. 7, 2010, warns against aggressive budget cuts at Veterans Affairs.
Chris Wattie/Reuters
Comment
By SEAN BRUYEA
Special to Globe and Mail Update
Published Wednesday, Mar. 07, 2012 7:36AM EST
Last updated Wednesday, Mar. 07, 2012 7:45AM EST
Prime Minister Stephen Harper calls enlisting in the military the …
Just when Ottawa bureaucrats and politicians thought they would have a quiet week following unsuccessful attempts to placate stakeholders in an Ottawa conference room this week (click here for article), all of Hades breaks loose. One conscientious Canadian reader was supportive of my latest piece (click here) . If only Ottawa was as supportive of…
by Murray Brewster- THE CANADIAN PRESS-2012/02/12
OTTAWA – A prominent, long-standing member of the country’s Veterans Review and Appeal Board had his privacy violated twice in an alleged smear campaign meant to discredit him using his private medical information as ammunition, The Canadian Press has learned.
The behind-the-scenes fight involving Harold Leduc…
by Perry Gray-THE HILL TIMES-Feb. 13, 2012
Re: “Veterans Board responds to Bruyea,” (The Hill Times, Jan. 30, p. 8, by John Larlee, chairman of the Veterans Review and Appeal Board). As an applicant and veteran, I question the veracity of Mr. Larlee’s letter. There are several different ways that a veteran may…
Disabled veterans will never feel justice has been truly served under the current composition of the VRAB, nor will justice be served until each tribunal possesses someone with relevant military experience and the ability to effectively communicate/provide advice based on his/her experience of the rigors of war/peace.
By Michael Blais-The Hill…
By Jessuca Bruno-THE HILL TIMES-Published August 22, 2011
Today’s vets more educated, know their rights, and need more flexible service than in past generations.
Veterans Affairs needs to start innovating if it’s going to serve the wave of veterans coming home from Afghanistan with a host of needs unique to their generation, says veterans advocate Michel…
An unnecessary bruise upon the CF’s reputation is the continued practice of deducting pain and suffering payments from injured veterans’ reduced income under long-term disability.
By Sean Bruyea-THE HILL TIMES (Defence Policy Issue)-May 30, 2011.
It is often said that a nation is judged on how it treats its most vulnerable. Canada’s…
By Sean Bruyea- THE OTTAWA CITIZEN-November 06, 2010, p. B.7
Serving and retired soldiers know all too well what a wonderful country we have. We know this more than most because we promised to die unquestioningly for Canada and Canadians.
Those of us Canadian Forces veterans who survived the missions to the Persian Gulf,…
By Tim Naumetz-THE HILL TIMES-October 18, 2010
Quebec Liberal Senator Romeo Dallaire says injured Canadian war veterans distrust the Veterans Affairs Department to the point some would rather continue on in the Army as disabled personnel rather than risk an uncertain future dealing with the department’s now-famous bureaucracy.
Sen. Dallaire, perhaps Canada’s best-known…
Only a non-partisan public inquiry will fix this profoundly flawed department. A judicial royal commission would guide Canada to re-establish its commitment to injured military, veterans, and their families.
By SEAN BRUYEA |
Published: Monday, 10/18/2010 12:00 am EDT
Veterans and all Canadians are grappling with revelations that federal bureaucrats have repeatedly and…
By Jeff Rose-Martland-THE HILL TIMES-October 18 2010
Amidst revelations of privacy breaches in Veterans Affairs, there is one question no one in government is asking: why?
We know that several veterans had their medical details spread around VA to people without legitimate need to know. We know that the targets of these breeches—Sean Bruyea, Pat…
By Michael L. Blais-THE HILL TIMES-October 11, 2010
NIAGARA FALLS, ONT.—The past two weeks have been a whirlwind of activity on the veterans’ front. Nationally, veterans continue to rally in defence of Veterans Ombudsman Pat Stogran, and the serious concerns he has identified.
Revelations pertaining to repeated VAC violations of retired captain Sean…
By Sean Bruyea, Ottawa Citizen Special-September 25, 2010 10:28 AM
This past week, Canadians learned that federal bureaucrats at Veterans Affairs Canada freely offered up extensive amounts of my confidential medical and financial information to federal cabinet ministers without my permission. And at least 850 federal employees, political staffers and politicians exchanged and/or accessed the most intimate…
‘A huge part of the population that elected the Conservatives were veterans and soldiers hoping for a little bit more respect for the sacrifice that they endure,’ says Sean Bruyea
By HARRIS MACLEOD-THE HILL TIMES- August 30, 2010
The Conservatives have made support for the troops an integral part of their party brand, but when the first ever veterans’ ombudsman recently blasted the government for denying veterans adequate benefits it exposed a sense of betrayal felt by soldiers and their families who thought they would be better off with Harper, said a Canadian Forces veteran and longtime advocate for disabled soldiers.
http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=4520027&Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=40&Ses=3
For complete testimony, questions and answers, please click here.
Mr. Sean Bruyea (Retired Captain (Air Force), Advocate and Journalist, As an Individual):
Thank you, Chair. Good morning, Chair, ladies and gentlemen.
Thank you for inviting me back to testify. More importantly, thank you for continuing your extensive study on the new Veterans Charter and the well-being of disabled…
By Dave Pugliese-THE OTTAWA CITIZEN-David Pugliese’s Defence Watch-April 18 2010
Filed under: Veterans Affairs, Sean Bruyea
Editor’s note: Veteran’s advocate Sean Bruyea has written a report titled “Honouring Sacrifice with More than Words: A New Direction for Veterans and Veterans Affairs Canada Through Listening Directly to Veterans, Their Families and Frontline Employees.” It has been presented to…
For complete testimony, questions and answers, please click here
Mr. Sean Bruyea (Retired Captain (Air Force), Advocate and Journalist, As an Individual):
Ladies and gentlemen of the committee, thank you very much for inviting me and my wife here today to testify on the new Veterans Charter.
In many ways, Canada’s veterans were betrayed by the MPs who…
by Juliet O’Neill-THE OTTAWA CITIZEN- Jan 29, 2010. pg. A.6
Canadians should be wary of a grim trend in the United States where all military suicides outnumber combat deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan, a top mental health expert said Thursday.
Zul Merali told a forum on Parliament Hill that military suicides in Canada should be tracked and…
THE CANADIAN PRESS Jan 28, 2010 16:18:00 PM
OTTAWA – The country’s recently revised system of veterans benefits needs an overhaul, Canada’s walking wounded have told Liberal MPs.
Former soldiers and police officers, speaking Thursday at a forum sponsored by the Opposition on Parliament Hill, outlined their grievances over the 2006 Veterans Charter.
Sean Bruyea, a former military…
CTV.ca News Staff
Date: Thu. Jan. 21 2010 8:41 PM ET
A group of disabled Canadian war veterans will head to the Supreme Court of Canada today to battle the very country they once served, in an effort to recoup payments they say were unfairly clawed back.
The soldiers are trying to recoup millions of dollars they say…
By Janice Tibbetts-REGINA LEADER POST-January 21, 2010. pg. A.8
Dennis Manuge, a former soldier who served in Bosnia before he was medically released from the military, gets his day in the Supreme Court of Canada today to fight a federal policy of clawing back disability payments to thousands of injured veterans.
“We are fighting our toughest battle…
By CYNTHIA MÜNSTER-The Hill Times- Published January 18, 2010
More Canadian soldiers than ever are publicly talking about the effects of PTSD and it’s unclear how many more will return home from Afghanistan with the stress disorder, but Canadian Forces Surgeon General, Commodore Hans Jung, who was appointed to his post in July, says despite some…
By CYNTHIA MÜNSTER-The Hill Times- Published January 18, 2010
More Canadian soldiers than ever are publicly talking about the effects of PTSD and it’s unclear how many more will return home from Afghanistan with the stress disorder, but Canadian Forces Surgeon General, Commodore Hans Jung, who was appointed to his post in July, says despite some…
By Michael MacDonald-GLOBE & MAIL-March 3, 2009. pA8B.
HALIFAX — Defence Minister Peter MacKay rolled out a $21-million plan yesterday for a new network of military support centres, responding to reports that Canada is doing a poor job caring for sick and injured members of the Armed Forces, veterans and their families.
The eight centres,…
Michael MacDonald-LE DROIT- Publié le 02 mars 2009 à 11h44 | Mis à jour le 02 mars 2009 à 11h46
La Presse Canadienne
Halifax
Le gouvernement canadien a annoncé, lundi, la mise sur pied, au coût de 21 millions $, d’un réseau de huit centres de soutien qui auront pour mandat d’offrir des soins aux militaires canadiens, malades…
by Sharon Adams-LEGION MAGAZINE-March 1, 2009
Although it notes progress over the past six years in addressing operational stress injuries (OSIs) in the Canadian Forces, a December report from the interim ombudsman for the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces says some military personnel and their families are still not getting the service they…
CTV.ca News Staff
Date: Wed. Aug. 13 2008 9:11 AM ET
Inconsistent care across the country means wounded Canadian soldiers returning from overseas may not be getting the most effective care, according to a senate report.
The senate committee on national security and defence finds that care for soldiers on the ground at Kandahar Air Field and at…
For c0mplete testimony, questions and answers, please click here
Captain (retired) Sean Bruyea, as an individual:
I thank the committee for taking the time to study the issue of the unfair deductions from soldiers’ SISIP long-term disability income. I served 14 years in the Canadian Forces as an intelligence officer. I have with me Mr. Manuge, the plaintiff…
By Senator (General) Roméo A. Dallaire -THE HILL TIMES-March 24, 2008
Re: “Homecoming: a new direction to welcome our soldiers back into Canadian society,” (The Hill Times, March 10, by Sean Bruyea).
Mr. Bruyea’s column was nothing less than an outstanding effort to raise the profile of a very subtle yet essential deficiency in our care for…
We invest millions of dollars and decades into a complex process to ‘transform’ the civilian into a soldier. So why is there so little to help the soldier retransform back into a civilian?
By Sean Bruyea-THE HILL TIMES-March 10, 2008
Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan have been engaged in some of the most intensive combat since Korea. Those Canadians who have never worn a uniform see the military with a vacillating proportion of awe, fascination and incomprehension.
But the soldiers were
Of the 4,260 soldiers affected by what the National Defence ombudsman has called ‘profoundly’ and ‘fundamentally unfair’ deductions, more than 1,500 are currently so disabled as to be unemployable.
By Sean Bruyea-THE HILL TIMES-February 25, 2008
No doubt thousands of cards and good wishes were sent to soldiers on the frontlines in Afghanistan for Valentine’s Day…
by Sean Bruyea and Robert Smol-THE HILL TIMES-January 21, 2008
Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) has a lot on its plate: an unexpectedly large number of wounded soldiers returning from Afghanistan, 2,000 or more World War 2 veterans passing away each month, the appointment of the first-ever ombudsman and introducing the single largest change in veterans benefits in 60 years. While the department paints a rosy picture of effectiveness and client satisfaction, many observers and veterans point to a department in crisis, with top-heavy over centralization, insensitivity to clients and overworked frontline staff.
The Canadian Forces are falling short in meeting the mental health needs of soldiers returning from Afghanistan, the auditor general said in a report released Tuesday.
By CanWest News Service-THE OTTAWA CITIZEN-October 30, 2007
OTTAWA — The Canadian Forces are falling short in meeting the mental health needs of soldiers returning from Afghanistan because the demand for…