It’s time to hold public House National Defence Committee hearings into veterans issues. By SEAN BRUYEA-The Hill Times-Published November 24, 2008 OTTAWA—With another Remembrance Day behind us, now is the time for Parliament to pay more than lip service to truly honour those who have sacrificed so much so that Parliament can begin another session….
Archive for 2008
Sean Bruyea. Edmonton Journal. Edmonton, Alta.: Nov 15, 2008. pg. A.19
Such reflex explanations of sacrifice paint a dim view of the intellectual capacities of our brave men and women who have fought in Canada’s name.
Most Canadians look upon military heroism with a combination of fascination and horror. As such, most of us understandably shy away from the question as to why Canadian men and women are willing to sacrifice their lives.
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…
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,…
by Sean Bruyea-ESPRIT DE CORPS-May 2008-p. 12
Whether or not we agree with the Afghan mission, Canadians are united in standing behind the returning injured soldiers and their families. While the CF has retained many injured soldiers and even provided retraining into other trades, once the uniform comes off, many disabled soldiers have to fight another war, this time with Canadian bureaucrats.
Many disabled soldiers suspect their sacrifices are less important than sacrificing those dollars necessary to pay for the human cost of war. By SEAN BRUYEA-The Hill Times-Published April 7, 2008 Whether or not we agree or disagree with the Afghan mission, Canadians are united in standing behind the returning injured soldiers and their families who…
THE HILL TIMES-March 31, 2008 Re: “Homecoming: a new direction to welcome our soldiers back into Canadian society,” (The Hill Times, March 10, by Sean Bruyea). I merely wish to congratulate The Hill Times and your editor for the kind of effort your newsweekly is making to bring the many issues of importance to veterans;…
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…
By Iain Harrison-THE (SCOTLAND) SUNDAY POST-March 23, 2008 For article, click here for PDF File
THE TELEGRAM (ST. JOHN’S)/THE CANADIAN PRESS-March 11th, 2008 Three years after Chicoutimi fire, crew members health worsening. Three-and-a-half years after a fatal submarine fire, surviving crew members of HMCS Chicoutimi are falling ill with debilitating conditions – severe enough to force some of them out of the navy. And researchers, who only recently analyzed the…
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
By Sean Bruyea – HALIFAX CHRONICLE HERALD-Published: 2008-03-06 No doubt thousands of cards and good wishes were sent to soldiers on the frontlines in Afghanistan for Valentine’s Day. Back home, a different expression of affection is being shown more than 4,200 injured soldiers whom the bureaucrats and policy makers would rather Canada forgot. Last month…
By Jean Leclerc-THE HILL TIMES-March 3, 2008 Re: “Disposable soldiers: Canada must renew broken trust with its forgotten 4,260 soldiers,” (The Hill Times, Feb. 25, p. 16, by Sean Bruyea.) I have read your column concerning the unfair deductions from SISIP on former service members. As one of those former members affected by this inequity…
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…
by Sean Bruyea-THE NATIONAL POST- Feb 14, 2008. pg. A.18
Since Tuesday, a Halifax courtroom has been hearing a request to certify a class-action lawsuit that would force the federal government to stop deducting pain-and-suffering payments from disabled soldiers’ long-term disability plans. The judge has read an affidavit from Andre Bouchard, the president of the Service Income Security Insurance Plan (SISIP), the disability plan mandatory for all Canadian forces personnel. Mr. Bouchard, who in fact served in the military for almost 30 years, claims that should the SISIP plan stop deducting pain and suffering payments, the result would be “exorbitant premiums which would impose significant hardship on the members of the Canadian Forces.”
By Minister of Veterans Affairs Greg Thompson-THE HILL TIMES-February 11, 2008 It is with great regret that I must write for the second time in two weeks to correct the same error in The Hill Times. But, once again, your Feb. 4 edition contains a column, “Veterans Affairs Minister Thompson should be building trust and…
If Veterans Affairs is being operated so well, why was there a need to create a veterans ombudsman office to address all the problems which don´t exist?
By Sean Bruyea-THE HILL TIMES-Published February 4, 2008
That means that the department spends more than 30 cents to administer every dollar which is almost 15 times the 2.1 cent cost incurred by OHIP in managing each of Ontario´s healthcare dollars.
By Minister of Veterans Affairs Greg Thompson-THE HILL TIMES-January 28, 2008 Re: “Veterans Affairs Canada: well-oiled machine or department in crisis?” (The Hill Times, Jan. 21, p. 34.) Some people just can’t take yes for an answer. Sean Bruyea and Robert Smol are two such people. In their doomsday article last week about Veterans Affairs…
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.