2012 Pension Act Rates including Disability Pension, Exceptional Incapacity Allowance and Attendance Allowance, click on this sentence. – 2012 Lump Sum rates for the Canadian Forces Members and Veterans Re-establishment and Compensation Act (a.k.a. NVC), click on this sentence.
Archive for 2011
LINK TO CBC RADIO BROADCAST: DEC 19, 2011 (click here) Sean Bruyea says veterans should be given more opportunities to enter the public service. (The Canadian Press) Advocates say departments not hiring from priority list for injured soldiers CBC NEWS Posted: Dec 19, 2011 6:44 AM ET Advocates for Canadian veterans say a priority list…
The responsibility for designating a Special Duty Area (SDA) and a Special Duty Order (SDO) lies with the Minister of National Defence. The process also involves advising the Minister of Veterans Affairs due primarily to the fact that service in either is “integral to the provision of benefits” [1] SDA’s and SDO’s require two basic…
Our democratic building can withstand removing the bureaucratic and political façade which fails to cultivate trust through collaboration, coordination and cooperation. Photograph by Jake Wright, The Hill Times Power and Parliament: Should we care that we have lost substantial faith and much trust in Ottawa and its institutions, asks government accountability advocate Sean Bruyea. By…
Alienation and abandonment by the Canadian government of its Canadian Forces veterans has long scarred our noble warriors and their families in a much more profound manner than what’s motivating the current worldwide protests. Into war: Canadian soldiers pictured in Afghanistan. Sean Bruyea says 600,000 CF veterans have been denied comprehensive programs including education in…
The reality is that the senior mandarins are the ultimate arbiters of power in Ottawa, not the politicians. And the oft-criticized hyper-centralized culture is centered not in the PMO but in Treasury Board and the PCO. By Sean Bruyea The Hill Times: Published September 19, 2011 OTTAWA—We should be forgiven if we believe that ministers,…
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…
There is much talk of unity which all seems to hinge upon one supreme leader. There are many options as to how a unified organization can be structured but I would suggest that the search for a supreme leader places too much hope and responsibility in one person’s hands. Just as the new organization would represent many voices, the leadership should…
Veterans Affairs is trying to slip under the summer radar a sleight-of-hand approval for regulations on injured soldiers’ benefits. We should not be surprised. By Sean Bruyea The Hill Times: Published July 18, 2011 OTTAWA—Just as the sun will rise and we all will one day die, Veterans Affair Canada can always be counted upon…
Kenneth Young is an articulate and persistent advocate for the rights of disabled veterans and their families. Today, Kenneth drafted profound commentary on the current lack of debate at the public and national level as to how veterans and their families are being (mis)treated (see below). I am honoured that a single line of my article posted…
By Sean Bruyea Exclusive to VeteranVoice.info and VeteransofCanada.ca-Published July 15, 2011. Far too many veterans shoot the messenger instead of aiming their sights on government. This is worsened by the impulsiveness which the internet encourages in instantaneous messaging. Veterans have much to contribute to determining their own destiny. The question is how to focus that…
This weekend (July 8,9 & 10, 2011) the Canadian Veterans National Rendezvous will take place in Niagara Falls. Michael Blais, the founder of the Canadian Veterans Advocacy is the main organizer of the 2011 Rendezvous. He was also the organizer of the first national day of protest in support of veterans held on November 6,…
By SEAN BRUYEA-THE GLOBE AND MAIL-Last updated Wednesday, Jun. 08, 2011 3:51PM EDT Sean Bruyea (REUTERS) For the first time in decades, a federal election witnessed all parties promising assistance for our serving and retired Canadian Forces personnel. Debate on the issue quickly died, but the problems confronting our veterans remain painfully alive. Those problems…
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 treatment of injured…
The Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) released their report card this week on the state of Freedom of Expression in Canada. It is a firmly substantiated, perceptive and wisely written report. It also leaves Canada with some scathingly low grades in many areas of freedom of expression. All Canadians need to be concerned. Why?…
(The following article (at the link below) is excerpted from the 2011 report compiled and released by the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression “REPORT CARD” on the state of freedom of expression in Canada. This article articulates the reasoning for the government of Canada’s reprehensible grade in how it (mis)treats and deters whistleblowers from providing…
With a majority Government, CJFE says it’s time for Prime Minister Harper to keep his promises to reform the Access to Information system Canadian Journalists for Free Expression-CNW-May 9, 2011. TORONTO, May 9 /CNW/ – For the second year in a row, the Harper government has received a failing grade from Canadian Journalists for Free Expression…
After a rather long and much needed break, I have returned to update the website. This will be a daunting task as there have been hundreds of articles concerning veterans, the privacy scandal and the sad lack of change in government’s willingness to improve conditions for not just injured soldiers, veterans and their families, but…
By Sean Bruyea-THE HILL TIMES-April 11, 2011 OTTAWA—Just prior to the election campaign kick-off, Veterans Affairs Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn showed just how out of sync he and some in the department are with veterans and Canadians, not to mention Canadian law and Treasury Board policies. He recently made a number of public comments in Alexandria,…
By David Hutton-THE HILL TIMES-March 21, 2011. Photograph by Jessica Bruno, The Hill Times In the spotlight: Former public sector integrity commissioner Christiane Ouimet, pictured at the House Public Accounts Committee on March 10 on the Hill. Former integrity commissioner Christiane Ouimet’s testimony to the House Public Accounts Committee seemed to be all about her:…
By Ian Bron, Allan Cutler-THE HILL TIMES-March 21, 2011. When Christiane Ouimet was appointed as the first integrity commissioner in 2007 there was no reason to think anything but the best: her long service in the bureaucracy seemed free of blemishes, and she had experience in investigations and training in law When Christiane Ouimet was…
By Sean Bruyea-THE HILL TIMES-March 21, 2011. In a most bizarre déjà vu, history repeated itself on March 11 when the House passed Bill C-55. The bill was sold as the fix-for-all that ails veterans’ legislation originally passed in 2005, legislation which replaced lifelong payments for pain and suffering for injured soldiers with a one-time…
By Jessica Bruno-THE HILL TIMES-March 21, 2011. The gag order on former public sector integrity commissioner Christiane Ouimet’s $500,000 exit deal with the government is the most concerning part of the arrangement, says prominent lawyer Paul Champ. “If this was a private sector settlement then that would make sense, but we’re dealing with a significant…
By Jessica Bruno-THE HILL TIMES-March 14, 2011. Former disgraced public sector integrity commissioner Christiane Ouimet, who defiantly refuted Auditor General Sheila Fraser’s scathing report last week of her office and her conduct on Parliament Hill, may get the chance to tell her side of the story again when she’s called before the House Public Accounts…
By Jessica Bruno-THE HILL TIMES-January 17, 2011. Photograph by Jake Wright, The Hill Times Tricks of the trade: Canada’s Privacy Commissioner Stoddart, ‘You have to reassure employees on two things: of the integrity of the mandate about having a healthy working environment, and that’s respectful of its employees.’ Canada’s Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart, who was…