The government continues to effectively and illegally deduct pain and suffering payments from their LTD income. DND Photo . By SEAN BRUYEA . Published: Monday, 07/02/2012 12:00 am EDT . OTTAWA—Disabled Canadian Forces veterans and their families breathed a collective sigh of relief on May 29 when Defence Minister Peter MacKay announced the government would…
Archive for 2012
Veterans’ advocate Sean Bruyea called the payments “to senior managers at Veterans Affairs Canada way out of whack with reality.” Photograph by: CHRIS WATTIE, REUTERS By David Pugliese, The Ottawa Citizen May 25, 2012 6:59 PM OTTAWA — The senior managers at Veterans Affairs Canada received almost $700,000 in bonuses and extra pay last year…
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 Federal…
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…
The wider federal public service has grown by 34 per cent in the last 10 years, Veterans Affairs Canada staff has grown by a mere 12 per cent. The elimination of 500 positions alone will bring VAC to below its 2001 staffing levels. Veterans Affairs Canada files: Why is Veterans Affairs Minister Steven Blaney eagerly…
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…
Veterans say the Veterans Review and Appeal Board takes a far too legal interpretation of its responsibilities and that the hearings are intimidating and dehumanizing. Photograph by Jake Wright, The Hill Times Veterans files: Veterans Affairs Minister Steven Blaney, pictured with Tory MP Candice Hoeppner. By Ian Bron and Allan Cutler Published: Monday, 02/27/2012 12:00…
By: Murray Brewster, The Canadian Press Winnipeg Free Press Online Posted: 02/16/2012 4:21 PM OTTAWA – Veterans Affairs Canada and the independent board that reviews claims of ex-soldiers grappled with allegations of leaked personal information long before a privacy scandal blew up in public. A series of leaked documents show the department and the agency…
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 has been so…
by Byron Christopher-THE HILL TIMES-February 13, 2012 Re: “Just one more reason for a commission of inquiry into veterans’ issues,” (The Hill Times, Jan. 23, p. 10, by Sean Bruyea). Hats off to Sean Bruyea for his thoughtful article on how vets are being screwed over by the Canadian government. It’s an odd way for…
by Roseanne Dornan-THE HILL TIMES-February 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). My husband Steven Dornan, a veteran of both Bosnia and Afghanistan, was released medically from a very prestigious military career after serving 27 years….
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 appeal decisions…
By Don Leonardo-THE HILL TIMES-February, 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). I find Mr. Larlee’s letter troubling for a number of reasons. He completely sidestepped the statistical evidence in Sean Bruyea’s article about the Veterans…
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 Times- February 13, 2012…
Veterans need to shed their well-indoctrinated sense of loyalty and sacrifice to a government system that has neither shown them loyalty at the senior levels nor sacrifice. Photograph by Jake Wright, The Hill Times Veterans files: Veterans Affairs Canada, now led by Veterans Affairs Minister Steven Blaney, pictured on Parliament Hill in this file photo,…
by John Larlee (VRAB CHAIR)-THE HILL TIMES-January 30, 2012. Re: “Just one more reason for a commission of inquiry into veterans’ issues,” (The Hill Times, Jan. 23, p. 10, by Sean Bruyea. In his column, Mr. Bruyea presents his opinions about the Veterans Review and Appeal Board (VRAB) and the administrative law process. I would…
For Canada’s injured military, veterans and their families, there are few government agencies so singularly reviled as the Veterans Review and Appeal Board. Photograph courtesy of Sgt. Lance Wade, DND, Combat Camera Maj.-Gen. Jonathan places poppies on every plaque on the Memorial of the Fallen at Kandahar Airfield at the last Remembrance Day ceremony in…