In May 2021, I appeared before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs. I spoke, among other things, about the broken system at Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC), a system that has been plagued by problems. The consequence of these problems is that Canada has repeatedly failed its duty and commitment to care for Veterans and…
Archive for the ‘Military and Veteran Culture’ Category
The revolving door at Veterans Affairs is making Canada’s relationship with veterans even worse Sean Bruyea · for CBC News · Posted: Mar 13, 2019 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: March 13 Veterans and their families need to tell the story of how they have been repeatedly stigmatized, marginalized, betrayed, and abandoned by the government system they were…
Canadian Forces veteran speaks out against the ‘pernicious disease’ of military secrecy Sean Bruyea · for CBC News · Posted: Dec 18, 2018 4:35 PM CT | Last Updated: December 18, 2018 Veteran’s advocate Sean Bruyea says Cpl. Nolan Caribou’s death by suicide should have been preventable. (Ashley Burke/CBC News) The Canadian military should have prevented Cpl. Nolan Caribou’s suicide….
Special to Toronto Sun Published:November 10, 2018 Updated:November 10, 2018 12:00 PM EST Numerous poppies have been left at the National War Memorial in this file photo. (Wayne Cuddington/ Ottawa Citizen) By Sean Bruyea and Robert Smol, Special to Postmedia Network All week long, Canadians have been putting a loonie or two in the poppy donation…
by Sean Bruyea OCT. 22, 2018 THE HILL TIMES The upcoming Veterans Stakeholder Summit on Oct. 29 is the summit of bureaucratic insensitivity when it comes to accessibility. Our disabled veterans and their families deserve more. More voice, more consequential input, and more dignified treatment. Mounties, pictured April 9, 2017, at the Canadian National Vimy…
April 18, 2018 (Volume 25-01) By Sean Bruyea & Robert Smol-ESPRIT DE CORPS MAGAZINE Everything Veterans Wanted to Know About the Liberals’ Pension for Life Plan … And Should Not Be Afraid to Ask Changes to the Pension Act resulting from the New Veterans Charter led to a demand for a new benefits plan…
Opinion: The Liberals promised the first meaningful reintegration program for veterans in decades. Then, the bureaucrats got involved by Sean Bruyea Apr 5, 2018 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, centre, greets veterans while visiting the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 128 in Sydney, N.S. on Thursday, November 10, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese Sean Bruyea is a frequent commentator and…
The Hill Times-February 12, 2018 By SEAN BRUYEA The more Canadians and veterans learn of the 2019 Liberal programs, the more the confusion and anger grow. How do we survive the dizzying daze induced by trying to understand veterans’ benefits? Veterans Affairs Minister Seamus O’Regan, pictured recently in Ottawa. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade…
CBC News Jan 02, 2018 5:00 AM ET by Sean Bruyea Not only does the pension option not pay any additional amounts for family members, the average monthly payment is expected to be around $200. Compare that to the pre-2006 pension that pays up to $2733 monthly, with an average of $680. (Graham Hughes/Canadian Press)…
The Globe and Mail December 17, 2017 by Sean Bruyea, vice-president of Canadians for Accountability and author, is a retired Air Force intelligence officer It is difficult to conceive of a more disheartening outcome for veterans, or greater victory for the federal government. The recent B.C. Court of Appeal ruling strikes down, in its entirety,…
The Hill Times- DEC. 11, 2017 By SEAN BRUYEA The ruling means bureaucrats can continue to write laws which Parliament is manipulated into passing that create an increasingly complex class and caste system of veterans forced to negotiate a labyrinth of bureaucratic injustices. Yes, it’s that bleak. …
Patronizing veterans is the salient problem, not the solution. Sadly, new Veterans Affairs Minister Seamus O’Regan appears ready to reinforce, not resolve, the VAC cultural mess. Veterans Affairs Minister Seamus O’Regan, pictured Aug. 28, 2017, at Rideau Hall in Ottawa shortly before he was sworn into cabinet. If the first public comments of newly appointed Veterans…
‘He was a gifted broadcaster and is therefore a gifted communicator, and that’s an asset for this government,’ says former PMO staffer Scott Reid. Liberal MP Seamus O’Regan at the ceremony on Aug. 28 in which he was sworn in as Veterans Affairs Minister. Veterans advocates hopes he does more for former military personnel than…
If O’Reagan and the Trudeau government truly wish ‘real change’ as they promised, then cultural change at Veterans Affairs must be their focus. Seamus O’Regan outside Rideau Hall on Aug. 28 just before getting sworn in as Veterans Affairs minister. Sean Bruyea says if O’Regan wants to have a positive impact, he must change the…
For veterans fighting for their compensation, it’s hard to watch the government hand over millions By Sean Bruyea, for CBC News Posted: Jul 15, 2017 5:00 AM ET Last Updated: Jul 15, 2017 5:00 AM ET Veterans’ reactions are being unfairly dismissed as little more than conservative barking. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press) About The Author Sean Bruyea Sean Bruyea,…
Veterans Affairs Canada bombards media to sell inadequate programs with paltry incremental changes. Meanwhile, veterans and their families continue to suffer. Veterans will be unlikely to question Walt Natynczyk’s inaction and excuses for not moving on policy issues universally agreed-upon more than a decade before, writes Sean Bruyea. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright By SEAN…
Ultimately, politicians and the public must force change. The removal of incompetent and inept leaders perpetuating a culture of persecution, impunity and intransigence is a start. Then, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s promised openness and transparency can begin. Without transparency and openness, the military and Canada will fail to keep faith with those who have got…
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…