NDP introduces bill to scrap oft-maligned veterans review and appeal board
OTTAWA – New Democrats have introduced a private member’s bill to scrap an oft-maligned board where ex-soldiers can appeal the denial of benefits by the federal government. MP Peter Stoffer, the...
View ArticleVeterans shelve medals in protest on Remembrance Day
OTTAWA – Tom Hoppe earned the Medal of Bravery and the affectionate nickname “Dances With Bullets” for his heroic August 1994 sprint into sniper fire to rescue three children pinned down in the civil...
View ArticleVeterans board given mild rebuke by Commons committee
OTTAWA – A House of Commons committee has issued a mild rebuke of a controversial agency that hears the benefits complaints of ex-soldiers. The all-party veterans committee told the Veterans Review and...
View ArticleOn-site audit of veterans facility sparked by neglect complaints complete
TORONTO – Federal government auditors have completed an on-site inspection of Canada’s largest veterans facility prompted by complaints about substandard treatment and neglect of its most frail...
View ArticleVets kept in the dark over medical records and claim applications: ombudsman
OTTAWA – The veterans ombudsman says ex-soldiers and members of the RCMP should no longer be at the mercy of government institutions when it comes to submitting their disability applications. Guy...
View ArticleThe quiet cuts
Further to this, CBC reported last week that the government will close eight Veterans Affairs offices. Christie Blatchford has reported that military reserve budgets are being slashed. The Canadian...
View ArticleVeteran Affairs eliminates nearly 300 jobs in deficit-reduction fight
OTTAWA – Nearly 300 positions at Veterans Affairs Canada are being eliminated as a result of measures in the 2012 federal budget. The Public Service Alliance of Canada, the union representing the...
View ArticleVeterans Charter leaves some vets in poverty once they retire: report
OTTAWA – The federal government must be prodded to continue making improvements to its so-called veterans charter to ensure vulnerable former soldiers aren’t left living in poverty, Canada’s veterans...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Good news, bad news
The premiers of B.C. and Alberta finally agreed on a pipeline deal (Jonathan Hayward/CP) Good News A very quiet revolution Another week, another sign that something historic is unfolding in Iran. After...
View ArticleWounded ex-soldiers to be first in line for federal government jobs
OTTAWA – The Harper government has tabled legislation to ensure soldiers released from the military for medical reasons get priority for other federal jobs. It’s a move one national union says is meant...
View ArticlePlan to give injured vets priority for federal jobs faces bottleneck: ombudsman
OTTAWA – The Harper government’s plan to bump injured ex-soldiers to the head of the federal job line could backfire and create a bottleneck for the very people it’s trying to help, says the veterans...
View ArticleJulian Fantino confirms eight veterans’ centres will close: ‘The decision has...
OTTAWA – Veterans Affairs Minister Julian Fantino appeared to add insult to injury late Tuesday in firmly rejecting the pleas of ex-soldiers to halt the impending closure of eight of the department’s...
View ArticleJulian Fantino would prefer that you refrain from pointing at him
The dispute—between veterans, one of the major public sector unions and the federal government—over the planned closure of several Veterans Affairs offices and the future delivery of services to...
View ArticleThe QP Clip: Mulcair and Fantino spar on service cuts
Tom Mulcair and Julian Fantino disagree about some basic facts. Today, the NDP Leader stood in the House of Commons and, facing the Conservative side, informed his colleagues that a road trip from...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Tories had to act on military suicides
Sean Kilpatrick/CP “There’s no excuse for a backlog of 75.” —David Desjardins, a former military police officer who served in Afghanistan Ottawa Conservatives are convinced they are getting it right on...
View ArticleClik here to view.
This week in QP: Fantino and veterans, Trudeau and the Senate
House of Commons The House of Commons returned from a six-week winter break. Here’s how the first days back unfolded. MONDAY When the newest MPs took their seats TUESDAY Goodale wonders about choked...
View ArticleClik here to view.
QP Live: The government lost a veteran’s vote
House of Commons Julian Fantino spent much of last week fending off consistent calls for his sacking. He countered opposition claims that the government is letting down veterans. He was happy for the...
View ArticleDisabled RCMP and military vets are in court
HALIFAX – A group of disabled RCMP veterans are anxiously awaiting a decision on a multimillion-dollar class-action settlement, the lead plaintiff said Friday as a Federal Court judge reserved his...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Half of badly wounded soldiers not getting disability cheque
Murray Brewster/CP OTTAWA — A new report by Canada’s veterans watchdog says nearly half of the country’s most severely disabled ex-soldiers are not receiving a government allowance intended to...
View ArticleTories seek to mend fences with some, but not all, veterans groups
OTTAWA – Veterans Affairs is embarking Wednesday on an effort to rebuild bridges with groups that represent disgruntled ex-soldiers, but it is excluding some organizations that have threatened to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Should Julian Fantino be fired? No? How ’bout now?
For a brief moment, Julian Fantino seemed to eschew a script. Accused by the NDP leader of cowardly fleeing the country, the veterans affairs minister seemed to want to make something of his chance to...
View ArticleNDP, Liberals demand Fantino resign from Veterans Affairs portfolio
OTTAWA – Julian Fantino was greeted Monday in the House of Commons by opposition demands that he step down — but how much of a political liability the veterans affairs minister may be for the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The morass of the Veterans Affairs controversy
“The fact of the matter,” Julian Fantino explained, “is that the opposition has constantly voted against those measures.” With Fantino and his department now the subject of various criticisms and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
What’s going on at Veterans Affairs?
When I was preparing to write this piece, I emailed a few questions to the office of Conservative MP Laurie Hawn, a member of the Veterans Affairs committee. Does he, as a member of the veterans...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Harper dumps Julian Fantino from Veterans Affairs
(The Canadian Press) OTTAWA — The Prime Minister’s Office is confirming Julian Fantino has been shuffled out of his position as veterans affairs minister after less than 18 turbulent months. In a quiet...
View ArticleClik here to view.
For the record: Julian Fantino on his work at Veteran Affairs
(The Canadian Press) Julian Fantino has been replaced at Veterans Affairs by MP Erin O’Toole, the Prime Minister’s Office has confirmed. Fantino, who spent 18 months in the portfolio, will remain in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Man (not quite) overboard! The PMO half-shuffles Fantino
Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press I feel oddly proprietary about the news that Julian Fantino will no longer be Canada’s minister of Veterans Affairs. In a rare guest visit to the CBC’s At Issue panel 340...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Newsmaker of the day: Who is Erin O’Toole?
Conservative MP Erin O’Toole. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press) You know a rising star in federal politics when you see one in all the usual places: the House of Commons, where a newbie with a fresh...
View ArticleFeds spend $700,000 in court fighting veterans class-action lawsuit
OTTAWA – The federal government has so far spent nearly $700,000 fighting a disgruntled group of wounded Afghan veterans in court— a revelation that on Wednesday rekindled a political controversy the...
View ArticleProjections suggest hike in some vets programs as budget shrinks
OTTAWA – The Harper government’s road map to this year’s federal budget suggests it is prepared to pour more money into programs and services for the country’s veterans, while largely holding the line...
View ArticleWounded veterans told to verify condition every three years
OTTAWA – A wounded soldier who lost both legs in Afghanistan will have to verify his condition and the kind of support needed, including his wheelchair, to Veterans Affairs every three years, rather...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The truth, like Stephen Harper, is out there
Photo illustration by Sarah Mackinnon and Richard Redditt Two FBI agents drive along a rural road. Scully: Enough with the secrecy, Mulder. What are we doing in Canada? He points to the glove box,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Wounded vets with no military pension to get retirement support: O’Toole
Conservative MP Erin O’Toole. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press) OTTAWA – The Harper government is proposing a new retirement benefit to help stave off old-age financial hardship for some of Canada’s...
View ArticleCpl. Cirillo’s death spurred benefit changes for reservists: Kenney
HALIFAX – The killing of a soldier as he stood guard at the National War Memorial spurred Ottawa to fill a gap in the benefit program for reservists who are injured during military service, putting the...
View ArticleVeterans Affairs hires 100 more case managers for ex-soldiers
OTTAWA – Veterans Affairs will be hiring up to 100 additional case managers to help guide the country’s former soldiers through the maze of the federal bureaucracy. The announcement was made Monday in...
View ArticleReport critical of Veterans Affairs buried as ombudsmen investigate
OTTAWA – Veterans Affairs was told almost a year ago it has all the tools needed to make significant improvements in lives of soldiers as they return to civilian life, but the department has yet to act...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Over $200M meant for veterans goes unspent in last budget year
Canadian flags in honour of Remembrance Day cover the property of a seniors home in Burnaby, British Columbia. REUTERS/Andy Clark OTTAWA – Veterans Affairs under-spent its budget by $200 million last...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Thousands of war graves are in state of disrepair
OTTAWA – The grave markers standing in orderly rows are clean and well-maintained on a brilliant summer afternoon. The words on each are easy to read, even those carved decades ago, while the grey...
View ArticleClik here to view.
At the Invictus Games, not all veterans are winners
Britain’s Prince Harry, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Toronto Mayor John Tory cheer on sledge hockey atheletes during the Invictus Games media launch in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, May 2,...
View ArticleThe Trudeau government’s education plan for veterans is stingy
Sean Bruyea is a frequent commentator and author on veterans and military culture. He is also a retired Air Force Intelligence Officer. Exactly 70 years ago, more than one third of all university...
View Article
