Meeting with the Minister of Veterans Affairs
From: Brad White
Date: Fri, Apr 16, 2010 at 10:31 AM
Subject: Meeting with the Minister of Veterans Affairs - 8 April 2010
Good morning all,
As promised last October, I would like to provide you an update from the Legion’s perspective of a meeting that was held on 8 April 2010. The meeting was a prelude to attending the End of an Era Ceremony here in Ottawa. Attending the meeting were representatives of ANAVETS, NCVA, CAVUNP, CPVA, Gulf War Veterans and the Legion represented by the Dominion President, Wilfred Edmond, and the Dominion Secretary, Brad White. The Minister was accompanied by his senior staff or their representatives
Naturally, the discussion centered on the New Veterans Charter, and in particular the following issues were raised/discussed:
- As previously circulated by our friends in CAVUNP, much discussion centered on the lump sum payments with the Minister indicating that this would be one of his main issues to deal with. The lump sum payment, as a payment for pain and suffering and not a replacement for a pension, needs to be increased to be consistent with similar types of payments being awarded in civilian court. Most everyone seemed to agree with this and with the principle that the awarding of this disability award needs to be closely examined and reviewed given the experience that we now have with the NVC. Maximum awards must be increased and a mechanism must be implemented to spread out payments over a number of years for those at greater risk.
- One issue of concern is the catastrophic injury Private scenario which is
part of the existing scenarios within the recommendations of the New Veterans Charter
Advisory Group (NVCAG). Of note:
- Considering the aim of the NVC which is to rehabilitate the individual to permit their independence within society, how will this affect someone who may not be 100% even after all the process? Within the stages of transition between the CF and VAC, as well as possibly SISIP, is there a residual responsibility for the welfare of the individual? Last and surely not least, does the existing provisions under the Earning Loss Benefit (ELB) provide financial sustainment. There is much concern that under the current guidelines, there is no recognition of advancement of the individual and their ability to potentially increase their earnings. Are we subjecting an individual to a life of poverty after having sacrificed voluntarily for the country? What happens after age 65 when ELB ceases?
- VAC was anxious to learn of each association’s priorities on how to move forward with the recommendations made by the NVCAG. It is interesting to note that VAC has had these recommendations since last summer and they were officially released last October. The Legion queried the Minister to determine if a cost analysis had been conducted to determine which recommendations would be achievable under their current mandate and funding. If an analysis has been completed, it has not been shared with either the associations or the NVCAG. The Minister and DM indicated that an analysis or action plan would be put together and would be discussed at a further meeting.
- The rehabilitation process must be continuous. Currently responsibility can reside within three organizations: the CF, SISIP and VAC. It is the Legion’s concern that throughout this process there may be gaps with the individual eventually suffering in the end. There must be some rationalization of these interventions to eliminate duplications and avoid gaps in services.
The meeting was a good vehicle to air the associations concerns to VAC and to be briefed on how VAC is handling or intends to proceed with its programming. The Legion acknowledges that some of the recommendations from the NVCAG have been partially implemented through the establishment of the JPSU and the IPSCs. That said, the Legion is concerned that the remainder of the recommendations may be implemented in a piecemeal fashion or further delayed. The NVC is a suite of programs and each recommendation is essential and required to ensure that our veterans are receiving the care they need.
For your further information, we are tentatively planning a meeting of veterans groups to discuss advocacy issues as we agreed to last October. Date for this meeting would be 30 October 2010. More will follow after our Dominion Convention. We hope to see many of you at the Convention in Winnipeg this June.
Best regards to all,
Brad
Dominion Secretary
The Royal Canadian Legion
86 Aird Place
Ottawa, ON K2L 0A1
T: 613-591-3335 extn 242
F: 613-591-9335
E: bwhite@legion.ca
Web Site: www.legion.ca
