2020 Annual Report2020 Annual Report

Thank You

Your donations to the Key Tag Service fund essential programs for all amputees, including veterans and children.

2020 will be remembered as a year like no other. But in addition to bringing challenges, this year also proved that The War Amps donors are committed – just as we are – to ensuring amputees continue to receive the essential support they need. Every contribution, big or small, is appreciated, and we strive to put your money to the very best use.

By adapting our operations to adhere to public health regulations, The War Amps has maintained all of our regular services for amputees and the public – including the Key Tag Service – throughout the pandemic. Although our 2020 child amputee (CHAMP) seminars could not take place, we kept in contact with Champs and their families by introducing online sessions. These small, virtual gatherings gave Champs an opportunity to connect with their “CHAMP family” and foster the ever-important connection of “amputees helping amputees.” We also welcomed new families to CHAMP through personal phone calls, giving them an orientation to the program, answering their questions and ensuring they know they are supported and can rely on The War Amps to help them now and as their child grows up.

Since 1918, when The War Amps was founded by war amputees returning home from the First World War, giving a strong voice to veterans, especially those who are seriously disabled, has been a cornerstone of our organization. More than 100 years on, this mission is as important as ever. In 2020, we continued the pursuit of fair government pensions for all veterans to align the entitlements available under the Pension Act and Veterans Well-being Act, and we continue to call upon the government to treat all veterans with the same amputation in the same way: one veteran – one standard. We also advocated for the fast-tracking of veterans’ claims throughout the pandemic, resulting in a major potential breakthrough at the end of the year to resolve the unacceptable backlog and wait times.

Throughout this report, you will learn more about our significant work for veterans and amputees across Canada, including children and adults. Your donations allow The War Amps to fund a significant portion of artificial limbs in this country, including covering 100 per cent of the cost of specialized limbs and devices for child amputees. However, there is still much to do to ensure the government and private insurers understand the medical necessity of artificial limbs and step up to fund these, where it is their duty to do so. Through our Crusade for Reform, we continue to educate funding agencies with the goal of improving prosthetic coverage across all provinces and territories.

Please read on to learn more about our activities in 2020. You can also see more of the ways your donations help amputees and keep up with us daily on social media. We welcome your feedback and, as always, remain accountable to you.

A Voice for Veterans

Advocating for veterans’ rights and interests is a cornerstone of The War Amps work to this day.

The War Amps continues to be the leader in advocating for veterans’ rights and legislation, as well as the driving force behind the National Council of Veteran Associations in Canada (NCVA). Throughout the pandemic, we have continued to demand legislative reform to satisfy the financial needs of veterans and their dependants.

The core premise of our position is that the Government must create a comprehensive program model that treats all veterans with parallel disabilities in the same manner as to the application of benefits and wellness policies. The War Amps is represented on four of the six ministerial advisory groups to Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC), co-chairing two of these advisory committees.

Calling for fast-tracking of veterans’ disability claims

This year, The War Amps made a number of submissions to the Minister of Veterans Affairs and senior VAC officials along with a significant media campaign concerning the financial and emotional toll the pandemic has taken on veterans struggling with mental and physical injuries. We argued that, since the Government can fast-track millions of claims for assistance related to COVID-19, the same should be done for those injured while serving in uniform.

The fundamental recommendation of The War Amps and the NCVA was that VAC needed to adopt the position that veterans’ claims should be taken at face value. Decisions should be based on the reasonable evidence provided by the veteran and his or her family, with the proviso that individual files could be monitored over time and “spot audits” carried out to address any potential abuses.

We argued that there must be recognition of the clear reality that medical reports usually required by VAC to support these claims have been almost impossible to obtain during the pandemic.

VAC’s policy statement in July 2020 adopted a number of our proposals but ultimately failed to effectively remedy the backlog crisis at the time, which had only been intensified by the pandemic. As we stated in our submission to the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs in November 2020, the scope and pace of these initiatives required a higher priority from the Government in order to establish a more immediate resolution for veterans and their families, often facing severe financial insecurity during the pandemic.

Our advocacy efforts on this issue resulted in significant media attention including a Canadian Press article that was published in the Globe and Mail and other national publications, as well as an op-ed for the Hill Times by Brian Forbes, chairman of The War Amps Executive Committee and of the NCVA. We also communicated with modern-day veterans and their families to keep them informed of updates on this matter throughout the pandemic.

A major breakthrough

In December, we achieved substantial progress and indeed, a major potential breakthrough with respect to our crusade to compel VAC to take innovative and creative steps to alleviate the unacceptable backlog/turnaround times for veterans’ disability claims.

The Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs issued its report “Clearing the Jam: Addressing the Backlog of Disability Benefit Claims at Veterans Affairs Canada” on December 11, following many months of study and stakeholder input.

The Standing Committee findings identified quite clearly the crisis in VAC adjudication and called for urgent and dramatic change in departmental protocols. Most importantly from The War Amps and the NCVA’s perspective, the report endorses our position that a form of automatic entitlement/pre-approval, together with fast-track protocols, needs to be adopted by the department to address this significant challenge.

Adopting these measures would exhibit good faith in dealing with the existing backlog and would uphold the fundamental principle that has guided all Canadian veterans compensation programs since the First World War: the benefit of the doubt. The War Amps continues to underline this basic philosophy and reassure veterans and their families that their well-being should be the sole and unique purpose of VAC.

As we have said all along, desperate times require bold and creative measures. Veterans deserve nothing less during these challenging times when financial and health concerns have been intensified by COVID-19.

We will continue to press the department to expedite the implementation of the necessary changes outlined by the Standing Committee report.

Pushing for meaningful improvements to veterans legislation

The War Amps and the NCVA continue to advocate for improvements to existing veterans legislation for the well-being of veterans and their dependants. We have made a number of recommendations to the Minister of Veterans Affairs and senior VAC officials to address the discrimination and inequity (the “elephant in the room”) that exists with respect to the financial compensation available to disabled veterans and their families under the traditional Pension Act and the New Veterans Charter/Veterans Well-being Act (NVC/VWA).

We urge VAC, working together with relevant ministerial advisory groups and other veteran stakeholders, to create a comprehensive program model that would essentially treat all veterans with parallel disabilities in the same manner as to the application of benefits and wellness policies. This would result in the elimination of artificial cut-off dates that arbitrarily distinguish veterans based on whether they were injured before or after 2006. Our financial comparison graphs illustrate the discrepancy between the Pension Act and NVC/VWA, and show what the NCVA’s proposed program model would look like for both moderately and seriously disabled veterans.

The War Amps and the NCVA continue to press the Government to implement a better compensation/wellness model that combines the best parts of the Pension Act and the best parts of the New Veterans Charter/Veterans Well-being Act for all disabled veterans in Canada.

Fostering Peer Connections

“Amputees helping amputees” – virtually!

The safety and well-being of the amputees we serve is paramount, so our usual in-person gatherings such as seminars had to be put on hold in 2020. Instead, we found creative ways to keep in touch and facilitate peer support virtually. We also shared information and highlighted Champs’ achievements and activities through our quarterly CHAMP Newsletter for families and our social media channels.

New family outreach and virtual gatherings

Throughout the pandemic, we have remained available to amputees and their families so that they have access to support at any time. While we were unable to interact with CHAMP families as we normally would in person throughout the year, we filled this gap with increased outreach over the phone, email and video call.

We also welcomed new families through personal phone calls, in which an experienced amputee staff member reached out to offer support and answer any questions they had. As someone who has grown up through the program, hearing their first-person experience can be a great reassurance to new families. We organized a number of virtual gatherings over video call to replicate the get-togethers Champs and their families would usually have at PLAYSAFE events and to promote our important safety message, giving Champs a unique opportunity to connect as a group.

Community Outreach

Child amputees spread the PLAYSAFE message about lawn mower safety in communities across Canada.

Every year, children who have been seriously injured in lawn mower accidents are enrolled in the CHAMP Program. The War Amps has a decades-long history of leading safety initiatives and, to continue this, in 2020 we once again launched a summer-long public awareness campaign to pass on an essential and possibly life-saving message to kids – that they should never be near lawn mowers.

In a feature story and letter to the editor published across the country, CHAMP Graduate Adam spoke about how he lost his right leg in a lawn mower accident at the age of two. He reminded children to spot the danger before they play.

“With lawn cutting season here, I want everyone to know that kids should not ride, operate or play near lawn mowers. I accept who I am today, but I wouldn’t want anyone else to go through what I did.”

CHAMP Graduate Adam, who lost his leg in a lawn mower accident

Our long history of elevating the voices of veterans continued by sharing the story of one Second World War amputee.

To commemorate the 75^th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, we shared a story with newspapers across the country about the life and war service of War Amps member Bob Gondek.

Mr. Gondek, who is the National Director of The War Amps Toronto Branch, was born in Poland. He served alongside Allied Forces in the Second World War with the 2nd Polish Corps and, at age 20, was wounded and lost part of his left arm below the elbow. He was awarded the Virtuti Militari, the Polish equivalent of the Victoria Cross, for his valour in destroying two enemy machine gun nests.

“I remember an explosion and the smell of gunpowder. I then realized that my weapon was gone and, in the place where my hand held the machine gun, there was nothing – I had lost part of my left arm below the elbow.”

As a still-active member of The War Amps, he has dedicated a lifetime of service to the Association and has been a member of our Board of Directors for many years. Mr. Gondek’s story was printed in more than 60 publications, carrying on the remembrance message and allowing many Canadians to learn about someone who has lived through this important part of history.

Champs took up the torch of remembrance to pay tribute to Canadian veterans in new ways.

Despite the pandemic, some Champs were able to safely honour the sacrifices of our fallen soldiers and our veterans on or before Remembrance Day. Matteo observed a moment of silence at his local cenotaph and Megan laid a wreath on behalf of The War Amps Operation Legacy in her community. Other Champs gave virtual presentations or laid white roses in memory of the war amputee veteran members who started The War Amps and the CHAMP Program.

The Future of the Association

The War Amps has been continued under the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act and is registered as a charitable organization with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

Since 1918, The War Amps has met the needs of war amputees. Today, the Association continues to serve them, and all Canadian amputees, including children. The Child Amputee (CHAMP) Program provides financial assistance for artificial limbs, regional seminars and peer support. Through CHAMP, The War Amps tradition of “amputees helping amputees” will continue long into the future.

Having recently celebrated our 100^th anniversary and looking ahead to the future, it is our intention that The War Amps Regional Representatives (all of them CHAMP graduates who have had a long and dedicated involvement with the Association as well as providing outstanding assistance to other amputees in their communities) will help continue our mission.

As part of our ongoing operational/continuation plan, our Regional Representatives will play an important role as part of our governance structure furthering the legacy of the war amputees who originally founded the Association and established the essential charitable programs that have successfully evolved over the years.