Government must address “elephant in the room” regarding veteran compensation
January 27, 2021 – The National Council of Veteran Associations (NCVA) has recently released its 2021 Legislative Report, which makes a number of major recommendations to the Minister of Veterans Affairs Lawrence MacAulay and
Senior VAC Officials.
The report addresses what NCVA calls “the elephant in the room” -- the discrimination and injustice that exists with respect to the financial compensation available to disabled veterans and their families when comparing the traditional Pension
Act and the New Veterans Charter/Veterans Well-being Act (NVC/VWA).
It is NCVA’s fundamental position that:
- VAC should establish 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 policy – thereby resulting in the elimination of artificial
cut-off dates that arbitrarily distinguish veterans based on whether they were injured before or after 2006.
- The Department should utilize a combination of the best provisions from the Pension Act and the best provisions from the NVC/VWA to produce a “one veteran – one standard” solution.
“In these challenging times, and with a pending election on the horizon, Canadian veterans and their families will be closely monitoring all federal leaders to determine which party is prepared to make a substantial commitment to rectifying the
shortfalls and inequities which continue to be found in veterans’ legislation. The basic question remains: Which federal party will stand up for veterans and their families and finally address this ‘elephant in the room’?” says Brian Forbes,
NCVA Chair and Chair of the Executive Committee of The War Amps.
The report includes graphs highlighting the vast difference in the maximum monthly pension for the most seriously disabled veteran under the Pension Act vs. the New Veterans Charter/Veterans Well-being Act, and illustrates how NCVA’s recommendations
can close this significant disparity.
The NCVA, of which The War Amps is the driving force, consists of 68 member-groups from across Canada. It has posted the full report here.
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