Posts Tagged ‘Veterans Affairs Canada’

Veterans Affairs Canada is setting aside $1 million a year for community and volunteer organizations to erect new cenotaphs or make major additions to existing ones. “We are encouraging Canadians to make remembrance more than something they feel by making it something they do,” said Veterans Affairs Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn. “With the new program, communities will show they remember by constructing new places to honour Canada’s truest heroes—our veterans.” The Community War Memorial Program will provide funding up to 50 per cent of the total project cost, to a maximum amount of $50,000 to non-profit organizations, such as Legion branches. The money [...]

Veterans Affairs Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn was a very busy and well-travelled man in January. That was when he embarked on a whirlwind, cross-country tour to talk about recent changes in the way Veterans Affairs Canada is supporting veterans. The minister met with dozens of VAC staff, veterans and veterans’ organizations, and his office pumped out a variety of news releases, all of them emphasizing how his department has made strides in modernizing and improving veterans’ services, especially in the areas of reducing turnaround times and red tape. The minister proudly pointed out that the standard turnaround time for decisions on rehabilitation [...]

A very busy apprenticeship and short honeymoon marked Jean-Pierre Blackburn’s first year as minister of veterans affairs. He has logged tens of thousands of travel miles: two commemorative trips to Europe, a tense trip to the Middle East marked by a diplomatic incident as the plane carrying him was refused permission to land in Dubai, and by machine-gun fire heard in the distance while hopping onto a helicopter for a quick takeoff during a visit to troops in Afghanistan.

In 1994 the Australian government introduced legislation to reform the process of decision-making about disease causation. The aim was to create a more equitable and consistent system of dealing with claims for disability pensions received from Australian veterans and their dependants. One of the outcomes of the legislative reform was the formation of the Repatriation Medical Authority (RMA) which is an independent statutory authority responsible to the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs. The RMA consists of a panel of five practitioners eminent in fields of medical science. Their role is to determine Statements of Principles (SOPs) for any disease, injury or death [...]

Finding ways to actively reach out to reservists, ex-military personnel, their families and friends in order to keep them informed of the many services available once they have returned from a deployment or have left the military, is an ongoing challenge. It is certainly one faced by the Legion and other concerned organizations such as the Integrated Personnel Support Centre and Veterans Affairs Canada. To ensure these individuals are reminded that they are not alone “out there” is not always an easy task. In order to combine resources towards the development of a plan to also provide outreach to families and [...]

Of all the expressions known to humankind, nothing captures the essence of remembrance more than a prolonged period of silence. When the First World War ended 90 years ago on Nov. 11, 1918, it wasn’t a loud celebration that erupted from the trenches; it was the rise of pale silence. The true nature of that silence cannot be completely understood by those who weren’t there and didn’t experience the unspeakable horrors of a war that killed approximately 10 million people and maimed millions more. Among those who did serve in the war, only a tiny number remain, including Canada’s Jack Babcock, [...]

If you are a former member of the Canadian Forces whose Service Income Security Insurance Plan (SISIP) Long Term Disability (LTD) benefits have been reduced by the amount of your monthly disability pension from Veterans Affairs Canada, you should know that you can be part of a class action lawsuit. If the action succeeds or is settled out of court, your entitlement to an award will depend upon your individual circumstances. The Federal Court of Canada has certified the case of Dennis Manuge against the government as a class action. Under the terms of the SISIP LTD plan, an amount equal to [...]

Members of the Canadian military who were exposed to nuclear radiation during allied countries’ atomic tests or in cleaning up accidents at one of Canada’s nuclear reactors will be recognized and compensated for their service. National Defence Minister Peter MacKay and Veterans Affairs Minister Greg Thompson announced Sept. 2 that eligible veterans will be compensated with an ex gratia payment of $24,000. “Through this program, a remarkable group of individuals will finally get the acknowledgment and respect they so rightfully deserve,” said Thompson while making the announ­ce­ment in Calgary, just days before the general election was called. The payment is similar to the [...]