Posts Tagged ‘Veterans Affairs’

“Controlled energy” comes to mind when asked to describe Veterans Ombudsman Guy Parent. While he speaks with the practised diplomacy and calm bearing of someone who has advised top military leaders, excitement frequently lights his eyes as he talks. He has a physical presence and a cloak of practicality—from his years in military search and rescue—that make you feel if someone were suddenly hurt, he could instantly take charge and make good use of office supplies on his desk to render first aid. Behind the business suit and tie and trappings of office, you sense someone capable of quick and focused action. These are useful qualities for someone whose job entails helping and representing veterans while keeping both eyes fixed on the government department that is their main source of support. Parent’s diplomatic approach will lead him to “work out differences rather than be confrontational,” said Dr. Stewart Hyson, University of New Brunswick professor and expert on Canada’s ombudsmen, although, he adds, some veterans might prefer feistier dealings with Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC).

The November sky over northern France is grey and leaden and a light rain begins to fall—as though the whole countryside is in mourning—when the casket containing the remains of Private Ralph Tupper Ferns, 25, of the Royal Regiment of Canada, is carried through the Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery in Cintheaux, France. “He should be here, with his comrades,” said Ferns’ tearful niece Janice Basilone following the funeral, during which she and Gary Ferns, nephew of the dead soldier, were presented with the Canadian flag which had covered their uncle’s coffin. “I feel he belongs here.” And here he is laid [...]

Second World War veteran Phil Bradbury, 85, of Toronto was surprised to learn that in civilian life he’d been missing in action for a couple of decades. Veterans Affairs Canada has been looking for veterans like Bradbury who qualify for, but aren’t receiving benefits under the Veterans Independence Program. The VIP helps aging veterans live independently as long as possible by providing home care support like housecleaning and shovelling walkways, making meals and help with bathing, as well as home adaptation and health support services. Bradbury was on the crew of a bomber that flew 34 missions near the end of [...]

“It’s an insult,” says Gerry Pumphrey of the RCMP Veterans Association in Nova Scotia, who’s worked on the issue for more than five years. “I’m disgusted. It’s always ‘next spring, next fall.’ And the thing is, there are people dying who need this help.” There are approximately 6,000 RCMP members and RCMP veterans receiving disability pensions, but not all of those would want or qualify for VIP, says Murray Brown, chairman of the RCMP serving members’ occupational health and safety committee. Roughly 225 RCMP veterans die each year, and “if only 10 per cent were eligible,” says Pumphrey, “you have about 25 [...]

The Veterans Independence Program (VIP) has changed a lot since its introduction in 1981—and The Royal Canadian Legion has been there every step of the way. The program was implemented to help Veterans Affairs Canada handle a looming crisis in availability of long-term care beds due to aging of war service veterans. At the time, options were limited for seniors unable to live independently, and there was great reliance on long-term care facilities. “There was a concern in the late 1970s that in the absence of an alternative, the Second World War veteran was literally going to swamp the system of [...]