Posts Tagged ‘Veterans Independence Program’

We welcome Quebec member of Parliament Jean-Pierre Blackburn to his position as Veterans Affairs minister. Blackburn, who was sworn in as minister Jan. 19, is a veteran MP who served under Brian Mulroney from 1984 to 1993 and then returned to Parliament in 2006. He has been serving as minister of National Revenue and minister of state for agriculture since 2008 and, while he moved from National Revenue to Veterans Affairs, he retains his cabinet position of minister of state for agriculture. As Veterans Affairs minister, Blackburn will have a full plate. That much is obvious by the 56 resolutions related [...]

When it came into force in 2006 the New Veterans Charter (NVC) was introduced as a living document, a work in progress that would be continually adapted to the changing needs of veterans. But promised updates have not occurred, and changes are now urgently needed, say the Legion’s Dominion Command Service Bureau and the Veterans Ombudsman. “Gaps are evident in the areas of financial benefits, rehabilitation and case management, and in the care of families,” Dominion Command Service Bureau Director Pierre Allard told the Senate Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs in October. “The language now used by Veterans Affairs Canada could suggest [...]

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 [...]

More widows and other survivors of Canadian veterans will be eligible to receive benefits under the Veterans Independence Program with a $282 million boost announced by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty in his Feb. 26 budget. VIP is a national home-care program that helps low-income veterans with disabilities and their spouses remain healthy and independent in their own homes instead of moving into a costly, less friendly, long-term care facility. The Royal Canadian Legion and other veterans groups have succeeded in getting Veterans Affairs Canada to extend housekeeping and grounds maintenance benefits to the survivors of veterans who were already receiving VIP benefits. [...]