Monday, September 30, 2013

Dear Commander Dress-Up : Whiskey Tango Foxtrot


First you claw back veterans' benefits and AG lawyers try to have their class-action lawsuit about it thrown out of court for not being "the appropriate way for veterans to express their concerns", then you want them to sign a form promising not to complain about it in public .

We have a social contract with the Canadian Forces to care for them after they have risked life, limb, and mind for us. Doesn't matter if we think the wars and policing actions our government sent them off to were crap - that's the fucking contract. They have the right to fair benefits under that contract and we have the right to hear from them whether or not it's working.


Severely disabled vets take financial hit in old age under new system: report

"Some of the country's most severely disabled soldiers will take a major financial hit once they arrive at old age and risk living out their final years in near-poverty, Canada's veterans ombudsman has concluded.

[His report] shows that roughly 406 severely disabled veterans, mostly from Afghanistan and recent peacekeeping missions, will be left out in the cold because they don't receive certain allowances -- or a Canadian Forces pension.

"It is simply not acceptable to let veterans who have sacrificed the most for their country -- those who are totally and permanently incapacitated -- live their lives with unmet financial needs," said a leaked copy of the report.

Almost a full one-third of the nearly 1,500 soldiers, who have thus far been declared permanently disabled, could also be at risk, depending upon their circumstances. Many of them receive only small allowances and pension entitlements."


"A B.C. Supreme Court justice says current and former members of the Canadian Forces who were injured in Afghanistan can continue their class-action lawsuit against the federal government. 
The lawsuit was filed last fall, with plaintiffs arguing the new Veterans Charter and the changes it brings to the compensation regime for members of the Canadian Forces violate the constitution and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.  
Lawyers for the Attorney General of Canada asked the court to throw out the case, arguing it had no chance of success and was not the appropriate way for the veterans to express their concerns."



"The Canadian Forces is requiring physically and mentally wounded soldiers to sign a form acknowledging they won’t criticize senior officers or discourage others in uniform with their comments on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

The form, given to military personnel who are transferred to the Joint Personnel Support Unit, was sent to the Citizen by military members upset with what they see as a threat to their right to speak out about the failure of the Department of National Defence and Canadian Forces to take care of the wounded.

The Joint Personnel Support Unit, or JPSU, was created to help the wounded and it oversees support centres across the country."

Update yesterday from David Pugliese , who wrote the above article.

Retired Brig.-Gen. Joe Sharpe : "I see us falling back in the trap where the public perception comes first and the soldiers come secondSenior leadership today is focused on resources, media and public perceptions. It's a recipe for disaster."
.

6 comments:

Owen Gray said...

Stephen Harper is an appalling hypocrite. Nothing illustrates his hypocrisy more than his treatment of Canadian veterans.

West End Bob said...

Lawyers for the Attorney General of Canada asked the court to throw out the case, arguing it had no chance of success and was not the appropriate way for the veterans to express their concerns.

In whose eyes did it have no chance of success? stevie's no doubt as he rules as an emperor. Hopefully, one day the electorate will see he has no clothes. (Eeeewwwww, that's not a pretty visual, is it?!?)

And what exactly is the appropriate way for the veterans to express their concerns? Over high tea at 24 Sussex? That ain't happenin' anytime soon, is it?

What a pompous shell of a "leader" stevie is. Owen Gary's right: An appalling hypocrite . . . .

Alison said...

Gov lawyers had argued in BC court that the government had no special obligation to veterans.
B.C. Justice Gordon Weatherill dismissed their argument, saying the case "is about promises the Canadian government made to men and women injured in service to their country and whether it is obliged to fulfil those promises."

So now the Cons are appealing that court decision.

"Fantino said Parliament, not the courts, should be the ultimate decision-maker when it comes to deciding the sort of compensation soldiers receive."

Veterans Affairs new argument against the vets: "If accepted, this principle could undermine democratic accountability as parliamentarians of the future could be prevented from changing important legislation, including the sort of changes that some veterans would like to see to the new veterans charter."

So the Cons' war on the courts is trumping vets rights. What a surprise.

Alison said...

And in other milnews ... 85-year old farmer Frank Meyers, whose land was granted to his family by the British government 229 years ago for Loyalist military service, has had that land expropriated today by the DND to build a new 400-hectare home for J2F.
This has been going on since early 2012 when then-Public Works Minister Rona Ambrose declared the Meyers land “absolutely essential for the safety and security of Canada”.

kootcoot said...

This morning on CBC radio news we hear that the Feds are closing nine Veterans Affairs offices, including Kelowna. The vets can now deal with an East Indian, in India via an 866 number.

I think Canada, under Harper, would benefit from a military coup staged by abandoned veterans. They could take all of Stevie's military togs away from his fat sissy ass!

West End Bob said...

They could take all of Stevie's military togs away from his fat sissy ass!?

Great visual, kootkoot!

;-) . . . .

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