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Am I being callous (and I'm sure I'll be told ;D ), or is this idea, well, a bit goofy? If you're outta danger of possible contact/battle, I'm thinking the danger pay should stop. I note it can continue for 25 days after someone leaves theatre, but is outside Canada. Shared in accordance with the "fair dealing" provisions, Section 29, of the Copyright Act - http://www.cb-cda.gc.ca/info/act-e.html#rid-33409
Injured troops lose danger pay when home
Glen Mc Gregor, Ottawa Citizen, 4 Oct 06
http://milnewstbay.pbwiki.com/61630
Canadian soldiers injured in Afghanistan are returning home to find they have been cut off from the extra danger pay they received serving in Kandahar.
The Department of National Defence says its pay-and-benefits policy dictates that even injured soldiers lose the special allowances they receive for fighting in danger zones.
Canadian Forces members are eligible for extra pay for risk, hardship and foreign service, or a combination of all three, as is the case in Afghanistan.
A corporal on his second rotation in Kandahar, for instance, receives an additional $2,111 a month on top of a salary that ranges from $4,069 to $5,190.
The allowances are tax-free and base salary is also tax exempt up to $6,647 on risky missions.
But once a soldier is injured and leaves Afghanistan, the additional benefits end and his or her paycheque returns to its previous level.
DND spokesman John Knoll says there is a discretionary extension to allowances for up to 25 days while the injured soldier is in transit or being treated out of country -- at the U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, for instance. But once in Canada, the benefits end.
Liberal MP Dan Mc Teague says he was shocked to learn that soldiers who risk their lives were getting docked for pay they would have received if they didn't get hurt.
"I think that's a very shabby way our way to treat our soldiers," he said.
"What does that say for morale? We look like a bunch of cheapskates to our soldiers who need us at this time."
He said the increase in injuries in Afghanistan requires to the government to change the policy now. Since 2001, at least 158 Canadian soldiers have been injured, while 39 have died, including injuries yesterday.
Wounded soldiers shouldn't lose pay perks, MPs say
Bruce Campion-Smith, Toronto Star, 5 Oct 06
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1159998617517&call_pageid=968332188774&col=968350116467
Opposition MPs are pressing the government to reverse a policy stopping badly injured soldiers evacuated from Afghanistan from collecting danger pay and other financial perks that add thousands of dollars a month to their pay.
"I find it deplorable," said Liberal MP Dan McTeague (Pickering-Scarborough East). "If they're wounded, there's no way under the sun they should find themselves cut off. It looks like we're cheap or we don't care.
"If we've got $13 billion (surplus) bucks to put down towards our debt, surely we have enough money to restore the funding to our wounded soldiers who've taken a bullet for their country."
The moment Canada's injured are sent to Germany or to Canada for medical treatment they are no longer entitled to "operational allowance" that adds $2,111 to monthly pay.
That allowance, the same regardless of rank, compensates soldiers for being away from home and for mission hardships and risks, defence spokesperson John Knoll said. Allowance is paid for "being in that place and under those conditions."
The military can continue the allowance for up to 25 days after a soldier leaves Afghanistan and usually does. After that, it ends.
Injured soldiers also lose tax-free status. In Afghanistan, soldiers do not pay income tax on earnings up to $6,647 a month. That perk disappears if they are hurt and returned home.
Defence officials do note that, unlike many in civilian jobs, injured soldiers still collect their base salary and retain benefits while recovering.
McTeague argues the injured should be compensated for the time they were to be in Afghanistan, usually "a six-month commitment. We should retroactively pay all those wounded soldiers.
"The country owes it to them (and) ... the Prime Minister has an opportunity to do that."
A cousin of McTeague's was severely wounded in an Afghan suicide bombing last month. He's recovering at Toronto's Sunnybrook Hospital.
NDP MP Peter Stoffer (Sackville-Eastern Shore), said the policy "sends the wrong message ... that, if you get injured, financially you're going to be a lot worse off."
Étienne Allard, speaking for Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor, said by email the government has no plans to alter its "operational allowance" policy.
Injured troops lose danger pay when home
Glen Mc Gregor, Ottawa Citizen, 4 Oct 06
http://milnewstbay.pbwiki.com/61630
Canadian soldiers injured in Afghanistan are returning home to find they have been cut off from the extra danger pay they received serving in Kandahar.
The Department of National Defence says its pay-and-benefits policy dictates that even injured soldiers lose the special allowances they receive for fighting in danger zones.
Canadian Forces members are eligible for extra pay for risk, hardship and foreign service, or a combination of all three, as is the case in Afghanistan.
A corporal on his second rotation in Kandahar, for instance, receives an additional $2,111 a month on top of a salary that ranges from $4,069 to $5,190.
The allowances are tax-free and base salary is also tax exempt up to $6,647 on risky missions.
But once a soldier is injured and leaves Afghanistan, the additional benefits end and his or her paycheque returns to its previous level.
DND spokesman John Knoll says there is a discretionary extension to allowances for up to 25 days while the injured soldier is in transit or being treated out of country -- at the U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, for instance. But once in Canada, the benefits end.
Liberal MP Dan Mc Teague says he was shocked to learn that soldiers who risk their lives were getting docked for pay they would have received if they didn't get hurt.
"I think that's a very shabby way our way to treat our soldiers," he said.
"What does that say for morale? We look like a bunch of cheapskates to our soldiers who need us at this time."
He said the increase in injuries in Afghanistan requires to the government to change the policy now. Since 2001, at least 158 Canadian soldiers have been injured, while 39 have died, including injuries yesterday.
Wounded soldiers shouldn't lose pay perks, MPs say
Bruce Campion-Smith, Toronto Star, 5 Oct 06
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1159998617517&call_pageid=968332188774&col=968350116467
Opposition MPs are pressing the government to reverse a policy stopping badly injured soldiers evacuated from Afghanistan from collecting danger pay and other financial perks that add thousands of dollars a month to their pay.
"I find it deplorable," said Liberal MP Dan McTeague (Pickering-Scarborough East). "If they're wounded, there's no way under the sun they should find themselves cut off. It looks like we're cheap or we don't care.
"If we've got $13 billion (surplus) bucks to put down towards our debt, surely we have enough money to restore the funding to our wounded soldiers who've taken a bullet for their country."
The moment Canada's injured are sent to Germany or to Canada for medical treatment they are no longer entitled to "operational allowance" that adds $2,111 to monthly pay.
That allowance, the same regardless of rank, compensates soldiers for being away from home and for mission hardships and risks, defence spokesperson John Knoll said. Allowance is paid for "being in that place and under those conditions."
The military can continue the allowance for up to 25 days after a soldier leaves Afghanistan and usually does. After that, it ends.
Injured soldiers also lose tax-free status. In Afghanistan, soldiers do not pay income tax on earnings up to $6,647 a month. That perk disappears if they are hurt and returned home.
Defence officials do note that, unlike many in civilian jobs, injured soldiers still collect their base salary and retain benefits while recovering.
McTeague argues the injured should be compensated for the time they were to be in Afghanistan, usually "a six-month commitment. We should retroactively pay all those wounded soldiers.
"The country owes it to them (and) ... the Prime Minister has an opportunity to do that."
A cousin of McTeague's was severely wounded in an Afghan suicide bombing last month. He's recovering at Toronto's Sunnybrook Hospital.
NDP MP Peter Stoffer (Sackville-Eastern Shore), said the policy "sends the wrong message ... that, if you get injured, financially you're going to be a lot worse off."
Étienne Allard, speaking for Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor, said by email the government has no plans to alter its "operational allowance" policy.
