Merged Thread- More Money or Cuts to Veterans Affairs?

[Wounded Soldier]

I am currently on Vocational training and I am receiving financial support from VAC. Currently the 75% they are paying me is less than half of the $40,000 that VAC is supposed to pay according to the new changes. So my question is, does anyone know when the changes will be implemented?

any information will be helpful.

thanks everyone

 

[krustyrl]

Interesting...I have no answer but would sure like to see how this plays out. Please keep us posted on any developments.  Is it from VA or from SISIP.
I am waiting to see how the Class Action lawsuit Vs Sisip will turn out.     

 

[the 48th regulator]

The Payments from VAC, and SISIP are separate.  Each organization offer a VOC rehab, which can be taken back to back.

As for the calculations of your pay, I would stop in on your local IPSC, and inquire about this asap.

dileas

tess

 

[officerdown]

So basically, when with SISIP VOC rehab, one won't benefit from the minimum $40,000 VAC income replacement? Cuz SISIP only covers 75% of income.

 

[Rifleman62]

See: http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/97630.15.html

 

[farrell486]

my first post..

Currently i have a Vac pension and i'm grandfathered since 2001. My question since i've applied for reassessment in the past week will i fall under the new charter or old charter for monthly entitlements

 

[Occam]

my first post..

\Currently i have a Vac pension and i\m grandfathered since 2001. My question since i've applied for reassessment in the past week will i fall under the new charter or old charter for monthly entitlements

If you have a disability under the old charter (actually referred to as "under the Pension Act"), you will always remain under the old charter for that particular disability.  Only if you were to claim a distinctly different and unrelated disability would it come under the new charter.

 

[Occam]

For anyone who is interested, Bill C-55, which makes changes to the New Veteran's Charter, goes before the Commons for second reading today.  Follow the link at the top to view a document with the modifications as well as the original text of the NVC.

Anyone hoping for a return to Pension Act payments will be sadly disappointed.

 

[jollyjacktar]

This seems as good as any place for this bit.  Shared with the usual caveats from the Toronto Sun.  Full story at link below.

Secret vets review puzzles stakeholders

By Jessica Murphy, Parliamentary Bureau

OTTAWA - The results of a sweeping federal review of veteran health services are being kept secret and former soldiers are losing out on benefits as a result, stakeholders say. 
"There's something amiss," said Liberal Sen. Percy Downe, who has been pressuring the government on the issue. "What we have is a cone of silence." 
Since 2005, the Tories have been touting the Veterans Health Services Review as one of the most extensive ever undertaken by Veterans Affairs.  It was meant to identify gaps in access to health programs plaguing this country's vets - everything from spousal and burial benefits to the evolving needs of newer veterans.

In 2008, then minister Greg Thompson told a Senate committee the review was nearly complete.  "It is going to provide us with a way forward in terms of how we provide services to our veterans," he said.  But when Downe pushed the feds for information from the report in 2010, he was told the recommendations were "protected information."  The manner in which the review has been handled has also left Pierre Allard, the Royal Canadian Legion service bureau director, scratching his head.  "Things have dropped into a void," he said.

Meanwhile, the system is still failing many vets, especially younger soldiers returning from more recent wars, Allard argued.  "Without going into too many details, people are falling through the cracks," he said.  NDP Veterans Affairs critic Peter Stoffer said Friday he would join Downe in insisting the feds release more information on the review, and would raise the matter in the Commons veterans affairs committee.  Veterans Affairs Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn was unavailable for comment Friday, but his office said the government has launched a number of initiatives based on the report, including expanding groundskeeping and income-support benefits for First World War and Korean War vets.

http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2011/03/04/17501386.html

 

[injuredjon]

Good NEWS,

It looks like Bill C-55 might pass through the Senate today. It has already passed through the house of commons. Hopefully Veterans much deserving the change will get them soon.

Even though a small step forward, Congrats all.

http://www.parl.gc.ca/40/3/parlbus/chambus/senate/DEB-E/097db_2011-03-23-e.htm?Language=E&Parl=40&Ses=3

 

[57Chevy]

                                    Shared with provisions of The Copyright Act

Harper Government Announces Enhancements to the New Veterans Charter Are Now in Effect
Thursday, October 06, 2011

http://www.istockanalyst.com/business/news/5462998/harper-government-announces-enhancements-to-the-new-veterans-charter-are-now-in-effect

OTTAWA
The Honourable Steven Blaney, Minister of Veterans Affairs, and Eve Adams, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs, announced today that significant enhancements to the New Veterans Charter take effect this week and will help thousands of seriously ill and injured Veterans who require additional financial support.

"Our Government promised that the New Veterans Charter would evolve with the needs of the men and women it serves. With our latest enhancements, we're delivering on that promise," said Minister Blaney. "With the Enhanced New Veterans Charter Act, an immediate $189 million has been set aside over the next five years to ensure that seriously injured Canadian Forces Veterans receive adequate financial support. This will grow to $2 billion over the life of the program."

The Enhanced New Veterans Charter Act provides additional monthly support for Veterans who are seriously ill and injured, as well as flexible new payment options for recipients of a disability award. It is estimated that a minimum of 4,000 Veterans will qualify for the enhanced financial support over the next five years alone.

"We understand that the needs of today's Veterans are often complex—whether these men and women served our country here in Canada or overseas in such troubled places as Bosnia or Afghanistan," said Ms. Adams. "The enhancements to the New Veterans Charter are a tangible example of how we are changing to meet these needs of our Veterans and our men and women in uniform."

article continues...

 

[Wookilar]

I was speaking with my case worker this morning about C-55. They (local VAC offices) will be receiving training in the coming months to be properly aware of all the changes this has brought to the NVC. No one here is really sure how the mechanics of it all are going to work out.

Wook

 

[Redeye]

I abandoned (my relatively paltry) claim with VAC last year out of frustration. I really should actually get back to it.... sounds like maybe there will be some positive changes too.

 

[GAP]

I know there's a thread out there relating to this, but danged if I can find it..........

Veterans Affairs faces more than $226 million in cuts, documents show
By: Murray Brewster, The Canadian Press 10/14/2011
Article Link

OTTAWA - Veterans Affairs Canada plans to cut more than $226 million from its budget in the next two years in what's expected to be the first wave of reductions in the department, according federal documents.

The department's plans and priorities report, which lays out spending up to 2014, shows compensation and financial support for ex-soldiers will see the biggest reduction.

The budget adjustment is long planned and matches the dwindling population of Second World War veterans.

A spokeswoman for Veterans Affairs Minister Steven Blaney says the individual benefits, including new measures for the most seriously wounded, will continue without change or interruption, but the country will have fewer veterans overall.

"There will be no cuts to benefits for our veterans," said Codi Taylor in an email.

"The reduction in planned spending indicated in the Report on Plans and Priorities is due to the anticipated reduction in program uptake. The reduction is related to the sad reality that the number of Second World War and Korean War veterans and survivors of 'traditional' veterans is declining."

The department's budget is roughly $3.5 billion a year.

But like other arms of the federal government, Veterans Affairs is looking for savings beyond the planned $226-million reduction. The Harper government's current program review wants to see existing spending in all departments and agencies slashed between five and 10 per cent.
More on link

 

[Nemo888]

I'm not surprised. The only things Vets get now is lip service, and not the good kind.

 

[OldSolduer]

I'm not surprised. The only things Vets get now is lip service, and not the good kind.

Instead of sitting here complaining on Army.ca and Facebook, contact your Member Of Parliament, the PM and the Minister who is responsible for VAC. Let them know what you think.

 

[Rifleman62]

VAC can save $226 million just on paper. Every letter you get must be triple spaced x space between lines, 14 pt font. Include their contractor, Blue Cross in that also.

If you ever wanted access to info, it would cost you a fortune.

 

[Wookilar]

I would normally be the first one to jump all over VAC at any perceived shortfalls, however, I will not be this time.

Maybe my meds are working really good this morning, maybe working with multi-million dollar budgets has warped my thinking slightly (ok, more than usual) or maybe my paranoia just hasn't kicked in yet (not enough caffeine this morning).

$226M out of $3.5B is nothing to get excited about. Rifleman62 might have been making a joke, but he's not wrong. I know it sounds like a lot of money (and it is really) but as a percentage (6.45[71428 ;D]%), it is a drop in the bucket and can be found in purely administrative measures.

Now...the test will be to see just how VAC achieves these cuts.....

Wook

 

[dapaterson]

VAC's explanation is that their "traditional" clients - WWII and Korean War vets - are passing away, and thus there is less demand for the services VAC provides.  Not a conspiracy to shaft veterans, but rather an acknowledgement that with fewer clients, costs will go down.

 

[Edward Campbell]

There was a small protest on Parliament Hill yesterday: reports from CTV News are here.

Now, while I, too, oppose "making cuts on the backs of veterans' benefits" I do believe that VAC can, should and, indeed, given the country's fiscal position, must live with a substantial budget cut. There are only two offices in all of the Government of Canada, from Victoria to Iqaluit to St. John's that should not be cut: PCO and Finance. Everything things else, DND, the Prime Minister's Office, and VAC can and should be cut. Will they cut fat only? No. Will a "front line" counselor in, say, Edmonton lose her job to preserve the diversity coordinator (or some such) in Charlottetown? Yes. (By the way: I saw, in the reports, only one MP on the Hill with the demonstrators, Liberal MP Sean Casey from Charlottetown? Do you think he cares more about veterans or more about jobs in Charlottetown? Oh, well, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, I guess.)