Legion calls Conservative position in defending veterans lawsuit 'reprehensible'

Legion calls Conservative position in defending veterans lawsuit 'reprehensible'

Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/legion-calls-conservative-position-in-defending-veterans-lawsuit-reprehensible-1.1486840#ixzz2h3kXhNgJ

The Canadian Press
Published Monday, October 7, 2013 12:22PM EDT

OTTAWA -- The Conservative government is facing a revolt among veterans groups for claiming it is not bound by the promises of previous governments in the care of wounded soldiers.

The Royal Canadian Legion is describing the government's position as "reprehensible."

The government, which intends to defend against a class-action lawsuit by veterans of the war in Afghanistan, says it's unfair to bind current and future governments to promises that date back to the First World War.

Just before the Battle of Vimy Ridge in April 1917, then-prime minister Robert Borden said it was the government's "first duty" to acknowledge the sacrifices of soldiers and ensure care for the wounded.

Gordon Moore, the legion's Dominion president, says the Conservative government is trying to shed its decades-old moral commitment to troops who defend the country -- something that could affect future conflicts.

Moore says care varies widely between regular force and reserve veterans in Canada, which is why the legion is pushing for a universal standard for the wounded and injured.

Regards,
The Canadian Veterans Advocacy Team.

http://canadianveteransadvocacy.com/Board2/index.php

New announcement: Veterans want Minister removed and Government to withdraw their appeal

Veterans want Minister removed and Government to withdraw their appeal

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
7 October 2013

VICTORIA, BC – Veterans across the country are calling for the immediate removal of Julian Fantino as Minister of Veterans Affairs and the immediate withdrawal of Government's frivolous appeal of the New Veterans Charter lawsuit so the courts can determine veterans right's free of partisan party politics.

In a recent interview on CKNW's Bill Good Show, Minister Fantino said:

"...not every veteran is at the same level of service to country..." he also said "...I spent 40 years in law enforcement, I too have served. I've been in the trenches and heard the guns go off. I guess I can also put myself and other colleagues, firefighters and other police officers who put themselves in harms way every day in the same category..."

"How insensitive! Just when you think this Government can't sink any lower it appoints a controversial ex-cop as Minister of Veterans Affairs and now he's belittled veteran's service and sacrifice. Minister Fantino knows that unlike police and firefighters, disabilities are a calculated part of military service because members can't refuse to work at risk without serious consequences including life imprisonment, even if it means losing their lives because of the unique unlimited liability nature of military service" Harold Leduc says.

Fantino recently announced a review of the controversial New Veterans Charter (NVC) then made the above comments. At the same time Government lawyers filed a notice to appeal the BC Supreme Court decision that allows six Afghanistan veterans to move towards certifying a class action lawsuit on the deficiencies in the NVC. The lawsuit is put forward pro bono by a top-notch team of Vancouver lawyers from Miller Thompson LLP supported by the Equitas Society.

Government lawyers previously told the Court that government doesn't have an obligation to care for disabled veterans and they are no better than recipients of welfare.

"This Government works so hard to deceive Canadians on it's abuse of veterans' rights that Minister Fantino, his colleague Erin O'Toole and Government lawyers don't seem to be able to remember which version of the truth they are supposed to tell on any given day. By mocking veteran's service and sacrifice he's angered the very people he is supposed to protect including Canada's most severely disabled. He's disgraced himself and our Country. Both he and the Government's appeal have to go. Veterans are fed up with this Government's ongoing disrespect" says Leduc.

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If you would like more information on this topic or would like to schedule an interview with Harold Leduc, please call at (250) 896-3738 or email at duke@hkpdesign.com

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Regards,
The Canadian Veterans Advocacy Team.

New announcement: Deadly dispute: Calling for accountability from the RCMP after vet shot dead

Deadly dispute: Calling for accountability from the RCMP after former soldier shot dead

Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/w5/deadly-dispute-calling-for-accountability-from-the-rcmp-after-former-soldier-shot-dead-1.1483419#ixzz2grsNJz53

W5
Published Saturday, October 5, 2013 9:30AM EDT

When Greg Matters signed up for the Canadian Army in 1994, he accepted that one day he might end up in the line of fire and not survive. He never expected to die on home soil.

But on Sept. 10th, 2012, he was shot to death in a bizarre showdown with an RCMP Emergency Response Team on the farm where he was raised near Prince George, BC.

"None of it was necessary," said his psychiatrist, Dr. Greg Passey, in an interview with W5.

"He was alone on the farm, no firearms. Nobody was being threatened. They could have waited a month. Could have starved him out, and he'd be alive today."

"I just don't understand how a domestic issue got so serious," said Greg's sister, Tracey, who lives in Australia and rushed back to Canada when she learned her brother was dead. "It's such an overreaction."

Greg had served as a peacekeeper in Bosnia and left the army with PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

"He had all the classic signs," said Passey. "The nightmares, the anxiety, the panic attacks, all of those things."

A quiet man who was known for his courtesy, Greg was a changed man – paranoid and short tempered. That led to run-ins and threats of violence to the police. It was all made worse by a feud with his brother, Trevor, over land they had bought together. It got so bad, they took out restraining orders on each other.

It came to a head early in the morning of Sept. 9th, 2012, when Greg chased his brother off his mother`s property. Greg followed him, stopped his brother`s vehicle and the two had a brief scuffle.

When Greg got back to his house, he called 911 and asked the police for help. When no cruisers showed up, Greg became frustrated and called 911 five times over the next two hours.

At this point, events took a bizarre twist. Police decided Greg was the agitator and set out to arrest him. Suddenly, Greg, the man who asked police for help had become their target.

That evening, police arrived at the house where he lived with his mother asked him to meet them on the road.

"Greg did start to walk out to the road," said Lorraine Matters, his mother. "Once he saw the police cars out here, he came back and told me, Mom, I'm so afraid, I can't walk out to the road."

Greg's refusal to meet with police raised the tension and set off a train of events that would end in tragedy 26 hours later.

Frightened and confused, Greg headed for a cabin on the property. It was his refuge, a quiet place he came to when he was upset and wanted to be alone.

But police believed Greg had a gun.

He didn't.

Nevertheless, they deployed a heavily armed Emergency Response Team to arrest him.

Meanwhile, his mother told police she would find him and bring him to the station in the morning.

When Lorraine tried to drive to the cabin to help Greg, the police arrested her. She claims that one officer grabbed her by the neck and dragged her along on her back.

"I was begging for them not to hurt my son. So when he dragged me, he put me in a sitting position and then took his knee and just drove me so hard in my chest that I didn't know if I'd ever get up off the ground."

Within hours, Greg was dead.

"It's just such an overreaction," said his sister, Tracey. "Why was it escalated to such a high degree? It does not make sense to me whatsoever."

The case ended up on the desk of Richard Rosenthal, the Chief Civilian Director of the Independent Investigations Office of British Columbia.

"Our job is to look at cases involving death or serious harm at the hands of police," he told W5 in an interview. "And determine whether or not an officer may have committed an offense."

RCMP officers who had been on the scene told investigators that Greg had threatened them with a hatchet, so Rosenthal ruled that they had shot Greg lawfully in self-defence.

But Rosenthal's mandate was narrow and there were other issues he could not investigate that bothered him.

"Certainly legitimate questions were raised about the decision making process, about why the ERT was deployed," he said.

Those questions prompted Rosenthal to send the case to the Commission for Public Complaints against the RCMP.

"The police were not dealing with a hardened criminal here," said Cameron Ward, the lawyer hired by the Matters family to handle their case.

"They knew who he was, they knew what they were dealing with and it seems to me a much more measured calm, compassionate response would have been appropriate."

There was also the issue of Lorraine Matters' treatment by police. That became a separate complaint to the Commission for Public Complaints against the RCMP.

"Isn't the mother an ally who can help you de-escalate the situation?" said David Eby who was legal counsel for the BC Civil Liberties Association before his election to the provincial legislature.

"It's pretty clear to me that she wasn't seen as such by the ERT," Erby said.

But Greg's family has little faith their case will get a fair hearing from the Commission for Public Complaints.

"I believe it's a situation where the RCMP will be investigating the RCMP," said Tracey Matters. "From what I've heard from other cases, it's one of the most unsatisfactory processes."

The BC Coroners Service will also hold a public inquest into the death of Greg Matters. But the jury can only make recommendations to prevent a future tragedy. They cannot point a finger of blame.

Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/w5/deadly-dispute-calling-for-accountability-from-the-rcmp-after-former-soldier-shot-dead-1.1483419#ixzz2grsoAaDa

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Regards,
The Canadian Veterans Advocacy Team.

New announcement: Service Dogs Making a Difference

Service Dogs Making a Difference

Ottawa – October 4, 2013

I had the good fortune last week to meet Médric Cousineau, his wife Jocelyn, and his service dog Thai. This highly decorated External link, Opens in a new window Veteran has just completed a walk across four provinces to help raise awareness about the potential benefits of service dogs for Veterans coping with mental health issues. He is also raising funds to procure some of these highly trained animals to help other Veterans. I was pleased to learn that the Royal Canadian Legion has offered support to Médric's "Paws Fur Thought External link, Opens in a new window" campaign and that it is committed to assisting in the future.

Médric's initiative caused me to 'pause for thought' on the effects that animals have on our well-being. After chatting with Médric, I now clearly understand the difference between a therapy animal that provides companionship and a service animal that has special skills oriented towards providing more focused assistance to its master.

In the case of Thai, he easily qualifies as a four-pawed caregiver. Since acquiring him, Médric has reduced his dependence on medications by half and lost over 170 pounds. In addition, Jocelyn says that the best thing since getting Thai is that they both now get to sleep at night. During my visit, I also learned about the case of a diabetic Veteran in the Ottawa area who was recently matched with a service dog trained to monitor his diabetic condition and alert him when his blood sugar level is too low.

Access to a service dog is not a choice made by a Veteran alone. There must be a prescription from the attending caregiver and an agreement from the health care team before proceeding. There also needs to be a big commitment on the part of a Veteran who must accept that because the service dog will accompany him everywhere, invisible injuries will now be visible.

I was pleased to see that the Minister of Veterans Affairs met with Médric recently and has announced funding for research on service dogs to be undertaken by our own Canadian Military and Veterans Health Institution. Since the research will focus on Canadian Veterans, hopefully Veterans who have experienced significant change in their lives after being matched with service dogs will be interviewed.

Last year the US Army Medical Department Journal External link, Opens in a new window devoted an entire issue to exploring relevant research on service dogs. In the introduction, Major General Rubenstein wrote: "Although attempts to systematically quantify and scientifically evaluate the results of animal-assisted therapy have been and will continue to be made, for now the anecdotal evidence of its overwhelmingly positive impact is not only encouraging, but also substantial enough to support its continuation."

Therefore, while we wait for the research to be conducted, let us not lose sight of the fact that service dogs are having a positive effect on the lives of Veterans today. One only has to look at the Cousineau family to see that. I believe that if the evidence is showing a demonstrable positive impact then the government should support this initiative.

On behalf of our Veterans and their families, thank you Médric, Jocelyn and Thai.

Guy

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Regards,
The Canadian Veterans Advocacy Team.

New announcement: Grim week for veterans and their families. Conservatives leaving veterans behind

2013 10 04

Grim week for veterans and their families. Conservatives leaving veterans behind

http://www.ndp.ca/news/grim-week-veterans-and-their-families

HALIFAX – Official Opposition Veterans Affairs critic Peter Stoffer (Sackville – Eastern Shore) says the federal government has completely failed in its treatment of Canadian Forces and RCMP veterans and their families.

"It was one of the worst weeks for veterans and their families ever," said Stoffer. "On the heels of a very damning report by the Veterans Ombudsman, this Conservative government announced they will appeal a class action lawsuit launched by veterans group Equitas Society who are fighting for improved compensation and care under the New Veterans Charter (NVC).

"It is outrageous for the government to say that they will launch a review of the NVC while, at the same time, they are fighting veterans in court over the same issue."

Stoffer also underlined the fact that the government is moving ahead with its plan to shut down nine Veterans Affairs district offices across the country and is continuing its legal fight with injured RCMP veterans over disability pension benefits.

"If these offices close, veterans' and their families will be forced to travel long distances to reach an office or use the phone or computers" said Official Opposition Veterans Affairs Deputy Critic Sylvain Chicoine (Châteauguay – Saint-Constant), "which is a huge barrier for many disabled veterans. Veterans can count on the NDP to fight to keep those offices open."

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Regards,
The Canadian Veterans Advocacy Team.

New announcement: Veterans traveling to Ottawa to oppose cuts to frontline services (Live Webcast)

Veterans traveling to Ottawa to oppose cuts to frontline services

Tune into a live webcast to hear what they have to say

Canada's veterans will be in Ottawa Thursday, October 3rd to talk about why the federal government must not close Veterans Affairs offices they rely on.
The office in Prince George has already been shut down and the government says that by February, offices in Corner Brook, Charlottetown, Sydney, Thunder Bay, Windsor, Brandon, Saskatoon and Kelowna will be closing their doors to veterans too.

These are the offices that both traditional and younger veterans – including those with serious physical and mental disabilities – depend on for face-to-face frontline services. If the Sydney, Cape Breton office closes, for example, approximately 4,200 veterans and their family members will be forced to drive seven and a half hours to Halifax for frontline services. Many say they can't because of their age or ailments.

PSAC's members include the workers at Veterans Affairs who provide these frontline services. These workers – who are speaking at this event too – are worried about what will happen to their clients.

Tune in to hear why veterans and PSAC members say the government should reverse its decision to shut down these offices and to find out how you can help. You can start by sharing the YouTube video being launched at the event.
WATCH THE LAUNCH LIVE at 11:00 am EST on Thursday, October 3.

www.psac.com/webcast

Share this event on Facebook, Twitter and through all of your networks.
Help veterans stop the closures!
-------------------------------
Suppression des services de première ligne : d'anciens combattants se mobilisent

Écoutez en direct la webémission pour entendre leurs témoignages.

D'anciens combattants canadiens se réuniront à Ottawa le jeudi 3 octobre. Leur mission : expliquer pourquoi le gouvernement ne doit pas fermer les bureaux du ministère des Anciens Combattants, qui sont essentiels pour eux.

Le gouvernement a déjà mis la clé dans la porte du bureau de Prince George et compte en faire autant d'ici février avec les bureaux de Corner Brook, Charlottetown, Saskatoon, Sydney, Thunder Bay, Windsor, Brandon et Kelowna.

Ces bureaux offrent des services de première ligne aux anciens combattants, jeunes et moins jeunes, certains ayant des incapacités physiques ou mentales. Par exemple, si le bureau de Sydney, au Cap-Breton, fermait, quelque 4 200 anciens combattants et leur famille seraient forcés de conduire pendant sept heures et demie pour se rendre au bureau de Halifax afin d'obtenir des services de première ligne. Et plusieurs en sont incapables, que ce soit en raison de leur âge ou de problèmes de santé.

Les travailleuses et les travailleurs qui offrent ces services de première ligne sont des membres de l'AFPC. Et ils sont très inquiets du sort réservé à leurs clients. Ils se feront d'ailleurs entendre à cet événement.

Branchez-vous pour entendre les témoignages d'anciens combattants et de membres de l'AFPC, qui demandent au gouvernement de revenir sur sa décision de fermer ces bureaux. Et vous pouvez les aider! D'abord en partageant la vidéo YouTube qui sera lancée lors de l'événement.
ASSISTEZ EN DIRECT AU LANCEMENT, à 11 h HNE, le jeudi 3 octobre.

http://www.psac-afpc.com/webdiffusion/

Soyez nombreux à partager cet événement sur Facebook, Twitter et dans tous vos réseaux.
Aidez les anciens combattants à mettre fin à ces fermetures!

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Regards,
The Canadian Veterans Advocacy Team.

New announcement: OVO: Improving the New Veterans Charter: the Report

http://ombudsman-veterans.gc.ca/pdfs/rep-rap-04-2013-eng.pdf

http://ombudsman-veterans.gc.ca/pdfs/rep-rap-04-2013-eng.pdf

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Regards,
The Canadian Veterans Advocacy Team.