Stand up for our vets!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010 at 7:12AM That was a brutal press conference yesterday as out-going Veterans Ombudsman Pat Stogran spoke out to support the men and woman who have served in our armed forces and those police officers who have also served abroad.
It makes you wonder just how bad the situation is, when a former senior military officer who spent years dealing with military red tape throws up his hands in disgust. Stogran has highlighted some of the serious issues that he encountered when dealing with the department that is charged with helping the men and women who served this country.
Canadians should be shocked and angered at the comments made by Stogran and others at that press conference. He has a point about the difficulty of getting answers from the department. I suggest media types track down former ministers and staff and see if Stogran’s view of the department is accurate. Has he ruffled a few feathers? I am sure his blunt talking style has not earned him any friends in the department. Yet the very qualities that made Stogran a top soldier are the ones needed to make sure our vets get the help they need when they need it. Forcing them to go to court to get benefits is unacceptable. In uniform, Stogran represented the best Canada could offer, as a commander it was his job to look out for his troops. As Ombudsman he has continued that role and defended the interests of the men and women who have given so much serving our country. Shaking up that department is exactly what it needs.
The Veteran’s Charter was passed by Parliament during the Liberal tenure and proclaimed by the Harper government. Certainly on the political side, I believe that everyone and that includes all parties, felt they were acting in the best interests of our veterans. If it is flawed and it appears that some parts of it might be, then changes should be made. Any government regardless of its political stripe should be supported by all parties in the House should it decide to review the Charter and financial compensation packages our country offers our vets and their widows. This is too important an issue to let it degenerate into the usual political name calling we see day after day in the House of Commons.
This is an opportunity for the leaders of the opposition parties and the Prime Minister to work together in a constructive manner. Stogran’s comments should be followed up on, there should be a review. Whether such a review could be conducted by a standing committee or by some other means, perhaps a joint committee of the Senate and House, as that would help to remove the partisanship we usually see at committees. Our politicians need to step up and serve the best interests of the men and women who when called upon stepped up to serve Canada time and time again. It’s the least we can do for them, anything less is unacceptable.
Reader Comments (21)
This is correct, now if someone would wake up Laurie Hawn and get the clawback of veterans' pensions straightened out that would be...marvelous.
Mr. Hawn is a "yes man", not like this ombudsman who is doing his utmost to getit right.
Sad that vets in this day and age have to grovel for what little they receive.
Check out the history of the Clawback...not a pretty sight.
Another civil servant who thinks he is entitled to a job forever and goes to the press to bad mouth his boss when his term is up.Like the idiot at the census bureau who was making over a quarter million dollars (which in itself is scandalous) when he quit in a hissy fit and then had to have a big press conference to cry his sad story .WHY do these guys have to try and drag down the Government who gave them these cushy jobs in the first place??Do they think this will endear themselves to the government and get their jobs back or in the case of the census idiot get his way with the census.A 3 year term ended and a replacement will be found.Like the Governor General,it is not a forever job.So why don,t they just STFU and leave peacefully instead of embarrassing themselves with these press conferences.
I think PM Harper made the right choice in appointing Pat Stogran as Veterans Ombudsman. Apparently Stogran has uncovered some issues that can't be ignored. These problems have been going on for decades I expect. I have confidence there will be reviews to make things right or at least better.
What the hell is the matter with Harper? He is screwing veterans through cutting benefis and he is slamming vets that were exposed to agent orange at Gagetown. He's a disgrace.
This is from a government that accused those who opposed the war in Afghanistan of not supporting our troops. Look who is not supporting our troops now! Bert should read about the issue.
My husband is dealing with VA over a disability issue, and you would not believe how apathetic VA is dealing with Vet issues. I don't blame Harper I blame the bloated lazy civil servants that have taken control of VA. Frankly you aren't treated like a human being, they treat those in system like a number and you'd think it was their personal money they mette out instead of the taxpayer's money. Harper can use the current media outrage to rid the VA of those overpaid civil servants who love the job and perks but seem to recoil in horror when they are actually required to provide a service to the vets.
Currently VA are overstaff, and want the Feds to keep them that way so they can be prepared for any influx of injured vets. Excuse me but they are top heavy with to much staff and they can't process a cliam in under a year does that sound like a dedicated hard working Civil Service?
Maybe if our Vets were Tamils they'd be treated better???
Perhaps instead of blaming Harper, some of you people should go after the beauracrats who are making the decisions - do you really think that Laurie Hawn and Stephen Harper are sitting down making these decisions.
What better way to get these lazy assed beauracrats to change than have the "ombudsman" make the case and get the people on side. It seems the only way the Tories can get changes made because if they do it from the inside, the media and the opps go crazy.
So cool the rehtoric - some of you just need to think that there is more than one way to skin a cat - so to speak!
I agree with Alberta Girl , the Harper Government appointed a Veterans Ombudsman to get to the bottom of the problems. That's what has happened, now give the government a chance to review and solve the problems. I get a kick out of it, when the Progressive Loon Loving media causes a panic, H1N1 is a good example. Six months ago the media was calling the military baby killers,
Clearly Bert is an idiot. My father was a career military pilot who, in the end, was completely ignored by VA. I consider the way we treat those who defend our rights and protect us as shameful and I hope those in the department can't sleep at night.
The good Colonel told The National last night, the issue is with the BUREAUCRATS, faceless mandarins ...desk jockeys. The treatment of veterans encompasses both Liberal and Conservative administrations. What's needed is for someone in authority to grow some nads, grab these muttonhead pencil pushers by the scruff of the neck and drop kick their no good carcases into the Ottawa River.
Two of the three vets at that newser had issues going back to the first Gulf War. It took one vet two years to get satisfaction, the other man is still fighting. These matters were front and centre under Chretien's "three-peat" stay and Paul Martin's sorry attempt at P.M. There have also been instances when those in the military were exposed to toxic chemicals at bases in Western and Eastern Canada and governments of the day sat on their sorry hands. This issue is not unique
Bureaucrats think they run the show...little tin gods like the census nitwit that took his ball and went home because he wasn't getting his way.
Would anyone care to guess how many sons and daughters of our elected politicians are serving or have recently served in the CF?My guess would be NONE. If even a few of them were serving, I have to feel that this whole mess would have long been sorted out in favour of the soldiers.
Our Canadian government seem to be showing more concern for the illegal Tamil refugees than we do for our veterans or our unemployed and homeless.
This is a very sad state of affairs.
''Harper can use the current media outrage to rid the VA of those overpaid civil servants who love the job and perks but seem to recoil in horror when they are actually required to provide a service to the vets.''
Which is why PMSH chose the VERY outspoken Stogran in the first place.
Shake up the bureaucrats and snivel servants.
Maybe a few will quit like StatsCan Shiekh did,
and that's a good thing.
I’ve been on a number of websites reading peoples’ response to this news story and the response is overwhelmingly in favour of Stogran. I can’t help but think that the few like Bert that make ridiculous comparisons or try to trivialise the situation have some hidden agenda.
Clearly, Stogran is passionate about this fight.
The only valid complaints that I’ve seen are from the very bureaucrats that Stogran does battle with. To quote Don Martin’s article in the National Post: “He is legendary within the ranks for being excessively antagonistic. He's "all vinegar, no honey," a senior source told me”.
Well Bravo! Keep it up! The government would do well to create a new post for Stogran that would allow him to shake them up more!
Military son ???What in hell would you know about politics that does not come out of your ass.PM Harper does not make up these policies IDIOT.And don,t drag your Father into this.Do your own fighting.If you had any brains you would have started to complain when the LIBERALS were making these policies and decimating our armed forces.PM Harper has built up the forces into a respected fighting force around the world that does not need to beg for an airlift to disaster areas anymore.And i am sure your father would appreciate the new fighter jets that the Conservatives are buying for the Air Force.So go after the bureaucrats in the Veterans affairs not the innocent PM who is trying so hard to fix things with a minority government.And you should be ashamed of yourself for thinking different of our Prime Minister after all he has done for the Vets and the Military.
I might be way off here, but I was under the impression that this government had been the best in terms of supporting the military and the interests of military personnel in DECADES. Apparently there's a disconnect when it comes to veterans benefits. The Conservative government would be wise to listen openly and the ombudsman would be wise to cool his heels a bit.
I have to laugh though, when Liberals and ND's pretend to be advocates for the military, personnel and veterans.....weak attempts to capitalize on a political opportunity and SO transparent.
If the "lump sum payout" for veterans is such a good thing, then why don't our Members of Parliament abandon their gold-plated, indexed pensions and accept a similar lump sum buy-off?
Also - the attitude of VA employees is incredible. Thinking I could "help make a difference", I asked about a job with VAC ... and the clueless young thing handed me a brochure on how to become a security guard ... (if that's how she treats university-educated veterans with over 30 years in uniform ... how's she treating the others?)
It seems that part of the problem is bureaucratic in nature, as in internal people making decisions on claims etc. Never discount the power of a bureaucrat to scrw somebody over for political reasons.
Is there the slightest possibility that this is all a chess move by our PM. How else to get the media and libs on the side of the vets, get an inquiry going, and making needed changes, than by having the Conservative appointed honcho making waves.
If he had just made a report to the minister or whoever, outlining the problems, the coalition would have been against it. Called it much ado about nothing. But, we now know that the rules etc being followed were put in place by the Liberals. That the liberals ignored the vets for years.
For the next three months more problems will be brought forward and the media and coalition will demand changes be made.
We will see how they vote when a bill making those changes comes up for a vote.
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