Remembrance Day!

From the Globe and Mail: 
"Veterans plan silent protests of government policies"

When the clock strikes 11 a.m on Remembrance Day in Chilliwack, B.C., retired Air Force captain Claude Latulippe will be at the local cenotaph paying homage to former comrades and to the many other Canadians who gave their lives for their country. But, when it is time for Mark Strahl, the local Conservative MP, to lay a wreath, Mr. Latulippe and other veterans will face away.  It is a gesture that Mr. Latulippe, 65, says he believes will be repeated in communities across Canada. Veterans, he said, want to turn their backs on the Conservative government “just like the Conservatives are turning their backs on veterans.” The tension between Canada’s veterans and the government has been building for years over policies that veterans say ignore their sacrifices and leave them with less than what was provided to previous generations of soldiers, sailors and airmen. Protest is not something that comes naturally to former members of the armed forces, said Mr. Latulippe. “Military don’t march against authority,” he said. “Military fall in line and do what they’re told.” But demonstrations of previous years have been successful in moving the government to resolve some critical problems and could prompt action on others, he said. The list of current grievances is long. It starts with the New Veterans Charter, which became law in 2006. The charter replaced a system that provided disabled veterans with a pension for life with one that offers a lump-sum payment of up to $276,000.

Veterans Ombudsman Guy Parent has said the charter will leave hundreds of the most severely disabled veterans living in poverty in their old age. In fighting a case brought against the charter by a group of severely disabled veterans, the government is arguing that the Crown has no sacred duty to care for veterans – a position that has outraged former military personnel. Veterans are also upset that some disabled members of the military are being dismissed before they have put in the 10 years of service required to qualify for a pension. They are angry that the Veterans Affairs offices in nine Canadian communities are being shut down. And they are frustrated with a burial fund that is available only to veterans with incomes of less than $12,010 a year.

^ It is sad that veterans in Canada (and many countries around the world including the US) have to "fight" for the respect of the country and government that sent them in to places to risk their lives. The fact that the Canadian Government would even consider saying that they didn't have a "sacred duty" to the veterans is just plain disgusting. ^

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/veterans-plan-silent-protests-of-government-policies/article15371603/