Guranteed Veterans

From the G & M:
"Ottawa to introduce new guaranteed pension benefit for injured veterans"

The Conservative government is launching a new guaranteed pension benefit for injured veterans but the Royal Canadian Legion says Ottawa still needs to do a lot more. The new Retirement Income Security Benefit is meant to address a concern that some moderately to severely disabled vets are facing a significant drop in income when they hit 65. The new benefit would provide monthly income support for life. That support would be means tested and distributed on a case-by-case basis. The announcement is the first major change put forward by new Veterans Affairs Minister Erin O’Toole, who was promoted to replace Julian Fantino in a January cabinet shuffle. The former minister had become a political lightning rod for critics who challenged the Conservative government’s record on a wide range of veterans issues, including benefits and the quality of services provided by the department. In an interview, Mr. O’Toole said the new policy addresses what he views as the most significant problem with veterans charter changes launched in 2006. “This was the biggest gap,” he said. “This was a clear public policy miss.” The minister also indicated that he is working to announce additional measures for veterans. “There will be things that I hope to include in the coming weeks,” he said. Royal Canadian Legion spokesperson Bruce Poulin said the organization is “cautiously optimistic” regarding Monday’s announcement. But the Legion said the announcement “falls short” by only responding to one of 14 recommendations made last year by the House of Commons veterans affairs committee. Mr. Poulin said the Legion still has questions as to how the new benefit will be calculated and whether it will be adequate. “We are pleased that they are providing something when there was absolutely nothing,” he said. The Legion had previously identified this issue as being among the top three most urgent areas for the government to act. The other two areas include increased benefits for reservists and increasing disability awards for veterans.

 

 

^ Hopefully this will be a step in the right direction for Canadian veterans - with more to follow. ^

 

 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-to-introduce-new-guaranteed-pension-benefit-for-injured-veterans/article23382005/