Brig.-Gen. Misener clarifies JPSU’s current work and what future has in store
Re: “Feds deny ‘instability’ in senior ranks at support unit for injured soldiers that top general said would be abolished,” (The Hill Times, Aug. 8, p. 1). I have been in position as commander of the Joint Personnel Support Unit (JPSU) for over a year now. It is acknowledged that, for various personal reasons, there was […]
Feds deny ‘instability’ in senior ranks at support unit for injured soldiers that top general said would be abolished
The government is walking back a promise to disband and reform a problem-plagued support unit for ill and injured soldiers and ignoring the turnover in its senior ranks, say veterans affairs critics. In response to a recent House Veterans Affairs Committee report, the government rejected the committee’s assertion that the Joint Personnel Support Units (JPSUs) […]
After 10 years of advice, are the feds making enough progress to help veterans?
I believe that Canadians want veterans and their families to be treated well and accorded the utmost respect. After all, these are the men and women who selflessly take up the mantle to protect our way of life and, if need be, are ready to lay down theirs to ensure our peace and security. It […]
Liberals failing to prioritize Canadians’ health concerns in an effective manner
When it comes to health policy in Canada, it is clear that there are more issues than funding available. For this reason, the government should be prioritizing public health responses specifically to the needs of Canadians. Essentially, what should become key priorities on this list are the health issues that are affecting us nationally. As […]
Service quality, meeting Liberal promises ‘competing priorities’ at Veterans Affairs, department warns
Veterans Affairs Canada is warning it may not be able to both offer quality core services and keep up to the government’s mandate and budget commitments in this year’s departmental plan—proof critics say the Liberals over-promised and can’t deliver on veterans’ issues. But the minister responsible for veterans affairs says he has no intention of […]
Pension for life: the ‘elephant in the room’ remains
OTTAWA—Veterans Affairs Minister Seamus O’Regan, in his March 21 column in The Hill Times entitled “On veterans, let’s compare apples to apples,” continues his attempt to convince the veteran community that his announcement of Dec. 20, 2017, satisfactorily addresses the “elephant in the room” as to the financial disparity between the New Veterans Charter and […]
$37-million spent on veteran legal costs a ‘broken promise’: critics
The Liberals have spent at least $37-million since January 2016 on legal proceedings with veterans in a move opposition MPs and the veterans they’re fighting in court say represents a broken platform promise. The vast majority—$36.3-million—makes up two years’ worth of budgets for two programs: $18.4-million for the Veterans Review and Appeal Board, a body […]
Vimy: a reminder to the world of the senselessness of war
VIMY RIDGE, FRANCE—It all started on April 9 at 5:30 a.m., now 101 years ago. After weeks of furious preparation intended to give the assaulting force a chance against an objective that had already cost 100,000 French casualties, the first wave of 15,000 Canadians began the effort to retake France’s Vimy Ridge from the Germans. The […]
Should we care about another broken promise for veterans?
OTTAWA—The process was rotten from the start. Does the product provide any redemption? On April 1, 2018, government will once again try to resuscitate the justifiably maligned veterans’ program known as the New Veterans Charter. This latest revitalization of the 2005 Liberal legislation creates a new education benefit for veterans, renovates a caregiver allowance and […]
Minister O’Regan: on veterans, let’s compare apples to apples
OTTAWA—I am grateful for the opportunity to respond to the recent article by Brian Forbes (re: “O’Regan’s entitled to his own opinion but not his own facts,” The Hill Times, March 12, p. 14). Forbes is to be admired for his longtime advocacy for veterans, and I am fully supportive of his suggestion that we […]
