Bruce Moncur

by **Accer** Wed 12 Jun 2019, 1:16 pm

Canada's top military general needs to resign

Bruce Moncur
June 12, 2019

The Canadian military is currently fighting a three-headed dragon.

First, there is the state of the equipment. Second there is the problem of endemic sexual harassment. And third there is the perilous mental health of those currently in military service and those who have left.

The current chief of the defence staff, General Jonathan Vance, was supposed to tackle all three heads of this monster, but he has failed in spectacular fashion.

It is no secret that the ships, planes, helicopters and submarines that the Canadian forces employ belong in museums rather than in operation. Recently, the Sea King helicopter finished 40 years of service. These helicopters are not just obsolete for the battlefield. In many ways, they have become a safety hazard to the government employees who use them every day.

The refueling ship that caught ablaze and had to be towed to Hawaii is just one example of the decrepit state of our navy. It was after this incident that the former Conservative government awarded a contract to build a new refueling ship to a company in Quebec, Davie Shipbuilding in Lévis, across the river from Quebec City.

When the incoming Trudeau government took over in October 2015, the losing bidders, the Irvings of New Brunswick, approached newly sworn-in cabinet minister Scott Brison, a Nova Scotia MP, about reopening the bidding process.

The Liberals had just swept Atlantic Canada, winning all 32 seats. They decided it was worth paying the $89-million cancelation penalty to the Quebec firm to re-open the process. That decision pushed the desperately needed ship's production back years.

Someone leaked the information about this decision to the press and Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, the military's second-in-command, was selected out of 73 possible whistle blowers and charged by the RCMP.

The subsequent two years have seen a persistent attempt to hinder the Canadian military's Norman's due process.

Norman was relieved of his position and denied compensation for his legal representation. In the end, when the prosecution abandoned the case, the government had to apologize to the vice-admiral.

General Vance accepted full responsibility for the Admiral Norman fiasco, but not before he, as chief of the defence staff, had received an increase in pay.

No progress over two decades on sexual assaults

On top of all this, General Vance has had to deal with a problem that has given Canada's Armed Forces a black eye for decades: the sexual misconduct within the forces. So persistent is this problem that Maclean's magazine could use the same headline about the victims of sexual assault within the Canadian forces twice, 20 years apart.

The military leadership announced a few years ago that sexual misconduct would be the chief of the defence staff's top priority. Then came a booze-filled Department of National Defence flight, carrying former NHLer Tiger Williams to meet the troops on the front lines. Instead of spreading good will and raising morale, the former hockey star got himself accused of sexual misconduct.

Although the charges were dropped, the damage was done. The military decided to cancel these morale-building visits.

The auditor general's 2018 report and a recent Statistics Canada study both showed that little to no progress on the sexual harassment file has been made in the three years since the current chief of defence staff assumed his role.

That is not a record of which anyone could be proud.

Then there is the very recent fiasco of the new Afghan Memorial. It was unveiled behind closed doors with only high-ranking leadership and civilian staff in attendance. The military brass did not invite any of the more than 1,800 soldiers injured in the Afghanistan operation injured; nor did they see fit to invite the families of the 158 soldiers killed there.

The ensuing outrage led to yet another government apology, with General Vance, yet again, shouldering the full responsibility. The damage to the mental health and well-being of the injured veterans, their families and the families of the dead was done, and no apology could assuage it.

Insensitivity to veterans and their families

I have had my own experience with the Canadian military's insensitivity to the suffering and sacrifice of its front-line troops. As a member of the service excellence committee I attended the last veterans' stakeholder summit. The veterans affairs minister, at the time, was Kent Hehr, and he presided over the whole affair.

This event coincided with the 10th anniversary of Operation Medusa, the 2006 Canadian-led offensive in Afghanistan, that saw 12 Canadian soldiers lose their lives. It was a deeply traumatic experience for all who took part, including me. Prior to the summit, I requested, through our committee, that Veterans Affairs give a presentation which would offer material that could help me and my colleagues find the mental health services we all needed.

Veterans' Affairs denied this request, on the premise that it would take away from the "vibe" the stakeholders' summit was trying to create.

I then asked if they would at least provide an information table for the veterans of Medusa in attendance, but that request was denied as well.

During the summit the chief of the defence staff did a Q and A with the assembled stakeholders, during which I asked him why this opportunity -- probably the last where most of the battle group would be together -- was wasted. His response was not merely to disagree. It was to yell and berate me. Three weeks later, one of the Operation Medusa veterans committed suicide.

This callous behaviour towards colleagues, subordinates and soldiers who died or were injured shows that the current chief of the defence staff is not fit for his command. He should do the honourable thing and resign his position before this contract comes to an end. His conduct and demeanour have been truly unbecoming of an officer.

Bruce Moncur is a Canadian Afghan war veteran. In 2006, he suffered severe injuries during Operation Medusa in a "friendly-fire" incident between Canadian and American troops.

http://rabble.ca/news/2019/06/canadas-top-military-general-needs-resign

by Covert Fri 25 Jun 2021, 7:25 am

Advocates decry homeless London
military veteran's death

Dale Carruthers
Publishing date: Jun 23, 2021

The troubled post-military life of Benjamin Van Eck appears to have followed a “blueprint” that’s become too common for soldiers struggling to adjust to civilian life, says an advocate for Afghan war veterans.

Van Eck, 40, served two tours in Afghanistan in 2007 and 2009 before leaving the military in 2014 for medical reasons related to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Van Eck, whose body was found June 9 in a field near the former South Street Hospital, had struggled with addiction and homelessness after leaving the military, say friends and family.

“What I think about are the other guys who are probably going to end up like him,” Bruce Moncur, an Afghan war vet who now lobbies on behalf of soldiers, said in reaction to the Londoner’s death.

“It’s the same story, just a different name,” he said, calling Van Eck’s struggles a “blueprint” that he’s seen before.

Moncur, 37, joined the army as a reservist and was deployed in 2006 to Afghanistan, where he was seriously injured while fighting in Operation Medusa, a large-scale offensive that led to the deaths of 12 Canadian soldiers.

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Though he didn’t know Van Eck, Moncur said he’s known at least 10 soldiers who committed suicide — most of them suffering from PTSD — and blames Veterans Affairs Canada for not doing enough to help soldiers adjust to civilian life.

“It’s the triple D policy: delay, deny, die,” Moncur said from Thompson, Man., where he lives with his wife, New Democrat MP Niki Ashton, and their twin boys.

Sylvain Chartrand, director of Canadian Veterans Advocacy, said he doesn’t know the specifics of Van Eck’s case, but he also blames the federal government.

“The system failed him. There’s no doubt about that,” Chartrand said.

Though improvements have been made in assistance offered to soldiers leaving the military, much more needs to be done, said Chartrand, who served in Cyprus and Bosnia during a 21-year military career.

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“Should we be where we are now? Absolutely not,” he said.

A Veteran Affairs spokesperson declined to comment on Van Eck’s military service, citing privacy reasons.

Van Eck sometimes stayed with his mother or other relatives, but he ended up on the streets as his struggle with addiction worsened, said Benjamine Clements, whose father took legal guardianship of Van Eck when he was 11 years old.

Craig Cooper, London’s homeless prevention manager, said his staff had worked with Van Eck over the years.

“He was known to our system and he was receiving supports that were offered to all vets,” he said, declining to go into specifics. “His death has really impacted our team.”

Police initially ruled Van Eck’s death suspicious and said an autopsy was completed, but the cause of death remains unknown

His death prompted an outpouring of grief from military members, past and present, across Canada.

A memorial had been planned for this weekend but has since been cancelled.

https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/the-system-failed-him-advocates-decry-london-afghanistan-veterans-death

by **Replica** Sun 30 Oct 2022, 5:02 pm

Ottawa has ‘failed’ veterans as calls grow for minister to resign: advocates

By Sean Boynton . Global News
Posted October 30, 2022

Ongoing issues at Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC), including long waits for disability benefits, are sending the message that the federal government doesn’t care about veterans, advocates say — adding it’s time for the minister in charge to resign.

Speaking to Mercedes Stephenson on The West Block Sunday, the advocates — along with former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole who served as veterans affairs minister under Stephen Harper — said they’ve heard from veterans who have grown increasingly disheartened.

“A lot of them have expressed that they don’t feel valued, they don’t feel important,” said Debbie Lowther, the co-founder and CEO of VETS Canada, a charity that helps veterans in crisis.

“These are men and women who put their lives on the line for our country, so I think we owe them a lot more than what we’re providing.”

Bruce Moncur, the founder of the Afghanistan Veterans Association, was even more blunt.

“The current government has failed to understand the problems or even frankly care, and the ‘triple-D policy’ — delay, deny, die — is alive and well,” he said.

An update from the Office of the Veterans Ombudsman released on Tuesday found veterans are waiting an average of 43 weeks for disability claim decisions, far above the 16-week standard set by VAC.

The Trudeau government has repeatedly promised to meet that standard and reduce the backlog in files for case managers, who veterans and advocates say are overwhelmed.

The union representing those case managers and hundreds of other VAC employees is now calling for Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay to resign or be fired, accusing him of repeatedly refusing to meet with members to discuss their concerns.

Those include a $570-million contract the department recently awarded to an outside company to provide rehabilitation services for veterans, as well as the department’s continued reliance on hundreds of temporary staff to address backlogs.

MacAulay’s office says the minister has met with Veterans Affairs employees, the union and its senior leadership on numerous occasions. He did not make himself available to The West Block for an interview.

“The bar wasn’t set very high with (MacAulay’s) predecessors, and he seems to be not able to even make that,” said Moncur, who also co-chairs the VAC’s service excellence advisory group, adding the minister should “100 per cent” resign.

O’Toole also agreed the time has come for MacAulay to leave his post.

“This (file) always needs a minister who’s very capable, very hands-on and action-oriented,” he said. “Mr. MacAulay is not like that, so he’s got to either step up or step out.”

O’Toole added he takes some of the responsibility for the current state of the department as a former veterans affairs minister, saying he should have “moved much faster” in increasing mental health supports for former military members.

But he argued the Trudeau government needs to own up as well and make those services a priority.

The issue of veterans’ mental health was brought to the forefront on Aug. 16, when Global News first reported that a VAC employee had discussed medically-assisted dying with a veteran, a case that has brought renewed scrutiny of the department and the ongoing struggle for veterans seeking support.

Sources told Global News a VAC service agent brought up medical assistance in dying, or MAiD, unprompted in a conversation with the combat veteran, who was discussing treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and a traumatic brain injury.

Global News is not identifying the veteran due to privacy concerns, but has spoken directly with the individual, who says the service agent mentioned MAiD repeatedly, even after the veteran asked the service agent to stop.

The veteran said he felt pressured as a result.

The agent who discussed MAiD is still working at the department, but is no longer interacting directly with veterans, officials have confirmed.

Earlier this month, MacAulay appeared for the first time in front of the House of Commons standing committee on veterans affairs to discuss that call. Yet he repeatedly deferred questions about the investigation to his deputy minister, Paul Ledwell, and only apologized for the incident after being pressed by lawmakers on the committee.

Ledwell said then that the investigation into the discussion, which is still ongoing two months after it was launched, had determined the service agent’s behaviour was an isolated incident. Yet he also said a majority of service calls are not recorded, adding the conclusion was based on a review of employee files.

O’Toole said he found MacAulay’s testimony at the hearing “horrendous” and that the department needs to ensure such discussions never happen again.

“We should not be having MAiD for people with treatable mental health conditions, particularly (because) when a veteran feels like they are a burden on their family and can’t access supports, they are vulnerable,” he said.

The department says it is still undergoing training for all VAC employees who interact with veterans to ensure MAiD is never discussed during service calls.

Lowther with VETS Canada said better training for VAC employees overall would be a first step toward improving the department and its relationship with veterans.

“About 80 per cent of the referrals we receive do come from Veterans Affairs case managers, and some are very good, and they know what they’re talking about,” she said.

“And then there are others that are just baffled by their own benefits. They can’t understand them themselves, so they can’t explain them to the veterans. So, there’s a big gap there.”

As Remembrance Day approaches, those advocates say they are concerned about the ongoing epidemic of veterans dying by suicide, making the discussion of MAiD with someone who wasn’t seeking it all the more painful.

Studies by Veterans Affairs have concluded veterans have a “significantly higher” risk of death by suicide compared to to the general Canadian population, particularly for younger male veterans. Over the past decade, more veterans have died by suicide than the number of Canadian Forces members killed during the entire war in Afghanistan.

“Dead veterans cost no money,” Moncur said. “The fact that (MAiD) was offered is disgusting. But how the government has handled it since is even worse.”

— with files from The Canadian Press

Global News

by JAFO Mon 31 Oct 2022, 11:39 am

Advocates, Union Members and the press can call for his resignation but it will do absolutely NOTHING to improve VAC.

If the Case Manager who pushed a veteran that VAC can provide MAiD assistance and they are still working at VAC instead of being immediately fired it proves that the bureaucrats OWN Veterans Affairs and they will do and work at their own god damn pace regardless of how many vets commit suicide! THEY DON'T CARE!!!

It's time for veterans to start demanding that Veterans take over VAC so we can take care of our own people. Politics has run the show for veterans for over 100 years and it has only proved they are incompetent at their job. It's about damn time veterans get their turn to take care of veterans!

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