Equitas B.C. Class Action Lawsuit

Equitas Society

Listen to Matt Kane one of the Equtias Board members on CBC Radio One. Click on the link and go to the 2 hour and 31-minute mark to hear the interview which can be found here: http://www.cbc.ca/listen/shows/the-early-edition/episode/13422686

Check out Equitas President talking about the court case and the Khadr payout https://omny.fm/shows/the-jon-mccomb-show/veterans-and-the-khadr-settlement

Equitas Society

Power Play: Fight for Benefits complete interview with Don Sorochan, QC., Miller Thomson
http://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/video?clipId=895787

Canadian veterans fight to reinstate lifelong pensions

The battle has gone all the way to the Supreme Court
KATYA SLEPIANSun Oct 15th, 2017 7:10pm

Burnaby’s Central Park was packed with people on Sunday morning, all there with one goal: to bring back lifelong pensions for veterans.

The event, the inaugural Walk for Veterans, was hosted by the Equitas Society.

Since its formation in 2012, the South Surrey-White Rock based group has been advocating for the cause through a class-action lawsuit against the federal government.

Video: http://streaming-colo.blackpress.ca:5080/live/streams/transcoded_vods/20171016015758-9900.mp4.mp4

The Pension Act, which guaranteed lifelong pensions for veterans, was replaced by the New Veterans Charter in 2006.

“It replaced [lifelong pensions] with lump sum payments that ended up being disproportionally lower,” said president Marc Burchell.

Burchell said that although Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a pledge to reinstate the lifelong pensions, the lack of action has left veterans feeling betrayed.

“He has failed to keep that promise,” said Burchell.

Currently, the Canadian government is fighting the lawsuit in the B.C. Supreme Court of Appeals. If it fails to get the result it wants, it must take it to the country’s top court.

The lawsuit has six plaintiffs, including Coquitlam veteran Aaron Bedard.

Bedard served in Afghanistan as part of the first combat tour of Kandahar. He served for 10 years, from 2002-2010, despite a serious injury from going over an anti-tank mine just three months in.

“I hid my injuries and carried on with a traumatic brain injury and damage to my spine,” said Bedard. He returned to Canada in 2007 and was went to doctor to doctor, but received little help.

“I started developing post-traumatic stress disorder.”

It took three years before he was released from service but according to Bedard, much of the fight remained ahead.

“Dealing with Veterans Affairs Canada was immediately adversarial,” said Bedard. He learned that he would only be getting a lump sum, which in 2010 was only $250,000.

It’s a common thread, said Burchell, that’s not helped by what he calls Veteran Affairs’ “culture of denial.”

“These men and women come back from Afghanistan and a lot of them are suffering from PTSD,” said Burchell. “They’ve been fighting [for pensions] but it’s hard for the to fight when they’re suffering from this disability.”

To learn more about the Equitas Society, visit their website. http://www.equitassociety.ca/

http://www.saobserver.net/news/video-canadian-veterans-fight-to-reinstate-lifelong-pensions/

Governing can be hard work.

Everything you say and do is dissected and critiqued by your opponents and the media and that can be extremely frustrating, I’m sure.

But every now and then, a government is tossed a softball that they can hit out of the park and gain some much needed adulation from the masses.

The Trudeau government has had two such chances in the last while and they swung and missed both times.

The first was when government lawyers asked to continue the legal action that argued that the federal government had no moral obligation for the well-being of Canadian veterans.

The second was this week, when another gaggle of federal lawyers went to court to keep confidential, documents from the Prime Minister’s Office dealing with the Duffy-Wallin senate expense scandal.

Both of these actions were initiated by the Harper government and both times, Justin Trudeau rightly lambasted the government and labelled these actions as undemocratic and insensitive.

Yet now that Trudeau is calling the shots from the corner office in the West Block, he is allowing federal lawyers to continue those battles.

It would have been an easy political win for Trudeau to halt both actions in the name of transparency and fairness.

The fact that he is allowing both actions to proceed is both puzzling and disturbing.

https://globalnews.ca/news/3841438/bill-kelly-why-is-the-trudeau-government-fighting-stephen-harpers-battles/

Aaron Bedard Nov 12, 2017

EAST MEETS WEST

Thank you Medric for getting me here to Halifax tonight. We had an excellent meeting and are building a plan for the new year. Great to see Dr. John Whelan Marcus Brauer Dawn Marie Collins Peter Stoffer Dennis Manuge and about 50 vets all willing to help me organize a walk with the Veterans in Halifax in the new year.

Doug Roberts Canada's Banished Veterans Nov 12, 2017

I would strongly recommend anyone who wants to see change attend and listen. Fantastic meeting tonight in Sackville NS with a turnout of some of our most outspoken Advocates . I was impressed
Aaron Bedard is hosting a series of "town halls" across Canada.
This one is in Nova Scotia.
Date: Sunday, 12-November-2017.
Time: 6-PM
Location: 45 Sackville Cross Rd., Lower Sackville, NS
To quote Aaron from the event description:
"This will be my first of 5 townhalls across Canada. I will be doing a full briefing on the EQUITAS case and our dealings with Government. I expect a spirited dialogue after the brief. I hope we can work together on some ideas to make the veteran community more united. I’m really looking forward to seeing so many people I have known online but never met over there!" Here's the list of town halls that he is hoping to host.
12-Nov: Halifax
16-Nov: Fredericton
19-Nov: Toronto
23-Nov: Winnipeg
25-Nov: Calgary

NETWORK, CONNECT & UNITE.

This is a crystal clear message and we are on track.
"Veterans in the community and whom are online or offline from coast to coast to coast can come together for a common purpose and take immediate action following the announcement of the Liberal's key promise to Vets".
Do you listen to a wounded Major or a Politician?
Don't be baffled by bull shyte!
https://globalnews.ca/news/3854068/bob-layton-editorial-veterans-needing-help/