Equitas B.C. Class Action Lawsuit

Trooper wrote:

pinger wrote:http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/disabled-veterans-equitas-supreme-court-1.4510457

The live press conference is a must watch. Very clear and articulate.

Thanks for this Pinger

I'm happy to hear they are preceding to the supreme court. Two things come to mind here for me; 1. The courts work in law, sympathy is not a factor. If it's not legislated in law, it won't go far.

2. As already stated, even a victory would not guarantee a return of the pension from the pension act or something better.

But with that said, just the fact that Veterans are taking this to the supreme court does not make the Canadian Government look good. So for this reason I applaud the move to take this to the supreme court.

I thank them, and wish them all the best.

I Feel the same sentiment.
They (the GOC) regardless of whatever party of the day that is in charge is ultimately in control (the obey rules set forth by "bureaucrats").
Regardless continued public attention and pressure will go along way.

Dannypaj wrote:

Trooper wrote:

pinger wrote:http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/disabled-veterans-equitas-supreme-court-1.4510457

The live press conference is a must watch. Very clear and articulate.

Thanks for this Pinger

I'm happy to hear they are preceding to the supreme court. Two things come to mind here for me; 1. The courts work in law, sympathy is not a factor. If it's not legislated in law, it won't go far.

2. As already stated, even a victory would not guarantee a return of the pension from the pension act or something better.

But with that said, just the fact that Veterans are taking this to the supreme court does not make the Canadian Government look good. So for this reason I applaud the move to take this to the supreme court.

I thank them, and wish them all the best.

I Feel the same sentiment.
They (the GOC) regardless of whatever party of the day that is in charge is ultimately in control (the obey rules set forth by "bureaucrats").
Regardless continued  public attention and pressure will go along way.

Exactly, keep the pressure on letting the whole Country know about the cruel tactics the Canadian government continues to place upon it's disabled Veterans.

Canadian Veterans Lawsuit Against Government Published on Nov 2, 2012

ON Point with Alex Pierson Feb 01, 2019

https://omny.fm/shows/on-point-with-alex-pierson/disabled-veterans-take-pension-battle-with-liberal

February 3, 2018

Roy Green: It’s about the money, not the veterans

By Roy Green

Listen: https://app-na.readspeaker.com/cgi-bin/rsent?customerid=8024&lang=en_us&readid=gnca_article_body_for_read&url=https://globalnews.ca/gnca-ajax/read-aloud/4003524/

Disabled veterans take appeal to Supreme Court on pension battle

By Tom Sasvari - February 9, 2018



MANITOWANING—The local president of the Manitoulin-North Shore War Pensioners of Canada agrees and supports a group of disabled veterans who are taking their legal fight for better pensions to the Supreme Court of Canada.

“I go back to the old Veterans Pensions Act, with all of the promises made by the government all veterans are still receiving less financial support from the Canadian government than they did 10 or more years ago,” stated Colin Pick. “Times have changed and costs have gone up and these veterans can’t afford to provide everything they need because of the high cost of living and a lack of sufficient help from the government and, with veterans who have been severely injured, this is even more so the case.”

Six veterans are involved in the Equitas case and they say the federal government has an obligation to care for the country’s wounded soldiers and that this duty was breached in a 2006 overhaul to the compensation regime for those injured in the line of duty.

Retired Major Mark Campbell and former combat engineer Aaron Bedard, both part of the Equitas suit, held a news conference on Parliament Hill January 31 to announce plans to take their pension fight to the Supreme Court.

Mr. Campbell called it a “national disgrace” that the government is spending tax dollars in a legal fight against injured veterans and “untolerable” that changes to the pension regime have left two standards of compensation for soldiers, depending on when they were injured.

“This is grossly unfair and it has to change,” Mr. Campbell told CBC News during a press conference.

The overhaul to veterans’ compensation replaced lifelong disability pensions with a lump-sum payment, career training and targeted income support, which the veterans claim was worth less than the previous pension system.

The case, which they hoped to turn into a class-action lawsuit, has been in the courts since 2012.

Lawyer Dan Sorochan, who is representing the Equitas group, told CBC News he hopes the Supreme Court will hear an appeal to a lower court decision that dismissed the lawsuit, and definitively rule on whether the government has a “social covenant” or sacred obligation and whether that covenant is enforceable.

“The position taken by the government was astonishing. For them to stand up and say we don’t have any special obligation to veterans was completely contrary to everything they had been saying in Parliament and during the election campaign,” Mr. Sorochan told CBC News.

During the 2015 federal election campaign, the Liberals promised to give veterans the option to have a lifelong pension. Following protests, the government announced major changes to the compensation system in December 2017 that would pour about $3.6 billion into veterans’ benefits.

Mr. Campbell called that proposal a “sham. The new pension for life is nothing more than a shell game,” he said at the news conference.

Veterans Affairs Minister Seamus O’Regan said the government has spent $10 billion to expand a number of items, including: pain and suffering compensation; income replacement and education; career transition and mental health benefits; and submitted that the government has followed through on its pledge to institute a lifelong pension.

Mr. Sorochan said the Government of Canada must either reinstate the old Pension Act, or must ensure that compensation for injuries under the New Veterans Charter is as good as or better than what veterans received before.

“These severely injured veterans involved in this court challenge and others carry an extra burden physically and mentally, as well as financially, on their families,” said Mr. Pick. “They should be better compensated for having fought for and serving our country than what they are getting. It boggles my mind that the government continues to fluff around this matter and has let it go this far in court.”

On February 1 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government is fighting some Canadian veterans in court because they are asking for more than the federal government can afford.

As has been previously reported, before the previous veterans’ lifetime pension was eliminated in favour of a lump sum payment, veterans could have received up to $2,700 per month. Under the restored pension plan the Liberal government introduced the maximum a wounded soldier would ever see is $1,150 per month.

However, Mr. Trudeau said his government’s monthly pension amount is lower because it takes into account the cost of services offered by the federal government, including post-traumatic-stress treatment and psychological care, support for caregivers and family members who look after wounded veterans and job training for those who can still get back into the job market.

“It will be interesting to see what happens in the court case,” added Mr. Pick.

http://www.manitoulin.ca/2018/02/09/disabled-veterans-take-appeal-supreme-court-pension-battle/

You're either with us (the veteran's advocate side of this) or the political side (which, whipping out your F-18 jock is not cutting le fromage).

Paint them all with the same brush.

Do they care about us?
Let us see what they'll do!

The battle cry!
Can you hear it  broadcasted by veterans of all generations across Canada! I can.
And it is louder and clearer over the internet....go vets go!


Take care of your veterans, Canada!

Check out VGR, he defends his statements....hmmm

Thanks for this clip. Nice to see that Lib (BC) Fuhr stuttering while justifying his party stance.
He called it 'hilarious' that veterans see anything wrong with their program.
10 billion $: once again - goes/went to hiring more staff for VAC, opening offices and will still go to hire more VAC pers, their training, bonuses and to coming up with new computer program to rename and re-calculate the 'Pension for Life'.