Latest UP-Dates
NDP Repeat Call For Inquiry Into Veterans Affairs 26 January 2012
Supporters Military And RCMP Veterans' Campaign Against Pension Benefit Reduction At Age 65 OTTAWA - Peter Stoffer, Official Opposition Critic for Veterans Affairs has again called for an inquiry into the Department of Veterans Affairs as more revelations of privacy breaches come to light. "More veterans" advocates have come forward with documents that demonstrate the Department has violated their privacy and that briefing notes were prepared for use by the previous Minister and his staff. It's time for a full public inquiry into how this Department handles veterans' records. "My constituent, Dennis Manuge, is now posting documents online that he uncovered through an Access to Information Request," said Stoffer. "It is shocking to see that departmental staff prepared a briefing note for the Minister with information related to his pensioned conditions and advocacy work, just because the veteran wished to join a local client advisory committee." "It boggles the mind that with approximately 215,000 clients to serve, the department is spending a lot of its time preparing briefing notes for the Minister on certain veterans. Why? The whole thing seems Orwellian." Stoffer noted that the audit being completed by the Privacy Commissioners" office into how Veterans Affairs Canada handles its clients" privacy protection cannot come soon enough. "The Minister said he took action over a year ago to strengthen controls for veterans' privacy but these revelations really cloud his commitment. I call on the Department to get to the bottom of this issue now and launch an inquiry into departmental procedures and practises." For more information, please contact: Holly Brown, Office of Peter Stoffer. Phone: 902-861-231
Veterans' Ombudsman (OVO) Town Hall Meeting 20 October 2011 At Dartmouth, NS
Supporters Military And RCMP Veterans' Campaign Against Pension Benefit Reduction At Age 65 The Committee attended a Veteran's Affairs Ombudsman's Town Hall meeting in Dartmouth, NS on the evening of the 20 Oct 2011. During the question period I asked him if his office was prepared to conduct a review of the unjust and unfair government policy of reducing our superannuation benefits at age 65, to which he responded: As that issue is not a Veterans' issue it does not fall within my mandate. He went on to explainthat it was not a systemic problem among Veterans as he had not received any complaints from Veterans concerning that matter. It was clearly evident that he was not interested in discussing the Clawback issue and he discouraged attendees from asking further question on that topic. According to the Veterans Ombudsman web site and also listed in the Carter of the OVO it reads: That the vision of the Veterans Ombudsman office will be the rallying point for Veteran issues. The Veterans' Ombudsman then stated the following misleading facts: This is not a Veterans' issue; His office has not received any complaints from Veterans concerning this matter and that our annuity issue is not considered to be important to Veterans; That we have not made a formal request to have his office review this issue, and; That he was not prepared to spend a million of dollars and staff resources to investigate this non-Veterans issue. After being rudely interrupted on numerous occasions, I finally, through persistence; explained to him and the audience that the CPP clawback does not affect all Canadians, that his office received two formal requests to investigate our Veterans annuity issue and that our Issue is considered to be a very important one to Veterans and their families. We have received the support of over 112,500 supporters, which includes the support of 54 former Generals. They can't all be wrong! Supporters of the Military And RCMP Veterans' Campaign Against Annuity Reduction At Age 65 who feel that they are being unfairly penalized because of the Superannuation reduction at age 65 are encouraged to write and/or contact the Office Of The Veterans' Ombudsman (OVO) and request that he initiate a formal review of this unjust and unfair policy. Lets make it a systemic complaint! Mr. Guy Parent, Veterans Ombudsman e-mail address is: Guy.Parent@ombudsman-veterans.gc.ca A BCC copy would be appreciated! Sincerely John Labelle Veterans Annuity Campaign Coordinator florencejohn@ns.sympatico.ca
New Clawback Bill (Bill C-215) Introduced In House Of Commons
Supporters Military And RCMP Veterans' Campaign Against Pension Benefit Reduction At Age 65 Routine Proceedings: June 15th, 2011 / 3:10 p.m. Peter Stoffer Sackville-Eastern Shore, NS, moved for leave to introduce Bill C-215, An Act to amend the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act (deletion of deduction from annuity). Mr. Speaker, we are trying for the fifth time in the House of Commons to correct a historical wrong. In 1966, the superannuation plan of members of the armed forces, the RCMP and that of all federal and provincial public servants were blended. What happens is that when members of the RCMP and military receive either a Canada disability pension or the Canada pension, it is deducted dollar for dollar from their superannuation plan, which leaves many of our heroes in Canada in financial dire straits when they retire or when they become disabled. This is simply wrong. Thousands upon thousands of veterans and their families, RCMP members and their families have asked that this injustice be corrected. When we introduced this bill in the House of Commons the last time, the Conservatives, unfortunately, defeated it. We are hoping they have had a change of heart over the past election. We are hoping, for the sake of our heroes in this country, that we can correct this historical wrong. I thank Roger Boutin, Mel Pittman and John Labelle of Lower Sackville for their great efforts, not only for their service to our country but also for the promotion of this important legislation. Peter Sfoffer
NDP Party Platform includes Clawback Issue
Supporters Military And RCMP Veterans' Campaign Against Pension Benefit Reduction At Age 65 From: canadasndp@ndp.ca To: canadasndp@ndp.ca Subject: Jack Layton highlights plan to improve the lives of Canadian veterans Date: Sat, 2 Apr 2011 17:27:50 -0400 In this election, Jack Layton and Canada's NDP continue to bring attention to the outstanding concerns of our Canadian veterans-the brave men and women who sacrifice to protect our communities and risk their lives for our country. Just as they do not hesitate in their service to us, we must never abandon them when they need our help. Most of all, every Canadian veteran deserves to be shown our deepest respect and unending gratitude. Shamefully, Stephen Harper's Conservatives have done nothing to help the two-thirds of veterans who receive no benefits. They not only failed to end the insurance company mentality in the department of Veterans' Affairs-they actually managed to make it worse. Harper's so-called Veterans Charter has made it more difficult for vets to access the benefits that they're entitled to. Instead of looking for practical solutions, the Harper Conservatives chose to ignore these issues and attack anyone who stood up for veterans. Former Veterans' Ombudsman Pat Stogran was fired for speaking out. He was then personally slandered and his medical records were leaked. When veterans' rights activist Sean Bruyea spoke out about his mistreatment- the Conservatives disregarded his privacy rights and illegally released his personal medical files. This disgraceful behavior is an insult to every Canadian veteran and is unbecoming of the office Mr. Harper seeks to occupy. It's no wonder Canadians say that Ottawa is broken. Today, I was honoured to be joined by former Veterans Ombudsman Pat Stogran in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. It was there that I outlined the New Democrats' plan to restore pensions and benefits for retired and disabled RCMP and Canadian Forces members. In doing so, we will be able to help improve the lives of over 100,000 veterans. Our concrete plan includes proposals to: End unfair pension clawbacks for retired and disabled CF and RCMP veterans; Restore the Service Income Security Insurance Plan for retired and disabled veterans; Overhaul the Veterans Review and Appeal Board; Hold a public inquiry into the use of Agent Orange at Canadians Forces Base Gagetown; Introduce a "Helmets-to-Hardhats" program to help veterans transition to construction and shipbuilding trades. In this election, we have the chance to fix what's broken in Ottawa. Working together, we can end the political games and begin to build a better country. A Canada where we help each other get through the tough times, where families come first, and nobody gets left behind. Thank you for taking the time to get in touch. If you would like more information on our 2011 campaign, please visit: www.ndp.ca. Sincerely, Jack Layton and Canada's NDP/ Jack Layton et le NPD du Canada