Real Change: A New Plan For a Strong Middle Class (page 50)
"Well over 3,000 veterans waited over a year for their disability claims to be processed, reassessed or reviewed by Veterans Affairs Canada during the last budget year, according to new statistics tabled in Parliament. Those long waits impose an unacceptable burden on the most badly injured former soldiers, said a veterans advocate who suffered through the same treatment just over two years ago when he filed his post-traumatic stress claim......Leonardo, however, said he believes some of the backlog — a perennial problem since the Afghan war and the concurrent introduction of new benefits — has been made worse by the requirement that Veterans Affairs conduct its own medical assessments, instead of relying on diagnoses by physicians at National Defence."
"The watchdog for Canadian veterans is taking the federal government to task for causing added frustration and stress to many injured veterans as they wait months longer than promised to find out if they qualify for disability benefits and other supports. Veterans ombudsman Guy Parent's scathing new report follows a review of hundreds of applications for assistance by former service members."
Political promise
- Record
- #4913
- Language
- EN