Veterans Ombudsman says Ottawa is ignoring key recommendations, making vets wait to have treatments covered

by Gloria Galloway

Canada’s Veterans Ombudsman says significant gaps remain in the financial security promised to men and women who retire from the Canadian Armed Forces, especially those who leave with a service-related injury.

Guy Parent, who has served as ombudsman for nearly eight years, says successive governments have made real improvements to the way veterans are compensated since the New Veterans Charter replaced the old Pension Act in 2006. Ottawa, he said, has taken action on 46 of the 64 recommendations made by his office to address systemic problems at the Veterans Affairs department.

But, Mr. Parent said in a report card to be released on Tuesday – a copy of which was obtained by The Globe and Mail – there are still long-standing issues that create significant hardships for former members of the armed forces.

At the top of the list, he said, is the fact that some injured veterans are forgoing treatment in the first months after their retirement because the costs are not paid by the Veterans Affairs department until the therapy has been approved by bureaucrats. The decisions can take up to 50 weeks, he said, and the medical services are not covered retroactively.

People may go a year without accessing treatment,” Mr. Parent said on Monday in a telephone interview. “Some of them may be in deteriorating health status because they don’t access treatment because they have to pay out of their own pocket.”

That was not the case under the old Pension Act, he said. Before 2006, veterans with service-related injuries were reimbursed for their medical expenses from the time they applied for coverage.

full story at https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-veterans-ombudsman-says-ottawa-is-ignoring-key-recommendations-making/