OTTAWA—Soldiers badly wounded in Afghanistan have been left short-changed by changes to veterans benefits, cabinet ministers have conceded as they scrambled to boost financial assistance and promised more changes to come.
The government will provide increased financial support for seriously injured veterans, an enhanced monthly income for those unable to return to work and guarantee a minimum annual income, Veterans Affairs Minister Jean Pierre Blackburn told a news conference Sunday.
These latest measures will assist 4,000 veterans and will cost an estimated $200 million in the first five years.
“We are taking measures to offer better financial support to our veterans because they deserve it,” Blackburn said.
“The quality of life for our veterans is a top priority for our government,” he said.
Both Blackburn and Defence Minister Peter MacKay hinted that further changes are coming, notably to the controversial program of paying lump sums to compensate veterans for serious injuries, such as a loss of a limb.
In complaints backed by studies, modern-day veterans have said that the most seriously injured are worse off financially with the lump sum, compared to the monthly payments it replaced.
“This is one of the very serious issues that we are still seized with and intend to correct,” MacKay said.
An announcement on that issue could come as early as this week.
With Sunday’s announcement and others to come, MacKay said the government was taking action to address the “unintended consequences” of the 2006 veterans charter, a revised package of benefits that critics say left some worse off.
Toronto Star
