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http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/breakingnews/leaked-documents-show-feds-expected-to-hand-out-fewer-vet-disability-claims-106475093.html
By: Murray Brewster, The Canadian Press
OTTAWA - A trove of leaked internal Veterans Affairs documents suggests bureaucrats knew from the beginning that a new system of benefits would mean less cash for injured soldiers with one analysis projecting savings of up to $40 million per year.
Another analysis, contained among 3,500 pages obtained by The Canadian Press, raised concern that some disabled veterans might be forced back to work or to take up part-time jobs to supplement their income.
The projections were made as the army faced the heaviest combat since the Korean War and proved wildly inaccurate. The outgoing veterans ombudsman said it justifies his claim that the federal government was prepared from the outset to penny-pinch injured soldiers.
Pat Stogran said the documents make a mockery of recent Conservative government promises to inject more the $2 billion into veterans benefit. It's cash, he said, that should have been there all along.
"They knew full well they were going to saving money on this," said Stogran, whose three-year term ends on Remembrance Day. The government told him last summer he wouldn't be re-appointed.
Some of the leaked documents, a mixture of briefing notes and background analysis, were used to prepare last year's evaluation of the New Veterans Charter.
Other records date back to when the charter was formally enacted by the Conservative government on April 1, 2006. The overhaul had originally been passed with all-party support the previous year by the Martin government.
Stogran was incredulous and said he's asked for almost three years to see that kind of background documentation.
"You've got much more information there than I've got," he said. "That's been one of my complaints and one of the reasons I consider this office to be a bit of a scam is because they won't share that kind of stuff."
A series of financial projections made in 2006 show the government expected an initial spike in the number of disability claims followed by a drastic reduction starting in 2011. The expectation was that spending on the charter would be $238.2 million in 2006 before falling to $201.7 million within six years.
Stogran said he can't understand how anyone could expect to fight a war and see disability claims drop.
The documents shows bureaucrats realized in 2008 that their projections would be wildly inaccurate and they began thinking about revisions. The new budget for 2012 is $345 million.
A spokeswoman for Veterans Affairs Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn said she couldn't comment on the original intent of the charter, but said the numbers contained in the documents don't reflect what the government is doing now.
"The net result of our actions is clearly more money for veterans," said Sophie Doucet in an email note.
The records make reference to an actuarial analysis conducted by Veterans Affairs prior to the introduction of the new charter. One undated document, entitled "VAC modernization: Current Canadian Forces Entitlement versus New Entitlement," picks apart the findings of the analysis, which was not included in the stacks of leaked material.
The critique refers to a scenario of a fully disabled master corporal and compares benefits under both systems. The soldier received almost $11,000 per year less before taxes under the new charter.
The government's own assessment also suggested some veterans might have to find a way to bolster their income — a suggestion denied in both the critique and by Veteran Affairs Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn's office.
"The analysis states that CF veterans will be forced to work even if disabled," said the document. "On the contrary, no veteran will be forced to the workplace if unable to do so."
The sentiment was echoed Doucet.
"We wish to ensure decent revenues to those who cannot work. It has never been our intention to force a veteran to work because of a lack of government support," she said.
Veterans Affairs internal analysis mirror a separate, independent actuarial study conducted last year by Stogran's office.
The documents show Veterans Affairs conducted focus group research on members of the military, trying to figure out the best way to sell the new charter to them and discovered at the outset that needs of families were "perceived to be inadequately addressed."
Blackburn and Defence Minister Peter MacKay recently announced $52 million in additional funding to support families who care for disabled soldiers.
By: Murray Brewster, The Canadian Press
OTTAWA - A trove of leaked internal Veterans Affairs documents suggests bureaucrats knew from the beginning that a new system of benefits would mean less cash for injured soldiers with one analysis projecting savings of up to $40 million per year.
Another analysis, contained among 3,500 pages obtained by The Canadian Press, raised concern that some disabled veterans might be forced back to work or to take up part-time jobs to supplement their income.
The projections were made as the army faced the heaviest combat since the Korean War and proved wildly inaccurate. The outgoing veterans ombudsman said it justifies his claim that the federal government was prepared from the outset to penny-pinch injured soldiers.
Pat Stogran said the documents make a mockery of recent Conservative government promises to inject more the $2 billion into veterans benefit. It's cash, he said, that should have been there all along.
"They knew full well they were going to saving money on this," said Stogran, whose three-year term ends on Remembrance Day. The government told him last summer he wouldn't be re-appointed.
Some of the leaked documents, a mixture of briefing notes and background analysis, were used to prepare last year's evaluation of the New Veterans Charter.
Other records date back to when the charter was formally enacted by the Conservative government on April 1, 2006. The overhaul had originally been passed with all-party support the previous year by the Martin government.
Stogran was incredulous and said he's asked for almost three years to see that kind of background documentation.
"You've got much more information there than I've got," he said. "That's been one of my complaints and one of the reasons I consider this office to be a bit of a scam is because they won't share that kind of stuff."
A series of financial projections made in 2006 show the government expected an initial spike in the number of disability claims followed by a drastic reduction starting in 2011. The expectation was that spending on the charter would be $238.2 million in 2006 before falling to $201.7 million within six years.
Stogran said he can't understand how anyone could expect to fight a war and see disability claims drop.
The documents shows bureaucrats realized in 2008 that their projections would be wildly inaccurate and they began thinking about revisions. The new budget for 2012 is $345 million.
A spokeswoman for Veterans Affairs Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn said she couldn't comment on the original intent of the charter, but said the numbers contained in the documents don't reflect what the government is doing now.
"The net result of our actions is clearly more money for veterans," said Sophie Doucet in an email note.
The records make reference to an actuarial analysis conducted by Veterans Affairs prior to the introduction of the new charter. One undated document, entitled "VAC modernization: Current Canadian Forces Entitlement versus New Entitlement," picks apart the findings of the analysis, which was not included in the stacks of leaked material.
The critique refers to a scenario of a fully disabled master corporal and compares benefits under both systems. The soldier received almost $11,000 per year less before taxes under the new charter.
The government's own assessment also suggested some veterans might have to find a way to bolster their income — a suggestion denied in both the critique and by Veteran Affairs Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn's office.
"The analysis states that CF veterans will be forced to work even if disabled," said the document. "On the contrary, no veteran will be forced to the workplace if unable to do so."
The sentiment was echoed Doucet.
"We wish to ensure decent revenues to those who cannot work. It has never been our intention to force a veteran to work because of a lack of government support," she said.
Veterans Affairs internal analysis mirror a separate, independent actuarial study conducted last year by Stogran's office.
The documents show Veterans Affairs conducted focus group research on members of the military, trying to figure out the best way to sell the new charter to them and discovered at the outset that needs of families were "perceived to be inadequately addressed."
Blackburn and Defence Minister Peter MacKay recently announced $52 million in additional funding to support families who care for disabled soldiers.
