(Teresa Marshall / @teeamarshall on Instagram)
Mike 'Blazer' Blais
I am pretty sure that veterans will recall outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s promises, which he made during the 2015 election campaign. A decade has passed since then. Admittedly there have been times wherein as an advocate, I felt compelled to pro-actively hold him to his word. This was particularly the case, when Trudeau's government appeared to be waffling on key issues such as the Pension for Life. However, by and large Canadian veterans have done well under his mandate. Objectively speaking, a majority of the promises which Trudeau made to dis-enfranchised veterans in 2015 have been honoured. While there yet may be work still required to 'fine tune' some of these new-and-improved policies, disabled veterans, particularly those who were injured or wounded in Afghanistan, should be grateful for those reformed benefits which they now receive.
I have been a proactive veterans stakeholder since 2011, and under the Liberal mandate, I have served on successive Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) Minister’s policy and mental health advisory committees. I currently serve as one of the Co-Chair’s for the new minister’s Health and Well-Being advisory. Be advised, I have a rigid policy with respect to assessing advocacy successes and the correlation of comprehensive legislation and subsequent funding. I am confident readers will concur with me when I state, unequivocally, a government’s promises are worthless without legislation and adequate financial support.
The resultant repercussions, which were inherent upon the last Conservative government’s reign of austerity at VAC. proved catastrophic to many within the veterans community. Budget-balancing initiatives cruelly targeted VAC and stripped the department of hundreds of case managers, client service agents and administrative staff. Consequently, case management suffered greatly as the remaining staff were forced to confront increased levels of veteran’s dissatisfaction due to unrealistic Client:Case Manager ratios. The dreaded backlog, having already attained critical dimensions, became overwhelming once the Liberal promises were honoured and disenfranchised veterans, by the thousands, stepped forward to avail themselves of the eligibility modified or remedial programs. Despite refilling hundreds of positions, the backlog persists in challenging the 16-week departmental adjudication threshold and case management ratio standards remain problematic.
When Trudeau made VAC’s staffing promises, he also responded to veterans who challenged Conservative plans to render several district offices redundant, by pledging to reopen them. Once again, the promise has been honoured. If one 'follows-the-money', to date some $78 billion has been dispersed over five years on staffing and reopening the once shuttered offices in Charlottetown, Sydney, Corner Brook, Windsor, Thunder Bay, Saskatoon and Kelowna. Furthermore, an additional VAC office was established in Surrey, BC and the outreach program expanded to include support for veterans living in remote regions in the far north.
Trudeau spent $3.6 billion to sponsor the Pension for Life program and in conformance with our advocacy objectives, this has provided veterans a choice between a life-time, non taxable monthly pension for younger veterans and, the for community's elders, a lump sum award (LSA). As promised, in 2019 the Liberals also raised the maligned LSA threshold to achieve parity with the $360k civilian insurance payouts. Legislation included supplemental programs which acknowledge severe and catastrophic disabilities through both the Pain and Suffering Compensation and Additional Pain and Suffering Compensation plans. Veterans who were cast adrift by SISIP after the mandatory two-year periods were provided the Income Replacement Program with a 90% threshold. This is 15% higher than those who are SISIP, established. Furthermore, the Liberals created a retirement benefit for veterans with a Diminished Earning Capacity (DEC) designation and through this award, for those aged 65 and up, financial support will be provided at 70% of the IRB award, for life.
Substantial funds have been dedicated towards creating or improving programs which pertain to veteran’s mental health. An allocation of $140 million was dedicated to support five years of mental health services and to support those veterans with PTSD, Depression or Anxiety Disorders while their disability benefit is being processed. This is a remarkable change in policy obligations, and to their credit, specifically designed to bypass the inherent service restrictions posed by the backlog and afford immediate treatment funding for services while the individual case is still being determined.
In 2024, $62 million was dedicated to the newly launched homelessness program. Another $4 million was dedicated to the Veterans Emergency Fund in 2018, along with $1 million per year to ensure these vital, emergency-focused support systems remain viable. Over $133 million was spent to support the education and training benefit with an additional $10 million budgeted per year on an ongoing basis. The Caregiver Recognition Benefit, was started in 2016 with a $187 million infusion. Since then, close to $10 million per year has been committed to this project.
Trudeau kept many of his other, very expensive, electoral promises such as; the Centre of Excellence’s on Mental Health and Chronic Pain, the Family Well-Being Fund, and the National Veterans Employment Strategy. Consultation with veterans and stakeholders was vastly improved through six ministerial advisory committees which were struck to assess and advise the Minister on; Policy, Service Excellence, Mental Health, Families, Care and Support and Commemoration. I can attest that an array of positive policy changes identified following robust consultation with stakeholders, have indeed been implemented. Many veterans of all eras have utilized the Education and Training Benefit, now augmented by a $10 million dollar annual disposition and Military Family Resource Centres, often the primary link during transition, have been expanded from 7 locations to 32 locations across the country.
Like him or not, Trudeau was good for veterans and yes, he kept his promises to them.
