Silence used to be career suicide for a politician. Politicians would feel compelled to answer questions, even if there was no content in their response. Side-stepping, dodging, ducking, and verbal dancing were skills essential for public office. Even when annoyed by their evasion, one could always admire the skill with which a question was handled - just like acknowledging a well-shot goal by the opposing hockey team.
The Harper Government has abandoned that. They don't do verbal puck handling. They just shut up.
Take, for example, Bev Oda's months long vow-of-silence regarding that altered memo. Or the Harper Government's refusal to disclose budget details.
Or Steven Blaney.
Regular readers have heard about Cpl Fabien Melanson before. Summary: in 2004, VAC made a mistake and sent his pension to someone else for 5 months, the result of which was the loss of his home and a suicide attempt. He's been fighting for justice since; and me with him. Minister Blaney can - and should - act to remedy this; that's the job of a minister.
Minister Blaney has employed the silent treatment. For over a year, he has not only refused to act, he has refused to interact. Neither he nor his office will respond to emails, phone calls, faxes, or messages relayed via other MPs and Senators. Not a word to Fabien.
For Minister Blaney, this tactic seems to be working. Since he refuses to comment, the media won't cover the story. For the press, 'minister holds his tongue' is not news, it isn't a story. Fabien's loss has already been reported. Blaney's continued inaction is not news worthy.
But that is the point: the key issue behind Fabien's entire struggle has been the uncaring VAC bureaucracy and its refusal to take responsibility for what it did. By refusing to discuss it, Blaney is continuing the abuse of this veteran.
And he's getting away with it. Because 'no comment' is not news.
At the beginning of this month, Fabien's property and land were repossessed because he cannot afford the repairs. The minister did not intervene. However, we were assured, through multiple unofficial sources, that the Minister's office was sending a letter. Three weeks later and no correspondence has appeared. More silence; the Minister was just buying time with vague, unofficial, assurances.
Since we cannot respond to a non-existent letter, there remains nothing to report in the media.
There should be public outrage. This veteran has been mistreated for 8 years and, in a few weeks, will lose everything because of the VAC bureaucracy. The person who is responsible for veterans won't speak to or about him. The public should be offended that any Minister would keep silent over such an affair.
They should be. But they won't. Because the public won't hear about it; the media won't report it.
The House closed this week. Question Period will be over until the fall. Minister Blaney will get another two-and-a-half months to ignore Cpl. Fabien Melanson. By the time the Commons resumes sitting, Fabien's property will be disposed of and the devastation VAC began in 2004 will be total. I imagine the Minister will claim then that the issue has been resolved.
But you likely won't hear about that either.
By then, it will be old news as well.
Which is, after all, the point of all this silence: if they keep quiet long enough, the problem goes away. The budget passed without disclosure. Oda was never held to account for altering a legal document. And Fabien Melanson will no longer have property to fight for.
Showing posts with label fabien melanson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fabien melanson. Show all posts
22 June 2012
01 June 2012
Minister Neglects Duty, Vet will lose Home
The ongoing saga of Fabien Melanson hit another low yesterday. Our appeals to Minister Steven Blaney (VAC) have gone unanswered. We needed him to act quickly to prevent Fabien from losing his house.
Blaney has mailed us a letter. Apparently.
So much for today's deadline for saving the house and property.
The situation is very simple: in 2004, VAC made an error and sent Fabien's pension to the wrong account. It took VAC 5 months to fix, an unreasonable amount of time. The loss of income halted renovations on Fabien's home and it received significant weather damage. VAC paid the back-pension but has done nothing about the impact those missing funds had.
VAC admits, in a letter from last June, that they were responsible for the error and the Fabien suffered as a result. The Department doesn't have a policy for dealing with this. That means that the Minister is the one who has to make it right. We've been trying to get the Minister involved for a year. He still has not responded to any of the emails, faxes, or phone calls made to his office (although, it seems, there is a letter in the mail.)
Minister Blaney had the responsibility and authority to resolve this. He also has a responsibility to engage with the veterans who need his help. Not only is it common courtesy, it is also part of his job.
I find that Steven Blaney has neglected his duties to a massive degree. If he will not perform the responsibilities of his position, then he should have the decency to step down.
If you agree, or if you think what happened to Fabien is ridiculous, so something; write or call the media. Tell your friends to do the same. Neve rmind your MPs - government ignores us and Opposition is powerless. The only way this may be fixed is massive public outcry.
Write a letter to a newspaper. Phone a radio Call-In show. Email your favourite news provider. Call local TV.
Tell everyone who will lister what has happened to Fabien and how you feel about it.
You can include information from this news release:
***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***
Veterans Affairs Inaction Costs Veteran Home; Advocate Calls for Minister’s Resignation
St. John’s (Our Duty) – Cpl Fabien Melanson of Cap-Pele, NB will lose his house tomorrow, the end result of a 2004 clerical error by Veterans Affairs, and his advocate is calling for the Minister to resign.
The Van Doo veteran served in Croatia and liberated a hospital in Bosnia. He retired to his hometown when his PTSD prevented him from serving. Then his real war began.
In 2004, Melanson’s pension went missing because Veterans Affairs sent it to the wrong bank account. Despite constant calls, VAC did not correct the error for 5 months. By the time he did get his money, Cpl Melanson’s finances were in ruins. So was his house - the missing pension halted renovations and weather damage rendered the veteran’s home unliveable.
For the next 7 years, Fabien Melanson fought with Veterans Affairs to get them to fix his house. It took a hunger strike last June to get VAC to acknowledge their responsibility. But VAC claimed it ‘had no mechanism” for paying for the repairs.
“That’s highly misleading,” says Melanson’s advocate, Jeff Rose-Martland, “The Department may not have a policy, but it does have a way to do so. The Minister can do it.”
Rose-Martland is referring to ex gratia payments, where a Minister can use discretionary funds to address issues which fall outside of normal procedures.
“We’ve been trying to get the Minister to fix this for a year. We sent our first appeals for help during the hunger strike. We have been emailing, faxing, and phoning regularly since, but the Ministry has been unresponsive. I did speak with an aide in February who said they were looking into it; that’s the only response we’ve had.”
Tomorrow, Bridgewater Bank will proceed with legal action to sell the property. “Fabien’s been doing his best to meet his obligations, but 8 years of being homeless have taken their toll. Most of his income has been going to pay the mortgage on a house he can’t live in, and to store his possessions. He got behind in his payments, Bridgewater discovered the condition of the house, and the clock has been ticking since. We have until tomorrow to provide them with a payment plan and construction schedule.”
As Melanson has no funds for rebuilding, sale of the property is inevitable and Rose-Martland says the Minister is to blame.
“Ever since he was appointed Minister, Steven Blaney has had both the authority and responsibility to fix this,” he says, “VAC admitted their responsibility a year ago; the Minister has a duty to make reparations. The Minister should have been seeking us out, not the other way around. Now, Fabien is going to lose his house and land, and the Minister still won’t act. He won’t even pick up the phone.’
Late today, Rose-Martland received word that the Minister will reply. By mail.
“Since Bridgewater Bank said they were going to sell the place, we’ve been hounding the Minister’s office, begging him to do his duty. He ignored us; no response at all. This afternoon, we found out – through sources other than the Ministry – that they have mailed a letter to us. An 18th century reply to a 21st century problem.”
The advocate is now calling for the Minister to resign. “Since he was appointed Minister, Steven Blaney has had a duty of care to see this issue resolved,” says Jeff Rose-Martland, ”He has willfully ignored that responsibility and is in dereliction of his duty. If he will not discharge his duties as required, then, as a citizen, I ask him to resign his position as Minister Responsible for Veterans Affairs.”
The distraught veteran is unavailable for comment.
***MEDIA CONTACT***
Jeff Rose-Martland
President, Our Duty Inc
rosemartland@gmail.com
709-739-1842
Blaney has mailed us a letter. Apparently.
So much for today's deadline for saving the house and property.
The situation is very simple: in 2004, VAC made an error and sent Fabien's pension to the wrong account. It took VAC 5 months to fix, an unreasonable amount of time. The loss of income halted renovations on Fabien's home and it received significant weather damage. VAC paid the back-pension but has done nothing about the impact those missing funds had.
VAC admits, in a letter from last June, that they were responsible for the error and the Fabien suffered as a result. The Department doesn't have a policy for dealing with this. That means that the Minister is the one who has to make it right. We've been trying to get the Minister involved for a year. He still has not responded to any of the emails, faxes, or phone calls made to his office (although, it seems, there is a letter in the mail.)
Minister Blaney had the responsibility and authority to resolve this. He also has a responsibility to engage with the veterans who need his help. Not only is it common courtesy, it is also part of his job.
I find that Steven Blaney has neglected his duties to a massive degree. If he will not perform the responsibilities of his position, then he should have the decency to step down.
If you agree, or if you think what happened to Fabien is ridiculous, so something; write or call the media. Tell your friends to do the same. Neve rmind your MPs - government ignores us and Opposition is powerless. The only way this may be fixed is massive public outcry.
Write a letter to a newspaper. Phone a radio Call-In show. Email your favourite news provider. Call local TV.
Tell everyone who will lister what has happened to Fabien and how you feel about it.
You can include information from this news release:
***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***
Veterans Affairs Inaction Costs Veteran Home; Advocate Calls for Minister’s Resignation
St. John’s (Our Duty) – Cpl Fabien Melanson of Cap-Pele, NB will lose his house tomorrow, the end result of a 2004 clerical error by Veterans Affairs, and his advocate is calling for the Minister to resign.
The Van Doo veteran served in Croatia and liberated a hospital in Bosnia. He retired to his hometown when his PTSD prevented him from serving. Then his real war began.
In 2004, Melanson’s pension went missing because Veterans Affairs sent it to the wrong bank account. Despite constant calls, VAC did not correct the error for 5 months. By the time he did get his money, Cpl Melanson’s finances were in ruins. So was his house - the missing pension halted renovations and weather damage rendered the veteran’s home unliveable.
For the next 7 years, Fabien Melanson fought with Veterans Affairs to get them to fix his house. It took a hunger strike last June to get VAC to acknowledge their responsibility. But VAC claimed it ‘had no mechanism” for paying for the repairs.
“That’s highly misleading,” says Melanson’s advocate, Jeff Rose-Martland, “The Department may not have a policy, but it does have a way to do so. The Minister can do it.”
Rose-Martland is referring to ex gratia payments, where a Minister can use discretionary funds to address issues which fall outside of normal procedures.
“We’ve been trying to get the Minister to fix this for a year. We sent our first appeals for help during the hunger strike. We have been emailing, faxing, and phoning regularly since, but the Ministry has been unresponsive. I did speak with an aide in February who said they were looking into it; that’s the only response we’ve had.”
Tomorrow, Bridgewater Bank will proceed with legal action to sell the property. “Fabien’s been doing his best to meet his obligations, but 8 years of being homeless have taken their toll. Most of his income has been going to pay the mortgage on a house he can’t live in, and to store his possessions. He got behind in his payments, Bridgewater discovered the condition of the house, and the clock has been ticking since. We have until tomorrow to provide them with a payment plan and construction schedule.”
As Melanson has no funds for rebuilding, sale of the property is inevitable and Rose-Martland says the Minister is to blame.
“Ever since he was appointed Minister, Steven Blaney has had both the authority and responsibility to fix this,” he says, “VAC admitted their responsibility a year ago; the Minister has a duty to make reparations. The Minister should have been seeking us out, not the other way around. Now, Fabien is going to lose his house and land, and the Minister still won’t act. He won’t even pick up the phone.’
Late today, Rose-Martland received word that the Minister will reply. By mail.
“Since Bridgewater Bank said they were going to sell the place, we’ve been hounding the Minister’s office, begging him to do his duty. He ignored us; no response at all. This afternoon, we found out – through sources other than the Ministry – that they have mailed a letter to us. An 18th century reply to a 21st century problem.”
The advocate is now calling for the Minister to resign. “Since he was appointed Minister, Steven Blaney has had a duty of care to see this issue resolved,” says Jeff Rose-Martland, ”He has willfully ignored that responsibility and is in dereliction of his duty. If he will not discharge his duties as required, then, as a citizen, I ask him to resign his position as Minister Responsible for Veterans Affairs.”
The distraught veteran is unavailable for comment.
***MEDIA CONTACT***
Jeff Rose-Martland
President, Our Duty Inc
rosemartland@gmail.com
709-739-1842
07 May 2012
What Is Your Support Worth?
Do you support the troops? Do you care about veterans? Wear red on Fridays? Have a yellow ribbon on your car?
GREAT!
Let's take it to the next step: digging in and helping one specific veteran.
I've got one: a guy who served in Croatia, who helped rescue the Drin Hospital patients, who has a number of injuries, especially PTSD. Veterans Affairs made an error in 2004 and deprived him of his pension for months. By the time he got what he was owed, his house was in ruins, his finances in tatters, and he'd attempted suicide. Eight years later, after a high-profile hunger strike, he has a letter of apology from VAC. Until this month, he had been homeless. His home is still in ruins and his finances still in tatters. He still owes a mortgage on the uninhabitable property, which is in foreclosure.
It was his grandparents home.
As if that wasn't enough, we have discovered a very active campaign has been working to discredit him. A few people have been contacting potential donors and telling them his plight is all a scam.
It isn't.
Every word of his plight is true and can be checked by anyone. Google: Fabien Melanson Veteran *
$5000 gets his property back in his possession. That's where we start, now.
So the question I have is this:
Will you help me with this one veteran?
The entire time I've been trying to throw him a rope, others have been reeling it short.
Will YOU help rescue just one veteran? Please? You wear the red every week, you wear the ribbon with pride, you talk about heroes... will you do something to help one?
Or is that all just talk?
Donation info:
--------------
Anyone can help, every donation counts. If 5000 give a loony, this vet gets his house back from the lawyers. If 2500 people skip coffee, we can do it. If 500 people skip the drive-thru... you get the idea.
Paypal/email transfer to fabien@ourduty.org or poca@ourduty.org
OR
Donations can be made to TD Bank (direct or wire transfer)
Transit #: 05023
Institution #: 004
Account #: 6418137
Name: Jeff Rose-Martland for Fabien Melanson
OR
Cheques & Money Orders
Payable to: Jeff Rose-Martland for Fabien Melanson
Send to:
Fix Fabien's House
4 Neville Pl.
St. John's, NL
A1E 2E7
We will accept everything from copper pennies to gold bars. But please, no rubber cheques.
----
*there's another Fabien Melanson who is a musician and all over the net. Include 'veteran' to find the right one.
23 April 2012
Broken Soldiers: Epilogue
Clerisy Entertainment's Broken Soldiers has been running on Eastlink-TV and one may be left wondering what happened to Fabien Melanson. Here's what happened:
What Happened to the Hunger Striker?
The Our Duty website is have some technical problems, so I am re-posting this here.
If you want to help Fabien, you can give by:
Paypal/email transfer to fabien@ourduty.org
OR
Donations can be made at TD Bank
Transit #: 05023
Institution #: 004
Account #: 6418137
Name: Jeff Rose-Martland for Fabien Melanson
OR
Cheques & Money Orders
Payable to: Jeff Rose-Martland for Fabien Melanson
Send to: Fix Fabien's House
4 Neville Pl.
St. John's, NL
A1E 2E7
(Regarding the Our Duty site - we seem to have bee caught up in the Google java-browser-hijack along with 20,000 other sites. If you try to get to ourduty.org via facebook link or a search engine, you get security warnings and/or nothing. If you click here: http://ourduty.org I hope you will get there. If not, copy/paste the address into your browser and you will get there fine. The site itself is safe, the hijacking/malware appears to occurs when coming in from facebook or search engines. We are working on fixing that.)
What Happened to the Hunger Striker?
The Our Duty website is have some technical problems, so I am re-posting this here.
If you want to help Fabien, you can give by:
Paypal/email transfer to fabien@ourduty.org
OR
Donations can be made at TD Bank
Transit #: 05023
Institution #: 004
Account #: 6418137
Name: Jeff Rose-Martland for Fabien Melanson
OR
Cheques & Money Orders
Payable to: Jeff Rose-Martland for Fabien Melanson
Send to: Fix Fabien's House
4 Neville Pl.
St. John's, NL
A1E 2E7
(Regarding the Our Duty site - we seem to have bee caught up in the Google java-browser-hijack along with 20,000 other sites. If you try to get to ourduty.org via facebook link or a search engine, you get security warnings and/or nothing. If you click here: http://ourduty.org I hope you will get there. If not, copy/paste the address into your browser and you will get there fine. The site itself is safe, the hijacking/malware appears to occurs when coming in from facebook or search engines. We are working on fixing that.)
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