Why Failing to Provide for Veterans Should Scare Us

Since Col Pat Storgan’s infamous news conference in 2010, veterans have been very-publicly calling out for us to fix the problems with their benefits.  Veterans have been protesting, suing, going on hunger-strikes, staging sit-ins, holding rallies, talking to the press, explaining to anyone who will listen what the problems are with Veterans Affairs.  Some of us have even been paying attention.  But the issues persist, not much action has been taken, and government has continued to fight our veterans in court.

There are many reason why we must fix veterans benefits, now.

There’s the hero-worshipping we-owe-our-freedom-to-them sentiment.  There’s the obvious fact that we citizens owe them for serving our national interests - they sacrificed for us, it is fair and just that we should provide and comfort them.  There is enlightened self-interest - if we do not care for those who served, we will soon find no one willing to take up that role.

There is also a big and obvious reason: fear.  While most hesitate to discuss this, we cannot deny it.  We have almost 1 million current and former members of the Canadian Forces and RCMP.  All have been heavily trained in the use of weapons, in pacifying and occupying regions, and in acting in unity against opposing forces.  We should be asking ourselves: is it a smart idea to make enemies of these people?

The history of human civilization has provided us with powerful object lessons: any group which is continually mistreated and ignored by general society will eventually erupt in violence.  We are witnessing this now in Europe, in Syria, in Egypt and Palestine.  We watched it with the Arab Spring, in Northern Ireland, in South Africa.  The Russian Revolution.  The French Revolution.  The American Revolution.  Mobs take to the street, and then take the streets, and then take control.

Every violent uprising grows from the same seed: frustration.  Frustration with the status quo; frustration with being ignored; frustration with being unable to obtain fair treatment through other means.  The PLO, IRA, ANC, FLN, FARC, ETA, PSP - the list stretches back through history - the Socialist-Revolutionary Party and the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, the American Patriots, the French National Constituent Assembly... All of these groups tried to talk and negotiate better circumstances for their people.  All became frustrated when the ruling power ignored or dismissed them.  All turned to violence.  From modern Greece to Ancient Rome  – from the present day to the far past, mistreated people have taken up arms when their appeals were ignored long enough. 

As uncomfortable as that may make you, it is still true.  Oppressed people rise up.

Those who enlist with the RCMP or Canadian Forces engage in a social contact with us citizens.  They agree to sacrifice limb, life, and sanity to protect us all.  In exchange, we agree to care for the wounded and dead and their survivors. 

Veterans take that contract very seriously.

Much more seriously than us.  We have been neglecting, ignoring, failing, or simply breaking our side of that contract.  We also continue to ignore the complaints of injustice from veterans.  This is an extremely dangerous way for us to behave.

In the year 100 BCE, Roman Consul Marius got the Senate to pass a law giving Legion veterans land upon retirement; a pension plan.  When the Senate later repealed that land grant, the outraged Legions took control of Rome and gave it to General Julius Caesar.  Throughout the rest of the Roman Empire’s history, cuts or delays to soldiers pay or mucking with their pensions would result in the Legions moving on Rome.  Many coups, rebellions, and civil wars would result from failure to provide for the Legions.

What has Canada been doing?

Retired Mounties and Forces know how we are failing them.  They know about the homeless veterans; the wounded veterans on welfare because of their lack of benefits; the widows and orphans not able to make ends meet while they are fighting for death benefits, decorated soldiers losing their utilities or homes due to lack of funds; veterans not able to keep medical appointments because they cannot afford the gas money; the lack of funds to give a veteran a decent burial.  Veterans are horrified that Calgary has a veterans-only food bank; they are appalled that there should be such a need.  Veterans have been lobbying and suing and protesting.  But things are not getting better and frustration is mounting.

Veterans gave for us, and we took.  We owe, but do not pay.  Veterans shout, we do not listen.  How long can it be before veterans take matters into their own hands?

Before you scoff at the idea of armed insurrection in Canada, remember OKA and the FLQ Crisis.  One doesn’t have to go to the distant past to see that it is possible for groups to take up arms in our country.  It has happened before, with small groups.  Now consider who we are pushing around. 

There are almost a million current and former members of the Forces and Mounted.  They are trained in urban warfare, in crowd control, in area occupation.  Serving members hold the keys to the armouries and fighting vehicles.  Even grievously wounded veterans are better able to fight than most civilians.  Veterans have the knowledge and training to take over a country; some have done it before.  They have access to the weapons and tools needed to take over a country; some know how to operate without them.  They have common cause with each other and are trained to act with unity.

What do we have?  We have the ability to ignore their problems, to not hear their pleas, to refuse fair treatment.  We ignore our duty and obligations.  We deny their claims, bury them in paperwork, fight them in court, refuse to discuss issues.  Veterans win in court but we credit our beneficence.  We play petty games with veterans lives and livelihoods.  We target outspoken veterans and their families for cuts and shaming.

Don’t wonder if it is possible for Canada’s veterans to rise against us all.  Instead, marvel that they have not already done so.

Veterans are not asking for the world.  They want nothing more than for us to make good on our promise: to care for the sick and wounded and to look after the survivors of those who made the ultimate sacrifice.  They want to be treated with the respect they earned by surrendering themselves to our collective will.  They simply want what they have earned through blood and sacrifice.

It is in all our best interest to see that they get what we owe.

Harold Leduc calls on AG to Investigate Privacy Violations

 NOTE: After sending out today's release calling for a public inquiry into VAC, I received a phone call from Harold Leduc, the veteran and former-member of the Veterans' Review and Appeal Board.  He wanted to thank me for my release and discuss the privacy violations.  I won't delve on what was done to this soldier - you can find that elsewhere - but consider the travesty.  He served Canada twice, once as a soldier, then again on VRAB.  He was injured both times.  The first wounds were part of being a soldier.  The second ones came when those he was working with used his service injuries to bully, harass, intimidate, and humiliate him in order to stop him from exercising his duties.

It is awful that someone's private medical records are passed around like notes in grade school.  It is horrific that anyone's medical conditions should be wielded as weapons against them.  It is obscene that adults would behave that way, like bullying teenagers.  It is offensive that any veteran should be made to suffer twice from the same injuries.

There is no word for what happened to this man.  Injuries sustained in defence of Canada were used to harm him by fellow Canadian civil servants.

Canadians are owed an explanation.

It is my honour to host this release from WO (ret'd) Harold O. Leduc MMM CD - JRM
 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

13 November 2012

Victoria, BC - Growing up in the Canadian way is an aspect of life that I take very, very seriously. This very same way of living demonstrates kindness, caring, and compassion towards all, especially those who have been injured or killed while defending our beautiful Country. I served my country with dignity and respect. Taking care of my injured brothers and sisters by assisting them in their struggle to get some small amount of compensation was and will always remain an honor. It is therefore with sadness that I must say:

I’m disgusted that the Minister of Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) shows no shame in covering up nefarious activities that target and seriously harm disabled veterans with illegally gained information from privacy breaches.

Therefore today I am asking the Attorney General of Canada to fully investigate all circumstances associated with these despicable attacks against our Country’s defenseless disabled veterans to determine if charges are warranted.

The Minister admitted stopping an ongoing investigation that would have implicated him and others. He knows that the Privacy Commissioner’s investigation would clear him because of their restricted mandate and because VAC had already cleaned up their act in May 2009 when my privacy breaches were investigated and apologized for. He’s shown that he can’t be trusted.

It’s no wonder my numerous pleas to the Prime Minister, Minister, the Privy Council Office and Veterans Ombudsman to stop the vile behaviour of the Veterans Review and Appeal Board (VRAB) officials that severely injured my military related PTSD fell on deaf ears. The Minister knew his official’s put my life was at risk and acted in contempt of the 2010 Canadian Human Rights Commission mediation but he let them increase their retaliation against me anyway.

The public record shows that these nefarious activities are wide spread and target more than a few disabled veterans who’s only crime is that they were disabled in our country’s service and are trying to improve their fellow veterans and families quality of life to the level this Government has promised.

It’s time to stop the Government’s abuse against defenseless disabled veterans and it’s time for the Attorney General to investigate the Minister’s covered up. Don’t let us down, Attorney General, we’ve suffered enough and veterans deserve nothing less that justice, truth, reconciliation and a Government that is honest and transparent.

It’s generally accepted that to abuse a disabled person is low; but to deliberately hurt defenseless disabled veterans who were injured standing up for democracy and their rights is the lowest of the low. I am certain the voting public will agree!

For more information or to schedule an interview please contact Harold Leduc via me and I'll connect you.

Government Stonewall Buys Media Silence

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.

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