MANITOULIN—The president of the War Pensioners of Canada (WPC) did not mince words in his reaction to comments made by Canada Veterans Affairs Minister Julian Fantino on his claim that some veterans are receiving $10,000 per month under the veteran’s charter.
“He’s an idiot for saying that,” stated WPC President Colin Pick on Monday. “For him to be saying something like that, it just goes to show that he hasn’t done his homework.”
As reported by the Canadian Press (CP) June 18, 2014, only four of Canada’s 521 severely wounded Canadian veterans might be eligible to receive up to $10,000 per month in allowances and benefits under the federal government’s veteran’s charter.
Mr. Fantino had cited the dollar figure of $10,000 to illustrate the government’s generosity towards ex-service members, reported CP. However, statistics released by his own department show payments of that size would be rare and possibly just theoretical.
CP reports the remaining 92 percent of veterans who receive payments, (the permanent impairment allowance, the permanent impairment supplement and the earnings loss benefit), collect far less each month. The $10,000 figure also includes the monthly Canadian Forces pension, a payment that’s made whether a soldier was injured or not.
In the CP article, when asked how many wounded soldiers receive close to $10,000 per month, department officials said the figure represents a scenario of a severely wounded major released after 27 years of service and that four soldiers receive that top tier of allowances.
Mr. Fantino, “speaks out first before getting his facts straight,” said Mr. Pick. “He obviously doesn’t think before he speaks and then says things that are definitely not appropriate. With people like that, I don’t attach much merit to their comments.”
