MANITOULIN—While the President of the War Pensioners of Canada (WPC) is raising concerns about further cutbacks being put in place by the government for not only veterans but troops that have been serving in Afghanistan, a former Ombudsman and colonel with the Canadian military says that it is for this reason, and many others, that he has launched a campaign to try and bring the government to accountability and transparency in areas where they have shielded or ‘downright lied’ to the public.
“The government, Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC), has now taken away the danger pay for the last 16 Canadian troops who guarded the embassy in Afghanistan,” stated Colin Pick, president of the WPC. “They can be injured there as well as anywhere else in guarding and protecting Canada’s interests.”
“And they (VAC) are taking away severance pay for our troops,” said Mr. Pick. “Politicians who serve two terms are guaranteed a salary-pension, even those who quit because of improprieties. I would think our troops should be getting at least equal payments to what civil servants get.”
Mr. Pick pointed out after the recent Rock the Hill Rally of veterans across the country in Ottawa, “Pat Stogran, who was a former Ombudsman in the Canadian government, informed military personnel and families that he is still sympathetic to veterans and has real concerns with the new veterans charter and is trying to get a million followers on his Facebook to indicate they have concerns so he can lobby the government for changes. Once he has those numbers of people backing him up he is hoping to go to the government and make them pay more attention to our veterans.”
“He is trying to rally all veterans groups to join him, so that together they can deal as one with the government,” said Mr. Pick. “If he gets a million hits on his site it gives him more power to argue with the government. The problem is the government hears from various veterans groups for instance but not as one united front to face the government.”
Mr. Stogran said Rock the Hill, “was a huge rally and it got me motivated about the fight for veterans and other people in our country who are not being treated right by the government. I tried to emphasize for instance that the Veterans Affairs minister has indicated that the majority of veterans are okay with the new veterans charter. However, the majority are not disabled or dependent on support from the government and it is these veterans who are being mistreated by the government.”
“And everyone, not just veterans, needs help from our health care system at some time, but this government works against people,” said Mr. Stogran. “What the government is doing to veterans they are doing to everyone.”
“It’s the people with broken bodies, mental health issues and others that are having the problems and not getting help from the government,” said Mr. Stogran.
“My goal is to have a government that is transparent and accountable to everyone,” said Mr. Stogran. He called the new Veterans Charter ‘a piece of dirt’ because it doesn’t provide the supports many veterans need, “and is a reflection as to what is happening everywhere on Canada’s streets. People in all walks of life are not being supported the way they should be.”
“My point is for all the groups that are fighting the federal government, not just veterans but First Nations, those that are disabled, seniors, etcetera to get together and advocate and then we can lobby the government with numbers behind it. We need to fight together on a level playing field. Right now the government keeps its citizens in the dark on many, many things. They are not accountable and the government is not transparent.”
“We voted for them and they should be accountable to us,” said Mr. Stogran. “At the Rock the Hill rally I saw the enthusiasm of all those who were there, it was a turning point for me to think about doing something. It’s the disabled and disadvantaged, that are being disadvantaged by the system the government has in place. It is a microcosm of what is actually taking place around the country.”
“We are the stakeholders, the bosses, not the clients of the government and we are entitled to get rid of the board of directors-government if they aren’t doing the job we feel they should be. But in this country it is like the government is a company treating us as clients not shareholders.”
Mr. Stogran, who formerly was the Veterans Ombudsman but hasn’t been in that capacity since 2010, said, “I’m a shareholder and I don’t like the way the company is functioning. The government is not accountable to the public about what they are doing and they are certainly not transparent, just look at all the scandals involving senators for instance.”
“In the fall I hope to become very vocal. It is sick the way our veterans and other citizens of this country are being treated and we have to stand up as on and say enough is enough,” stated Mr. Stogran, who can be contacted on Twitter @patstogran.
