XPost: can.politics, mtl.general   
   From: Panca@nyet.ca   
      
   This was on Remembrance Day:   
      
   Prime Minister Stephen Harper today issued the following statement to mark   
   Remembrance Day:   
      
   “Today we remember the courage and dedication of the Canadian men and women   
   who   
   have fought valiantly over the years to defend our freedom and rights, making   
   it possible for us to live in a peaceful, democratic country where we enjoy one   
   of the best qualities of life in the world.   
      
   “For the past two centuries, hundreds of thousands of Canadians have earned   
   enormous respect – at home and abroad – by answering the call to fight   
   against   
   tyranny and evil around the world in engagements such as the First and Second   
   World Wars, the Korean War, Afghanistan and many other international military   
   operations. Those who fought so valiantly in these battlefields are still   
   honoured and remembered in places such as Vimy Ridge, Ypres, Normandy, Sicily,   
   Hill 355 in Korea, and Kandahar to name a few. Many made the ultimate   
   sacrifice.   
   [- - - ]   
   “Members of the Canadian Armed Forces have the honour to wear a uniform that   
   is   
   recognized across the world as a symbol of courage and democracy. The recent   
   deadly attacks on Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent and Corporal Nathan Cirillo,   
   who were targeted simply because they proudly wore this uniform, only   
   strengthens Canada’s resolve to keep fighting against those who would deny   
   our   
   liberties and freedoms, and who have a complete disregard for human lives.   
      
   “We can never repay the debt we owe to the intrepid men and women who paid   
   for   
   our freedom with their lives, but we can remember their enormous sacrifices and   
   pay tribute to their bravery and patriotism.   
      
   “Lest we forget.”   
   ___________________________________________   
      
   I guess he's one of those who 'forgot' . . . .   
   _________________________________________________   
      
   . . . Because this is today:          The Canadian Press -  Thursday, November   
   20, 2014   
      
      
   Veterans groups demand answers on $1.1 billion in lapsed funds   
      
   OTTAWA -- Veterans groups are responding angrily to news that the federal   
   department responsible for their care and benefits was unable to spend upwards   
   of $1.1 billion of its budget over seven years.   
      
   The figures are contained in answers to written questions posed in Parliament   
   by the opposition and come as the Conservative government tries to figure out   
   how to implement a series of changes recommended by the House of Commons   
   veterans committee.   
      
   Like other departments unable to spend their appropriation within the budget   
   year, Veterans Affairs was required to return its unspent funds to the   
   treasury.   
      
     Conservative MP Parm Gill, parliamentary secretary to the veterans minister,   
   stuck to the government's position on Thursday, describing the lapsed funds as   
   a "statutory" obligation and a "normal practice of all governments."   
      
   He pointed out the department's annual budget has seen an injection of an extra   
   $5 billion since 2006, over and above what Paul Martin's Liberals planned to   
   spend.   
      
   Gill went on to list a series of enhanced benefits, including the myriad of   
   stipends and allowances that have the potential to give the most seriously   
   injured as much as $8,000 a month in support.   
      
   But the explanations didn't satisfy either veterans groups or opposition   
   parties.   
      
   The Royal Canadian Legion wrote Veterans Affairs Minister Julian Fantino on   
   Thursday, demanding a detailed accounting of which programs had lapsed funding   
   and why.   
      
   "We want that information from government," said Scott Ferris, the Legion's   
   marketing director. "There has to be a complete and detailed explanation for   
   this."   
      
   The figures put before Parliament show the veterans department handed back a   
   relatively small percentage of its budget in 2005-06, but shortly after the   
   Conservatives were elected the figure spiked to 8.2 per cent of allocation.   
      
   The number began trending downwards until 2010-11 when lapsed funds accounted   
   for only 1.16 per cent of the department's budget,   
   but after 2011, the pot of unspent cash began growing again.   
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
      
   Two significant events took place that year, which could have had an effect on   
   the department's ability -- or willingness -- to spend money.   Significant   
   changes to legislation governing veterans benefits was passed and the Harper   
   government began ramping up its deficit-cutting drive.   
      
   Don Leonardo, of Veterans Canada, says he believes it was part of a deliberate   
   strategy to balance the federal budget and points out that deputy ministers and   
   others received bonuses for meeting fiscal targets.   
      
   He was excluded from a government-organized consultation meeting with Fantino   
   this week in Quebec City.  Although, he wasn't told why, Leonardo says he   
   suspects it's because he has been increasingly critical of the department's   
   policy.   
      
   "It's not about left and right in politics." said Leonardo, who is an injured   
   veteran. "It's about what's right and what's wrong and the Conservatives on   
   this file are absolutely wrong."   
      
   The figures make a mockery of the government's claim that further changes to   
   benefits and services have to come slowly and as the federal treasury can   
   afford them, he said.   
      
   Last June, the Commons veterans committee released a report with 14   
   recommendations to improve services, non-binding suggestions which the   
   Conservatives have divided into measures that can be done without legislative   
   change and those that require money.   
      
   It remains unclear how much of the second phase will make it into next spring's   
   federal budget, the last before a federal election scheduled for October 2015.   
      
   The committee recommended, among other things, that the pain and suffering   
   awards to severely injured soldiers be increased to match what the courts or   
   provincial compensation systems provide in civilian cases and that benefits be   
   guaranteed for life to the most seriously disabled vets.   
      
   The country's veteran ombudsman singled out care for the most gravely injured,   
   saying last year that the system -- as currently designed -- could leave   
   injured soldiers in poverty after age 65.   
      
   Those fiscal issues require "further due diligence," the government response   
   said.   
      
   On Thursday, both opposition parties asked: What is the government waiting for?   
      
   "Has he no shame?" NDP veterans critic Peter Stoffer asked of Gill during   
   question period.  "These veterans and many others go without while they   
   transfer a billion dollars back to the finance department for their useless tax   
   schemes."   
      
   Liberal House veterans critic Frank Valeriote noted that government had no   
   trouble spending $4 million on ads last spring to promote what it's doing with   
   veterans.   
   ____________________________________________   
      
      
      
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