Federal Government Is Increasing Benefits To Wounded War Veterans

The federal government is providing $2 billion to help war veterans.

The government says the new measures will boost monthy support payments to severely injured veterans.

The Tories say more than 4,000 veterans will benefit from the new measures over the next five years.

Seriously-injured veterans who can’t return to work will get an extra $1,000 each month for the rest of their lives.

That amount will be on top of 75 per cent of their salaries, as well as a permanently monthly allowance of $536 to $1,609.

The timing of the announcement comes the day before Parliament resumes, where the opposition had been expected to attack the Conservatives over their handling of the veterans file.

They’re also expected to lambast the government for not renewing the contract of ombudsman Pat Stogran.

The retired colonel has publicly accused government officials and bureaucrats of letting down veterans.

The criticism has stung Conservatives who’ve made support for the military a central theme of their administration.

Meanwhile, a central complaint of veterans has been the new system of lump sum payments and income replacement, which are part of the new Veteran’s Charter.

But many veterans say the one-time payments pale in comparison to the post-Second World War practise of granting lifetime pensions.

A study commissioned by the veterans ombudsman and obtained by The Canadian Press last month took aim at existing lump-sum payments, which can be up to $276,000 for the most severe injuries.

The study concluded that the one-time payments short-changed low-income soldiers and the most severely disabled veterans.

Injured soldiers are given a lump sum cash pay-out and a monthly income replacement cheque while they are in rehabilitation. The cheques stop when they transition to a civilian job.

It’s been suggested in order to help soldiers of the lowest rank, the size of the monthly income replacement could be increased. The replacement cheque amounts to 75 per cent of a soldier’s pre-injury salary.

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