Cirillo and Vincent families to receive full death benefits

The families of Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent and Cpl. Nathan Cirillo will receive the same death benefits the families of full-time soldiers would be entitled to thanks to an exception by Veterans Affairs.

Under the current legislation part-time reservists’ families receive a smaller portion of the supplementary death benefits available to families of full-time service members.

But the government will make an exception in these cases, according to a statement from Veterans Affairs Minister Julian Fantino’s office.

The government has directed the department to ensure exceptions aren’t needed in the future.

“We are working on fixing this discrepancy for other reservists killed in the line of duty,” the statement read.

Cirillo, 24, left behind a five-year-old son, Marcus, when he was gunned down while standing guard at the National War Memorial in Ottawa last month.

He was a reservist with Hamilton’s Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders regiment.

Vincent, 53, was killed two days earlier when Martin Couture-Rouleau ran him down in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que.

He served the Canadian Forces for 28 years.

All military families receive a one-time, tax-free payment of $301,275.26 if a member dies while in service.

The exception would allow the Cirillo and Vincent families to collect supplementary benefits in addition to that payment.

Veterans Affairs would not comment on the amount or nature of the supplemental benefits for privacy reasons.

UPDATE: A previous version of this story did not include details about benefits for Patrice Vincent’s family. It has been updated to correct that omission.