Federal government considers reducing Williams’ pension
Posted October 21, 2010 4:22 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA – The federal government is considering court action to reduce the amount convicted killer Colonel Russell Williams can collect from his military pension.
A high-level source in the Harper government said Ottawa may be unable to strip the disgraced officer of the entire 60,000 annual entitlement.
But federal lawyers are looking at how much could be gained in a separate civil action on behalf of the victims’ families and possibly the killer’s wife.
The comments amplify remarks the prime minister made earlier in the day.
Stephen Harper said the Defence Department will undertake all necessary actions to ensure that all benefits possible are withdrawn will from the former commander.
The potential federal court case would be separate from the $2.45-million lawsuit one of Williams’ sex-assault victims has already filed against him and his wife, Mary Elizabeth Harriman.
The Conservative government has previously moved to limit benefits that convicted criminals can enjoy.
A bill introduced last June, for example, would cut off Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement payments to inmates aged 65 years and older.
And many in the Tory caucus have been pushing to remove the pensions of as many as 400 prisoners within the federal correctional system and another 600 behind provincial bars.
But the military has a separate, defined-benefit pension, which members — who also pay into the fund — are eligible to begin collecting when they are discharged.
