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Martin: Conservative's record on veterans is rotten

NEWS RELEASE TONY MARTIN, MP ************************** Local Conservative candidate finally right - Party’s rotten record on our vets does speak for itself SAULT STE.
TonyMartin2011B

NEWS RELEASE

TONY MARTIN, MP

************************** Local Conservative candidate finally right - Party’s rotten record on our vets does speak for itself

SAULT STE. MARIE - As the local Conservative candidate again and again confesses ignorance of his party’s platform at debates, he finally has it right today.

The Conservative Party’s record on vets does speak for itself.

It’s rotten.

Just ask the vets.

In Stephen Harper’s own city of Calgary, 204 veterans depend on food banks.

In London, Ontario, veteran hospital beds are being closed.

Harper’s Conservatives are missing in action as Canada’s veterans are forced to fight for their rights and beg for their food.

Former veterans’ ombudsman Pat Stogran has repeatedly denounced Conservatives for changes to the Veterans Charter in 2005 that saw lifetime disability pensions awarded to injured veterans replaced with lump sum payments.

On April 4, a week into the campaign, Toronto Star reporter Joanna Smith wrote: "Jack Layton was the first politician in this campaign to promise something for military veterans, with plan to stop clawing back pensions and treating disability benefits as income."

“They don’t do it to lottery winners. Why would they do it to veterans?” Layton said Saturday after announcing his $103 million promise to improve benefits for veterans, retired RCMP officers and injured military personnel.

Our vets can judge for themselves their treatment at the hand of the Conservatives.

- The “insurance company culture of denial” that prevails at Veterans Affairs Canada - the department responsible for addressing the needs of our Canadian Forces veterans and former RCMP members. Veterans Affairs has discouraged many veterans from claiming the assistance they need and are entitled to.

- The failure to address concerns with the Veterans Review and Appeals Board that forces every veteran to appeal to a partisan appointed committee for benefits they deserve.

- The Conservatives forced 6,500 Canadian veterans to file a class action suit over unfair reductions to their Service Income Security Insurance Plan-Long Term Disability Plan (SISIP-LTD).

- The Conservatives continue to treat veteran’s disability benefits as income, rather than compensation for the pain and suffering caused by the injuries they suffered in the service of their country.

- The Conservatives stopped Bill C-201, the New Democrat bill to end the unfair pension claw-backs on retired military and RCMP members at age 65.

- The Conservatives cut veterans’ hospitals, leaving veterans with fewer options for quality health care.

- The Conservatives violated the privacy of veterans’ rights activists and used private medical information to smear Col. Stogran and Capt. Sean Bruyea.

Then there is Jack Layton and the New Democrat commitment to vets:

- End the unfair reduction of pensions for retired and disabled Canadian Forces and RCMP veterans.

- Stop the unfair reduction of the Service Income Security Insurance Plan (SISIP) for medically released members of the CF and former RCMP members.

- Overhaul the Veterans Review and Appeal Board - including appointing its members from the military, the RCMP and medical personnel, and ensuring that veterans’ appeals are fairly reviewed by peers.

- Implement the NDP’s Helmets-to-Hardhats program, an initiative designed to help veterans find work in Canada’s construction industry when they leave active duty.

- In order to address the increased use of food banks by veterans, New Democrats will ensure that Veterans Affairs Canada deals with veterans’ claims in a timely manner; ensure that veterans’ benefits keep up with the real cost of living; and guarantee veterans access to basic goods and services in their communities.

************************** /// Earlier SooToday.com coverage of this story

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