Opposition MPs unite to keep spotlight on outgoing veterans ombudsman
OTTAWA — Opposition MPs are banding together to help Pat Stogran live up to the loud exit he has promised from his job as ombudsman for Canada’s war veterans.
Liberal and New Democrat members are using their majority on the veterans affairs committee to force a recall of the members to examine Stogran’s analysis that the lives of many injured vets have turned into a bureaucratic nightmare riddled with unfair treatment.
Angered by the Harper government’s decision not to reappoint Mr. Stogran, Liberal Rob Oliphant says he sought — and got the support of — the four MPs needed to recall the committee and now hopes it will meet in early September.
The opposition parties also have united to force a meeting Wednesday of the national defence committee. The MPs are meeting in private to plot an investigation into the government’s recent purchase of 65 fighter jets — worth an estimated $9-billion — from the U.S. firm, Lockheed Martin.
Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh said on Monday the opposition wants answers to questions on everything from whether there was a competitive bidding process for the jet contract to what benefits the purchase will produce for Canada’s aerospace industry.
Mr. Oliphant, the party’s veterans affairs critic, said he decided to push to reconvene the committee after hearing Canada’s top soldier stand up for Stogran.
Gen. Walter Natynczyk, chief of defence staff, said on Friday Mr. Stogran’s aggressive campaign on behalf of vets was raising “absolutely correct issues.”
Mr. Stogran had told a news conference last week that replacing him will damage the office of the ombudsman, and that he plans to spend his last three months in the post casting a light on the mistreatment of Canada’s vets.
New Democrat Peter Stoffer said Monday he wants Gen. Natynczyk, Mr. Stogran, Veterans Affairs Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn and wounded veterans all appear before the committee.
“What . . . Stogran has done is open up a Pandora’s box in the Department of Veterans Affairs, and I think it’s worthy that we speak about this right now instead of waiting for a month,” he said, referring to scheduled Sept. 20 resumption of Parliament.
Mr. Stoffer, the party’s veterans’ affairs critic, said Gen. Natynczyk’s comments add credibility to Mr. Stogran’s take on what’s wrong with the system.
Many of the complaints revolve around the new Veterans Charter and the bureaucratic maze vets say they must navigate to claim disability or pension benefits.
The charter’s disability award has received the bulk of the criticism. It replaces the previous system of monthly payments for life with a one-time payment of up to $276,000.
Critics say the lump-sum payment makes no sense for some vets, especially young men and women facing a lifetime of special needs.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper says the government is serious about responding to the concerns of vets, and that it is conducting an internal review of how existing programs should be readjusted.
Mr. Oliphant said mistreating vets harms both the government’s ability to recruit the brightest and the best men and women into the Canadian Forces and the morale of the troops in the field.
“If we’ve got a couple of thousand of active soldiers in Afghanistan right now, I think their morale is threatened if they think the government is not going to support them when they are injured,” he said.
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