A legal battle between six disabled veterans and the federal government could finally come to a close this fall.
The case, which was launched in B.C. Supreme Court in 2012, centres on the federal government’s 2006 decision to replace lifelong pensions with lump-sum payments. The veterans argued they deserve disability payments on par with workers’ compensation.
Dan Sorochan, the lawyer for the Canadian veterans, said in an interview with The Canadian Press last week that Minister of Veterans Affairs Kent Hehr isn’t standing by his party’s promise in the last election to re-establish lifelong pensions for veterans.
Read: Lawyer for veterans wants Liberals to live up to election promise on pensions
The case had been on hold since 2015, according to The Canadian Press, while the parties agreed to see whether new legislation and a federal election would allow for a resolution. The deadline passed in June and the Liberal government filed documents in court in July saying the government doesn’t owe an “extraordinary obligation” to modern-day veterans. A decision is expected in the fall.
The issue is the subject of this week’s online poll. Do you think the federal government should reinstate lifelong pensions for disabled military veterans? Have your say here.
As for last week’s poll, which asked whether it was time for Canada to embrace pharmacare, 68 per cent of respondents said a universal drug program is the way to go as drug prices are still high and a pharmacare program would lower them further. Another 14 per cent of respondents said Canada’s system is working just fine and 18 per cent said the issue requires more study and debate.
