DID ROY FRASER KILL TWO MEN AND BURY THEM AT KNOUFF LAKE? VICTIM: DAMIEN MARKS
VICTIM: KENNETH YARETZ
Double-murder trial begins today . . . Go online to kamloopsthisweek.com for coverage
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Tuesday, November 12, 20133 X Volume 266 No. No 90 90 www.kamloopsthisweek.com X 30 cents at Newsstands
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2013
Veterans, McLeod at odds By Dale Bass STAFF REPORTER dale@kamloopsthisweek.com
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KTW file photo
In April 1917, just before Canadian soldiers fought in the Battle of Vimy Ridge, then-Prime Minister Robert Borden said to his troops: “You can go into this action feeling assured of this and, as the head of the government, I give you this assurance, that you need not fear that the government and the country will fail to show just appreciation of your service to the country and Empire in what you are about to do and what you have already done. The government and the country will consider it their first duty to see that a proper appreciation of your effort and of your courage is brought to the notice of people at home that no man, whether he goes back or whether he remains in Flanders, will have just cause to reproach the government for having broken faith with the men who won and the men who died.”
COTT CASEY WANTS to know why MP Cathy McLeod attends Remembrance Day ceremonies in Kamloops. Paul Lagace wants to know why senators and members of parliament receive better pensions than veterans. Both — and many other veterans — want to know why the federal government treats them as it would an office worker injured at work. And, they want to know why Prime Minister Stephen Harper is not living up to a promise made to the nation’s armed forces by Robert Borden, the prime minister in 1917, when he told them their government would always look after them. The two were contacted by KTW to comment on a letter to the editor sent by Kamloops-ThompsonCariboo MP Cathy McLeod addressing what she referred to as false claims being made about the benefits disabled veterans receive. In it, McLeod said inaccurate information has been publicized, saying veterans receive “more than a single lump-sum payment when
a debilitating injury is suffered, as has been popularized in recent months. She identified the lump sum as a payment from Veterans Affairs Canada and the Service Income Security Insurance Program (SISIP) that can provide up to $548,000 in a tax-free payment. Lagace took issue with that statement, calling it misleading because SISIP is an insurance program veterans must apply for and pay benefits for coverage — “and there is no guarantee you’ll get it,” he said. “It’s like any insurance policy.” McLeod continued in her letter, which can be read online at kamloopsthisweek.com, to say disabled veterans covered under a charter established in 2011, can receive up to $5,400 a month, depending on the severity of their injury, which can continue past age 65. Casey is aware of this benefit. A veteran of the UN peacekeeping force that went to Sarajevo in the 1990s, he applied for benefits in 2008. He said he would have applied for it sooner, since he was injured while fighting to keep peace in Sarajevo. X See ‘IF I DIDN’T’ A12
Ottawa does care, MP says Cathy McLeod said she is sad to hear veterans in Kamloops have issues with her government. The Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo Conservative MP said of the Stephen Harper-led government that “not only do we care, we certainly put more time, energy and effort into our soldiers than has happened before.” She said a review done by a multiparty committee during the time Harper led a minority government looked at how various countries provided for their veterans “and Canada was definitely favourable compared to others.” McLeod noted that, as of March this year, 2,491 veterans and 7,047 of their survivors have received the $5,400 per month maximum from Veterans Affairs Canada for disabilities, while others receive less based on the severity of their injuries. The MP pointed to comments Julian Fantino, the federal minister of veteran affairs, has made noting that, while there are still gaps in services provided to veterans, “a majority of Canada’s veterans receive the support and care that they need.” Fantino’s comments continued to note the government’s approach is to not “simply throw money at a problem or a person. X See GOVERNMENT A14
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