Canada’s benefits system denies and delays until claimants die, veterans say

OTTAWA – A loosely knit group of outraged ex-soldiers say the system at Veterans Affairs is designed to deny and delay benefits in the hope that the claimants will eventually die.

Over the next two weeks, the group plans a series of protests on Parliament Hill to draw attention to what they call the insurance-company mentality of the department that cares for Canada’s wounded warriors.

Linda McGill, an ex-member of the military and the wife of a soldier with post-traumatic stress disorder, says the protest is meant to focus public attention on the cultural change needed at Veterans Affairs.

She says there are so many bureaucratic hoops to jump through, troops in need of care often give up pleading for the benefits to which they are entitled.

The protest follows the 14 recommendations a House of Commons committee made Tuesday to make the system more responsive to the needs of veterans.

McGill says the committee had some good ideas, but notes they are only proposals because the government has yet to accept the recommendations.