I thank the committee members most sincerely for having me return, especially along with Louise Richard.

Louise raised our national awareness and paved the way for Canada's political and media landscape to learn that veterans of modern combat are treated to a lesser standard than war veterans. That is why I call her “the mother of modern veteran advocacy”. Together, we pushed and negotiated with various federal departments to permit the distribution of 5,000 Kuwait medals that were reminted to replace the 2,000 that Ottawa misplaced. We personally distributed more than 2,000 of those medals over the subsequent two years.

Exactly 25 years and two days ago, in our first media coverage together, Louise and I called for Gulf War veterans t too be designated veterans and our SDA be declared a war. On the tenth anniversary of the Gulf War, Louise Richard, Robert Clarke and I would, in the words of the media, "ambush" Minister Art Eggleton and Minister Ron Duhamel outside the Commons, demanding veteran status and recognition of the Gulf War as a war. On March 29, 2001, VAC declared that we had the right to be called veterans. Minister Duhamel told us in his office that this had happened because of our efforts.

Louise and I witnessed the CF undergo a barrage of changes. The Stowe and McLellan reports produced 93 recommendations. SCONDVA held hearings throughout Canada and Germany. Before the 1998 report was finalized with 89 recommendations, the CF started implementation. Meanwhile, Veterans Affairs dragged its feet.

In 2005, the regressive new veterans charter would pass in Parliament without one word of debate in the House. Regulations would be gazetted over the Christmas holidays and during an election, both prohibited by Treasury Board.

Our 2005 testimony to the Senate opposing the replacement of lifelong pensions and our call for due process for any legislation affecting veterans as well as creating an ombuds office resulted in two new advisory groups. The minister, during that testimony, reluctantly promised reviews of the legislation every three or four months while creation of a veterans ombuds office would be tightly controlled by VAC.

The first legislative change took place six years after this committee published its report, "A Timely Tune-Up". Fourteen years later, key recommendations that would dramatically improve the lives of the most disabled veterans and their families remain neglected, including income loss to be set at 100% of military salary, be tax-free and be adjusted not merely to inflation but also to reflect the increases in salary that would come with a typical CAF career progression. These latter recommendations were reinforced by the two advisory groups as well as the ombuds office in 2020.

What has been most disheartening and a stain upon our sacrifices is to see government outright ignore its own recommendations, which would provide a key component of recognition: fair compensation.

I wish to once again express my appreciation to VAC for providing additional statistics that will help fill the picture by comparing disability injuries in multiple special duty areas. I promise to provide the committee with an updated chart soon.

The table I submitted to committee for my October 10 testimony shows that up to 32% of veterans who served in the seven SDAs cannot perform suitable gainful employment. Up to 49% suffer psychological injuries due to their service, and up to 90% have a lifelong disabling injury. These are casualties of military service, casualties of war, but they're often commemorated as an afterthought if at all.

For 70 years, we failed to grant them the transition benefits given to World War II veterans, who were covered under the insurance principle whether they served overseas or were domiciled here in Canada. How do we compensate for the tragic and consequentially painful and poor transition outcomes that continue to this day? How do we recognize the resulting suffering of family dysfunction, addictions, social isolation, lost career potential and suicide? How do we compensate the heartbreaking reality that almost half of our transitioning CAF veterans still feel that they don't belong to the communities or even the country for which they sacrificed?

I have provided committee with a proposal to help answer these difficult questions.

VAC policy has a long tradition of discriminating against the most disabled, replete with the irony that the department that is dedicating most of its resources to caring for the disabled is often inaccessible by the most disabled.

Government lawyers recently stated that “veterans have the responsibility to stay informed” and “veterans are encouraged to be proactive in the benefits and services available to them.”

How callous that a veteran spiralling into the darkness of PTSD and suicidal thoughts, suffering a marriage breakdown, or the shame and pain of a severe physical disability is expected to stay informed.

Three days ago, I tearfully discovered that the Pension Act was amended in 1971 so that all those injured in an SDA could apply for and collect disability pensions while they still served. I reached out to Louise, but she was likewise shocked. How do we compensate for the lost years of disability pensions?

Recognition through compensation is not just about what government calls “the deliverables”, but it's about the recognition of our limitations in accessing benefits—limitations that must be truthfully accommodated. The least we can do is legislate a duty to inform veterans in a meaningful way and in accordance with their disabilities.

I thank the committee, the wonderful staff attached to the committee and their gracious hospitality for hosting my son's school. My wife, Carolina, and my son, Wilfred, are the reasons that I'm still alive today.

Yet, after 25 years of calling for the independent identification of family members, my family cannot directly access Veterans Affairs' benefits. What is most disturbing is that the Veterans Well-being Act omits what the Pension Act clearly states, which is an obligation to my son.

The military is a very caring profession. We intensely care for the mission. We fiercely care for our comrades, our unit and the military. We profoundly care for our nation and its institutions, but we are strongly discouraged from caring for ourselves. We need all government to care for what so many of us cannot fight for: recognition and compensation. These are inseparable from a nation that truly commemorates our sacrifices.

Thank you.

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