Ahead of budget bill vote, veterans plead with Ottawa to change course

Veterans and their advocates are urging the Carney Liberals to change course and amend a bill before the House of Commons to remove sections that they say unfairly target people who served Canada.

Buried inside the more than 600-page Budget Implementation Act are sections that would, advocates say, retroactively amend a law that governs how veterans’ benefits are calculated.

Advocates say if it is passed, the result would be that the federal government would legitimize mistakes it made in overcharging veterans and undervaluing their benefits, and at least three lawsuits, worth an estimated tens of millions of dollars, would be thrown out.

Canada's Veterans Ombud wrote to the veterans affairs minister in December, saying passing the bill as-written would "effectively legitimize its past overcharges to veterans and nullify ongoing litigation aimed at securing reimbursement for affected veterans."

"I believe that using retroactive legislation to correct administrative errors is both inappropriate and unfair and undermines confidence in government decision-making, sets a troubling precedent, and denies justice to those who served our country," wrote retired colonel Nishika Jardine.

Jardine was writing specifically about a proposed class action lawsuit over an alleged decades-long overcharging for veterans in long-term care since at least 1998. 

The charging error was first reported by CBC News, prompting the litigation. 

The statement of claim argues veterans were "significantly overcharged" because the federal government calculated the benefit based on the cost of the most advantageous province, excluding territories from their calculation. 

But the Interpretation Act, which governs the regulations, says territories ought to be included. The long-term care rate in the Northwest Territories has been less expensive for years, meaning veterans in long-term care could be overcharged by more than $3,000 annually. 

Lawyers and advocates say the government is trying to paper over its costly mistake by retroactively changing the law. 

In a move described as a "thermonuclear weapon," the Carney government's Budget Implementation Act seeks to retroactively define the term "province" as excluding territories.

One of the lawyers representing veterans says the proposed changes to legislation equates to Canada breaking its promise to veterans. 

"If there's anything that is sacred, it's the obligation governments of all colours have made since the First World War, that our obligation to veterans is to look after them, certainly not reverse our obligation to them," said retired colonel Michel Drapeau, one of the lawyers representing veterans.

Conservative Veterans Affairs Critic Blake Richards says the move is "reprehensible."