Friday, November 17, 2006
NDP celebrates victory for veterans
NDP’s Veterans First Motion passes in the House of Commons
Veterans and their families know who is on their side after the NDP’s Veterans First Motion was adopted in the House of Commons today. The NDP is the only party that took action to ensure that veterans, their families, and Canadian Forces personnel are taken care of not just during their service days, but throughout their lives.
The Liberals ignored calls from the Military Ombudsman to address unfair deductions and restrictions on the pensions of Veterans and their spouses. The Conservatives promised to fix these problems but by voting against the NDP motion they broke that promise.
Supporting our troops has to be more than just a slogan. Veterans and their spouses deserve dignity, respect, and a decent standard of living in their old age.
That’s why the NDP used their opposition day motion to introduce long overdue assistance to members and veterans of the Canadian Forces and their families.
The Veterans First Motion:
- Eliminates the “gold-digger” clause of the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act – now second spouses of Canadian Forces members and veterans have access to pension rights upon the death of the member or veteran.
- Extends the VIP (Veterans Independence Program) to all widows of all veterans, regardless of the time of death of the veteran and regardless of whether the veteran was in receipt of VIP services prior to his/her death.
- Increases the Survivor’s Pension Amount upon death of Canadian Forces retiree to 66% from the current amount of 50% so that it is in line with basic living expenses and the current cost of living.
- Eliminates the unfair reduction of SISIP (Service Income Security Insurance Plan) long term disability benefits from medically released members of the Canadian Forces so that veterans are fairly compensated for injuries suffered in the line of duty.
- Eliminates the deduction from annuity for retired and disabled Canadian Forces members – once again ensuring that veterans are fairly compensate for their injuries.
Veterans have already fought to protect this country – they shouldn’t have to fight again to receive a fair pension in order to live with dignity.
With the adoption of the Veterans First Motion the NDP is proving once again that it is the effective opposition – getting results for Veterans and their families.
# posted by Francis Chartrand @ 2:30 AM 
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