NEWS ARTICLE REQUESTED

.

The new Veterans Charter states that soldiers have a right to be treated with respect, dignity, fairness and courtesy.

To date, a Canadian Forces Sergeant has been battling Ottawa over the policies and procedures that have caused much disillusionment in the way our veterans and soldiers are treated when they apply to get compensation for their injuries.

A Ministerial Inquiry into the policy of not allowing doctors to represent soldiers to Veterans Affairs, has been requested and forwarded to the Minister of National Defence on 13 May 2008 requesting an investigation into the effects of the policy and asking that the policy be suspended until a recommendation into it's continuation or permanent suspension is received. The Minister of Veterans Affairs was also provided with an information copy of the letter.

The Canadian Forces Health Services Group has ordered military and civilian doctors working for National Defence not to discuss or provide the Department of Veterans Affairs with any information except the medical file of the soldier. When a soldier asks their doctor for a letter or any other assistance dealing with Veterans Affairs, they are told they are not permitted to assist the soldier due to the policy.

When this policy was questioned at Canadian Forces Health Services Group, it was revealed that by allowing military and civilian doctors to assist soldiers with their claims process at Veterans Affairs, it would create a Conflict of Interest and an Ethical Issue. Helping our soldiers should never be considered a conflict of interest or an ethical issue.

The continued fight to get fairness and transparency in the Adjudication process at Veterans Affairs is into it's 16th month and to date the Sergeant is yet to receive the Review Hearing that is supposed to be afforded to soldiers and veterans.

However, the Sergeant has been informed that his medical condition has caused the Canadian Forces to determine that he is "unfit work in any Military environment" and will be released from the service for his medical conditions, even though the Department of Veterans Affairs refuses to compensate him for the injuries and has repeatedly denied his claims due to "insufficient medical information".

Truth is there is insufficient medical expertise at Veterans Affairs. Adjudicators are not medical specialists, which explains the apparent inability to provide a respectful, dignified, fair, and courteous compensation award to our injured soldiers.

So I ask: What does the Veterans Charter mean when it states: Respect, Dignity, Fairness, and Courtesy?