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Index April 1, 2008
Committee to study compensation for soldiers"Casson, speaking from Ottawa, was responding to published comments by NDP MP Peter Stoffer, who criticized the military amputee and injury compensation as inadequate. . . Casson said the committee is about one-quarter into its study, after which recommendations will be made to government."By DAVE SULZApr 1, 2008, 04:23 The issue of compensation for injured Canadian soldiers is likely to be one of the areas addressed by a government committee headed by Lethbridge MP Rick Casson. Casson, chairman of the standing committee on national defence, said the committee began about a month ago to examine quality of life of Canadian Forces members, and he expects the matter of injury compensation to come up during interviews that will be conducted as part of the study. Casson, speaking from Ottawa, was responding to published comments by NDP MP Peter Stoffer, who criticized the military amputee and injury compensation as inadequate. Media reports indicated guidelines which took effect in 2003 provide for a maximum lump-sum payment of $250,000 for Canadian Forces who lose both feet or hands or receive another permanent serious injury. Loss of a single body part qualifies for a $125,000 payment. Some classes of reservists with less than six months of service have compensation capped at $100,000 and they’re eligible for only half — in some cases, one-quarter — of the dismemberment claims of regular forces. Reservists who are deployed with regular forces in Afghanistan are compensated at the same rate as regular troops, Casson pointed out, adding a proposal to standardize compensation across the forces to include reservists is being looked at by the Treasury Board. Casson said the committee studying Canadian Forces members’ quality of life has an emphasis on post-traumatic stress disorder, an ailment that has been proliferating among Canadian troops since 2002 with Canada’s involvement in Afghanistan. “We want to make sure they’re properly taken care of,” said Casson. But the committee’s view isn’t limited to post-traumatic stress disorder and Casson said the compensation issue “is quite timely for our study.” He anticipates the matter of injury compensation will come up during the committee’s work. “As we’re looking at the quality of life issue through the committee, these are the types of things we’ll be asking about,” he said. The committee’s study will include looking into ensuring treatment for injured soldiers so they can resume productive lives. “We want to make sure there is rehabilitation and all the things that go with that,” including that soldiers are provided for financially until they are able to return to work in some capacity. Casson said the committee is about one-quarter into its study, after which recommendations will be made to government Lethbridge Herald.com Back to Article Index |