Medically released vets being denied benefits in ‘unfair’ process: ombudsman

OTTAWA – The country’s military ombudsman says some soldiers being hustled out the door on medical discharges find they don’t qualify for benefits because Veterans Affairs uses its own, more stringent criteria, in what has become an unfair process.

Pierre Daigle, whose term ends in a few weeks, is telling a Senate committee that many ex-soldiers have to fight to prove that the conditions that made them ineligible to serve are in fact a result of their service.

Once they are released, Veterans Affairs demands that the ill and injured be subject to a separate assessment above and beyond whatever examination has been conducted at National Defence.

For veterans, it can be an infuriating, bureaucratic process that too often leads to a denial of benefits and a lengthy, unnecessary appeals process.

Daigle says it is unfair and needs to be addressed.

His comments echo similar complaints from the country’s veterans ombudsman, Guy Parent.