Plan to give injured vets priority for federal jobs faces bottleneck: ombudsman

OTTAWA – The veterans ombudsman says the Harper government’s plan to bump injured ex-soldiers to the front of the federal job line could backfire and create bureaucratic bottlenecks for the people it’s trying to help.

Guy Parent says the proposed legislation means a veteran’s case will have to be adjudicated beforehand to determine that an injury is service-related before the vet gets priority for a civil service job.

He says it would add red tape to the process and potentially delay an ex-soldier’s ability to access priority hiring upon leaving the military.

Parent writes in an online blog post that this will create separate classes of veterans for federal priority hiring, something everyone in government and the veterans community has been striving to avoid.

He says all members of the forces who are let go for medical reasons should be treated the same way.

The Conservatives, who trumpet their support for vets, have been under fire recently over an increasing number of wounded soldiers who are discharged before they reach the 10 years service that qualifies them for a pension.