Sombre reflections marked this weekend, as local Legions held Remembrance Day ceremonies and across the country, people paused at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month to observe a minute of silence.
At this occasion, we have time to reflect on how we as people, and we as a country, can and should be supporting the men and women who have served Canada in times of war, conflict and peace.
Recently, news came out that a federal burial fund meant to help impoverished veterans has rejected more than two thirds of the applications it has received since 2006. Of the requests that were accepted, Ottawa contributed around $3,600 towards funeral costs of those impoverished vets – apparently lower that what some social services departments pay toward the burial of homeless people and those on social assistance. Funeral directors have reportedly complained they are subsidizing the shortfall between the government’s stipend and the actual cost of a funeral.
The Last Post Fund is an independent agency that administers the funeral and burial program on behalf of Veterans Affairs Canada. Its executive director, Jean-Pierre Goyer, notes that many applications are rejected because veterans did not meet eligibility criteria, or failed a means test that stipulates a qualifying veteran’s annual income should be less than $12,010 per year.
Goyer says the agency has been petitioning the government to update the eligibility rules, so that it no longer excludes modern-day soldiers, and to increase the funds for those who qualify for the aid.
Of course, doing so would come at a cost, estimated to be between $5 million to $7 million a year. The federal government has made several cuts to programs and departments in its attempt to balance the books and to keep taxes low, according to its MPs. But there is a question of priorities and what is most important. Questions are raised when the federal government spends millions of dollars on restoring war monuments or $28 million to celebrate the War of 1812, while short-changing some impoverished veterans from having a dignified and respectful final salute.
The Last Post Fund has begun its own fundraising, in order to help bury veterans who don’t meet the criteria for funding from the program, but there is no doubt that the federal government – and by extension, all of us as citizens of the country - can and should do more to show veterans of all backgrounds and economic statuses that we are behind them, that we respect their contributions, and that when their time comes, they and their sacrifices will not soon be forgotten.
