Auditor General Report: Federal Government Failing Veterans

It’s even more appalling given how much money the Trudeau government is spending everywhere else.

We all remember when Justin Trudeau said Veterans were “asking for more than we’re able to give right now.”

When Trudeau made that statement, the federal government had already dramatically increased federal spending, and was running large deficits.

Trudeau’s remarks demonstrated how little respect and care he has for Canada’s Veterans.

It seemed the only time the Trudeau Liberals have been stingy or restrained with federal spending has been when they’re holding back on providing support to those who put their lives on the line for Canada.

And now, a report by the Auditor General reveals that even the benefits Veterans are supposed to be getting aren’t being delivered in a timely fashion:

“A report from Auditor General Karen Hogan tabled today in the House of Commons found that despite Veterans Affairs Canada initiatives to speed up processing, veterans from the Canadian Armed Forces and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are waiting too long to receive compensation for injuries sustained in their service to Canada. These findings are similar to those reported in a 2014 Auditor General audit.

The audit found that veterans applying for disability benefits for the first time waited almost 10 months for a decision and some subgroups including Francophones, women, and RCMP veterans took even longer. Once a decision was made, the Department considered the file closed and reported against its service standard of 4 months. Because the Department did not always calculate wait times in a consistent manner, some veterans waited longer than what was reported publicly.

The audit also found that the department’s data on how it processes benefits applications—and the organization of this data—were poor. Both the funding and almost half of the employees on the team responsible for processing applications were temporary. The Department also lacked a long‑term staffing plan.

“The combined impact of these shortcomings means that veterans are waiting too long to receive benefits,” said Ms. Hogan. “They experience unacceptable delays that can significantly impact their well‑being and their families.””

It’s interesting to point out that Hogan says the findings of the report are similar to what was found in 2014.

Many Veterans had criticized the Harper government – often rightfully so – and the Liberals made use of that discontent in the 2015 campaign.

Trudeau at one point promised that the government would never take Veterans to court if he was in power.

Of course, that promise was broken.

And as we see in the most recent Auditor General report, the promise to improve services and assistance for Veterans was broken as well.

All that spending, yet problems persist

What makes this so absurd and outrageous is that the Liberals have increased spending dramatically during their time in office, recently running the largest deficits in Canadian history.

They have expanded hiring in the public service as well.

So, there is no excuse when Veterans don’t get a high level of service.

A problem of priority, not money

These leaves us to reach the sad conclusion that the real issue is simply that the government doesn’t care enough to improve things.

They are busy focusing on things like going after law-abiding gun owners and playing political games, rather than ensuring that Canada’s injured defenders are well taken care of.

No amount of spending or hiring can fix a problem that is much deeper.

And that problem is a government that sees their role as controlling and manipulating the Canadian People, rather than defending our freedom and standing up for those who protect our nation.

Spencer Fernando

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