Bonuses at Veterans Affairs "out of whack with reality," says critic

This story is so upsetting. While I make no secret that I think our current wars are a cycle of never-ending interference and a means of arms dealing rather than clear defense, and while I am well aware of Henry Kissinger's statement about soldiers, the fact that they put themselves in harm's way at the pleasure of our country signifies that we should do all we can to assist any veteran who requires it.

As advocate Sean Bruyea spoke up about departmental shortcomings at Veterans' Affairs, he went through a particular form of injustice and torture when it was discovered that his medical history was being circulated and used against him by the very government agents who were supposed to help him. He sued several people in the Department of Veterans' Affairs and the government settled out of court.

The senior managers at Veterans Affairs Canada received almost $700,000 in bonuses and extra pay last year even as their department came under fire for failing to help former soldiers. Veterans' advocate Sean Bruyea called the payments "way out of whack with reality.

The senior managers at Veterans Affairs Canada received almost $700,000 in bonuses and extra pay last year even as their department came under fire for failing to help former soldiers. The last several years have seen numerous complaints from veterans about poor treatment from the department and breaches of their privacy by Veterans Affairs bureaucrats.

But that didn't stop the government from paying out in 2011 both bonuses and what is called "At-Risk Pay," the financial incentives received by managers who achieve results.

"This department has been repeatedly falling short on the services it provides to veterans," said the Ottawa-based veteran. "These people should not be given bonuses for such poor performance."

Bruyea said when veterans find out "they will be furious and justifiably so."

A retired captain and Gulf War veteran, Bruyea made headlines two years ago after he alleged Veterans Affairs bureaucrats were misusing his personal information and harassing his family. The information was used in an attempt to discredit Bruyea, who was an outspoken critic of reforms to the system of veterans' benefits.

Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart ruled that Veterans Affairs broke the law when it came to handling the retired officer's personal information. The government settled a lawsuit with Bruyea out of court and issued a rare public apology in late 2010.

But since then there have been allegations from other veterans that department officials misused their personal information. Bruyea noted all of the bureaucrats named in his lawsuit were given bonuses by Veterans Affairs. (bold emphasis mine)

This needs to stop NOW. It is nothing short of taxpayer abuse and imo a criminal assault on our veterans. Government is behaving like big business with the same entitlement mentality and “to hell with everyone else.”

Just because the Harper government won the election, that does not give them the right to run roughshod over our veterans nor to misuse our funds. Instead of being demoted or fired for the lousy service they provided, they get bonuses? Has Canada gone completely mad?

I don't know what the veterans plan to do about this, but some of us are pretty sick already of this government. To begin with I plan on firing off a letter of outrage to my MP.

Please take the time to read the full story here