Over two weeks ago, I posted a notice concerning “ROCK THE HILL 2014” on a LinkedIn veterans group page. A few days ago, I received a message on that page that stated: Please do NOT include me. This Government, although not perfect, has supported veterans better than any previous one. Please do not embarrass veterans, like myself, who are proud of this Government. I responded to that admonition with the following response and to two further posts by other veterans in response to it: Clifford has the right to his opinion, and I am sure that David, Andrew and I would be willing to fight for his right to that opinion. And quite frankly Clifford and I do agree on some things. The present government is not perfect and has provided some support to veterans; we did not obtain this New Veterans Charter (NVC) without the other political parties input and/or design. I dont know about others who are attending Rock The Hill, but my husband, a veteran who is 138% disabled according to Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) without the new diagnosis of PTSD being added to the equation, and I are attending to show our support of the severely disabled veterans who are in danger of living in penury as they age due to the NVC and for the veterans like my husband who have to almost grovel for some allowances, medications and aids that he has every right to receive from VAC. Yesterday, I had the honour to hear Sgt Bjorn Neilson of CFB Petawawa address the Parliamentary Committee on Veterans Affairs. He spoke eloquently of the IED explosion that cost him his left leg and his elbow and left him with critical wounds to his side and chest. He spoke very calmly, clearly and concisely about his injuries and recovery and his present and future. He was accompanied to the venue by his young daughter, Heather (approximately 11 yrs of age) who also addressed the Committee He spoke very positively about his life and his future despite his disabilities and has, since his injury, learned to water ski, snow ski and enjoy a number of physical pursuits including a planned trek to the North Pole. However, he also pointed out that he could have been better served by VAC both in regards to the NVC, which he stated he would rather not have to be subject to and to the fact that he had to take approximately $70,000 out of his own pocket to have renovations made to his home to accommodate his injuries. He did state that VAC eventually did reimburse him for those renovations, but he didnt think that the 7+ months that it took to get those funds back was very reasonable. I also heard further testimony from Michael Blais, Jerry Kovacs and Sylvain Chartrand of the Canadian Veterans Advocacy on the effects the NVC is having on Memorial Cross widows and disabled veterans and their families. If anyone wishes to hear the testimony from yesterdays meeting and the one held the day before, please e-mail me privately (Linda@LindaMagill) and Ill do my best to help you find them online. My posting of the information concerning Rock the Hill on this page was not meant to upset nor distress any other veteran. It was simply a notification of the event to a group of individuals who might be interested in the event. It certainly was not posted in an attempt to coerce anyone or to imply that anyone else shared my views on veterans rights. As for those who feel that I or any other veteran might embarrass them or someone else, all I can say is that my self-esteem is such that I will not allow your behaviour or that of anyone else embarrass me; so I would suggest that those who allow others to embarrass them take a long look in the mirror and ask that person who is running your life.
Posted on: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 00:23:10 +0000
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