Wednesday, June 15, 2016
Betrayal. The Debasement of the Liberal Government of Justin Trudeau.
You just can't get much lower than to betray Canada's wounded veterans. Yet now we have Justin giving us another unwanted glimpse of his true Harperian nature.
His government is doing something that will rightfully disgust most Canadians. It is going to court to revive the Harperian argument that Canada does not have a social contract or covenant to care for our war wounded.
My father lived with the benefit of that covenant from 1944 until his death seven years ago. He was horribly wounded in WWII while serving as an infantry lieutenant. Canada - at least my Canada as distinguished from this prime minister's - was on his side from the day he left the military hospital right to the day he died when we had to call to say the cleaning lady would no longer be needed.
The only way the relationship between the disabled vet and the nation can work is a covenant. Harper thought he could have somebody do some math and just write a cheque, sending the disabled vet on his way. That's not the way it works.
A veteran usually takes some time to recover, to get back on his feet (if he still has them). Then he might do pretty well for a while, ten or twenty years. Maybe, maybe not. He may be just fine one day and collapse in a pool of blood at death's doorstep the next. And then as he gets old those wounds return. The normal aging process and decline can quickly turn tougher, more dangerous.
The VA people used to be proactive. They didn't wait for you to ask. They checked, found out how you were doing and what you needed, figured out what they could do to help. If, as in my dad's case, the veteran winds up caring for his elderly spouse, that can be a real bugger. When that happened the VA people stepped in to shoulder part of the load.
It's the government that makes the call to send these people into harm's way. When they make that decision, knowing that some will die and some will be maimed, the country takes on a solemn responsibility to those soldiers and to their families. These people can be ordered into situations where their death is probable, at times even certain. We don't put civilians in that situation. There's a difference. It's in that fundamental difference that the covenant arises. It is beyond shameful for a government to deny it.
This more than anything else these people have done convinces me that they are on their way to being a one term government.
ReplyDeleteIf they can betray the promises made to veterans during the campaign - "No veteran will have to fight their government to receive care" - they can very easily betray all the rest.
The argument that Canada owes no special duty of care to injured soldiers was advanced by Justice Department lawyer Paul Vickery. When that argument blew up in their faces, even the Cons had the good sense to replace Vickery with Joel Watson, a lawyer from Shibley Righton LLP and a former army officer and former vice-chair of the Veterans Transition Advisory Council. That helped tamp down tensions with veteran's groups.
ReplyDeleteAfter the grief they gave the Cons while in opposition and promises they made to vets on the campaign trail, it's unbelievable that the Libs would set things back to square one. Now Vickery's back and so is his argument, and that's sure to rile up vets and their families. As far as I can see, Jody and Justin are batting 0 for 2 on the legal front.
Cap
Mound how many times do we have to tell the world that nothing changes when Libs take over - sunnu ways my arse!
ReplyDeleteThis was a predictable abandonment of a promise, especially galling when it was such a high profile promise designed to woo the Vets (a powerful voting bloc)
But never mind they the the Legion on side so the BS will carry on.
Few things enrage me Mound and I think most Canadians as our government mistreating out Vets.It's early days, but Canadians may give the Libs a minorty next election.
ReplyDeleteDisguisting, but I'm not surprised, I always knew Justin Trudeau was a rightwinger at heart, but people wanted to believe the fantasy that he was to the left of the NDP.
ReplyDeleteHere is shown the reality.
Chew them up, spit them out, and abaddon them, is what they do to vets, its wrong.
Justin Trudeau has revealed himself as also being a "piece of shit".
ReplyDelete.. presumably, this particular case, of six severely disabled Canadian Veterans is seen a a potential precedent disaster.. Why the Harper Government threw so much legal horsepower and money at this particular class action suit makes no sense otherwise. What would be the approx total additional payout at full pension for these six.. above and beyond what Harper et al were bound to pay out anyway, at the figure they deemed 'fair' ?? (I know.. the word 'fair' seems odd in any context involving Harper)
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately for Justin Trudeau, he's unwilling to reveal the logic, values or economics behind this particular lawsuit. To say I was gobsmacked (a term I detest) is an understatement.. To say I am shocked he is embracing the failed Harper legal rhetoric.. going back to the inane 'it was just political speech' defense of Harper Inc.. and to so easily chuck his 'sacred obligation' promise is beyond stunning.. it reveals there's a greater power above or around him.. Nobody eats shit and likes it.. only because someone can make them.
Those six severely disabled Vets need fellow Canadians to help them hand Justin Trudeau his ass.. and all his legal crew also need their asses handed to them.. and whomever is pulling those puppet strings needs to be revealed. If its just about money, for gawd sakes say so.. so Canadians can step up to help look after those the government sent off to war and came back trashed, lamed, disabled.. after serving and sacrificing with distinction.. This is fundamental Canadian Values being dumped.. This is insulting every single Canadian military veteran who ever served.. and its insulting every single Canadian who never served, or never needed to.. yet appreciates that priceless freedom.. Justin.. get your head out of your ass.. you're resembling Stephen Harper ..
ReplyDeleteI can see the government having some difference with the vets over benefits and such. That's happened several times since WWII and these things get ironed out before long. It's to seek a ruling that there is essentially no moral bond between the Canadian people, represented by their federal government, and our disabled vets is where this crosses a horrible line. Successive governments, Harper's and Trudeau's, have purported to do this in our name and I haven't met a Canadian yet who thinks this is anything but wrong-headed. It's our will that Trudeau has to respect and to seek to crush this covenant against our will is beyond egregious arrogance.
This seems too simple and I wonder if there's a strategy at work here. If the courts can define the relationship and obligations between veterans and the government, it provides for firmer legal ground from which to act and create policy? This is a hellish way to go about this, but I do know there are some very smart people working in and advising the current government. I'm not yet convinced that this what it appears to be, but I might be wrong.
ReplyDeleteIn the light of C-14 it remains to be seen whether rulings of the courts have any effect on this government.
ReplyDeleteThis government has also promised to increase OAS so people who are trying to live on 22,000 a year can afford to go to a movie once a year. The gall has to be the fact the poverty line in this country is 26,000 a year. This is not in the same category as the above but it is another broken promise. What is happening in this country at this time, is cause for economic PTSD. At the age of 50, the thought was death will come without too many worries and without having to call upon family members just in case. That is, if a person has family. Now, moving toward the 72 year, being a very astute driver as the last test has proven, will the next vehicle insurance cost accelerate to the point of not being able to own a vehicle that has provided much independence and will continue to do so in the case of "if not"? Are the powers that be, deliberately allowing all the greed, making it difficult so as to secretly lower the population of the elderly and the homeless? How do the rich see themselves when the time arrives when they do not have anyone around to look after them in old age? Just where is the justice Justin?
ReplyDeleteAnyong.