Even if those people have already received a lump sum payment, there would be some way of coming back to a pension. It would be assessed on a case-by-case basis, more or less in the same way as when an individual receives too much money from the employment insurance system. He goes on receiving his benefits, but a certain amount is clawed back from his cheque. If, for example, an individual has received $200,000, there would be some way of changing this formula into one of monthly payments, while clawing back a certain amount each month in order to recover the $200,000 that was previously received.
I met with a group of five young people aged 23 or 24, who had both legs amputated above the knees. Myself, when I was injured at the age of 20, I did not think like an 80-year-old. These specialists told me that when I would be 50, 60 or 70, I was going to eat “candy”. I am against medication, but this specialist told me that I would do just like everybody else and that when it would really hurt, I would take the medicine, and that is what I do.
These young people do not have much foresight. I asked them directly how much money they had left. They all answered me that they had completely run out of money. These are normal reactions. They purchased a big vehicle worth between $35,000 and $40,000. This is a poor investment, and I would perhaps have done the same thing. The government must do their thinking for them to make sure that their financial future is secure. We are currently creating homeless people. When these veterans reach the age of 50 or 60, even if they have received money, they will not have any more. Even if we talked until midnight and repeated that they should not have done this or that, the government must do their thinking for them, as it did for the veterans of the Second World War or of the Korean War, like myself. However, if they had given me $200,000 or $300,000, I would perhaps have done the same thing as these young people did and I would be broke today.
I am fighting for the benefit of others because in fact, I was treated very well by Veterans Affairs Canada. I think that I receive a reasonable pension. During my entire life, there have been a few hiccups, as I just mentioned, when I had to pay. I kept silent because they did not want to understand that the physician had withdrawn from the system. That is why the provincial government is not paying him. Perhaps we should take a look at the Charlottetown administration. Perhaps we might find a few surprises because there is a certain arbitrary element, but what do you want us to do? We are alone, whereas they form an entire group specialized in the art of blocking payments.
We can say that this is not a matter of life and death, but if I could only win in this case...
I am sorry for talking too long, but I was a lawyer for 36 years and I am driven by the force of habit.