Mr. Speaker, on February 2 I questioned the Minister of National Defence on a problem that had been brought to my attention regarding soldiers who are members of Joint Task Force Two, JTF2, Canada's anti-terrorism unit and a bureaucratic problem with the reporting of injuries in the line of duty.
The minister has once again demonstrated his government's lack of respect for the men and women who serve in their nation's uniform by trying to summarily dismiss my concern for the rights of the disabled. In this case we have disabled military veterans.
By suggesting there was no problem and that the concerns of disabled veterans were some, to quote the minister, “silly political football” dishonours the sacrifice that they make so that we may live in freedom in Canada. This abject lack of sensitivity to the concerns of the disabled is very troubling. The government must understand that as long as the rights of even one individual are trampled, there is a problem.
I make no apology for questioning the government on this issue regardless of how silly the minister feels the questioning on the rights of the disabled is. Injured soldiers should not have to beg for their pensions. It is an absolute disgrace that a soldier who is disabled in the line of duty would be denied a pension, yet this is the case for soldiers who are members of JTF2.
As a result of the cloak of secrecy that the Prime Minister has placed on all of the activities of JTF2, JTF2 commanders are afraid to report injuries because they fear they will be charged under the Official Secrets Act.
While the government will not admit that recruitment efforts to the military have consistently fallen short, I am not surprised that potential recruits would be unwilling to serve if they thought they would not receive due consideration if injured in the line of duty with a special unit like JTF2 or in a special operation.
The effective date of entitlement for a military pension is usually the date of application. There is an agreement between the Department of National Defence and the Department of Veterans Affairs to share medical information once a privacy release has been signed by the soldier.
In the absence of any paperwork confirming that a soldier was in service at the date of injury, there is no documentation to confirm the injury even occurred.
When I questioned the minister we had JTF2 veterans who were being denied disability pensions for injuries received while as members of the Canadian armed forces. The problem had been going on for years and would only get worse, which reflects the element of danger associated within the war on terrorism.
A part of the solution was my suggestion to designate all JTF2 activity as special deployment operations. This designation would allow for an injury to be reported without the need to provide details of the operation in which the injury occurred. By establishing a date of injury, the injured soldier would be able to establish a disability claim.
I am pleased to report to the House that as a result of my comments in the House, I have been informed that problems relating to pensions of JTF2 soldiers are being fast tracked. On behalf of the veterans and their families, if this is in fact the case, I say it is about time. It is interesting to note that for years there just did not seem to be a solution to this problem and within a week of this issue being raised in the House of Commons, there is finally action.
What I was looking for from the Minister of National Defence after I brought this issue to his attention in the House of Commons for a second time was more than just confirmation that there was a problem but that a permanent fix had been put in place. Political grandstanding does not pay the bills for someone who requires medical assistance.
While the government will claim that progress has been made with regard to the treatment of injured soldiers and their families, it is clear that much more needs to be done.
It is also important to point out the experience of Canadian soldiers who during World War II were asked to participate in top secret chemical warfare experiments.