Veterans Affairs committee  Mr. Chairman, members of Parliament, ladies and gentlemen, I wish to thank you for inviting me here today. I want you to understand that this is an issue of fairness, of justice, and allowing the democratic system to work properly. With regard to the question the gentleman asked

Veterans Affairs committee  I suppose I can only speak for myself. I had to get old, sir, to find out that I was losing money.

Veterans Affairs committee  In the military we're accustomed to saying “Yes, sir” and just getting on with our jobs. Go ahead, I'll leave that.

Veterans Affairs committee  Sir, with all due respect, I don't think we should be comparing with the civilian population whether or not they are satisfied with their pension plan. I don't think we should be comparing. They have unions to represent them, to look after their welfare, to look after their benef

Veterans Affairs committee  I appreciate your comments, sir. I want you to understand, though, that my wife has a college degree education. Because she followed me around the country, sir, her CPP pension is $75 a month. That's not fair. That's not fair to the veterans. Thank you, sir. I appreciate your co

Veterans Affairs committee  For my table, let's say that fewer than 1% of members of the Canadian Forces achieve my rank.

Veterans Affairs committee  Excuse me, I'm not fluent in French.

Veterans Affairs committee  ... but I can tell you it is difficult to give you a table like that. However, I can give you my table.

Veterans Affairs committee  With regard to contributions, contributions are listed separately on our pay guides. This is where the misinformation starts. We believe we're entitled to both benefits. When you speak of a retirement package at release centres and so on, you must understand that a lot of the ind

Veterans Affairs committee  If I could make a comment on the military pension, I think it should be left alone. It's a 25-year program with a penalty portion if you wish to take it sooner or later. The amount goes on to 35% of your best five years today. It should be left alone. The only thing we're asking

Veterans Affairs committee  No, sir.

Veterans Affairs committee  Simply, it needs to be recognized that we're not public servants. We are different government operators. We're different government suppliers. I believe our pension plan needs to be separated from benefits, and the disability portion needs to be completely separated from our be

Veterans Affairs committee  Absolutely not.

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Mr. Stoffer. I will make my comments very brief. As I've already stated, when we're speaking of the gentlemen like Major-General Lewis MacKenzie, Colonel Don Ethell, a large number of our senior officers, 112 of them to be exact, have sent me let

Veterans Affairs committee  If I may, I can explain it to you this way. In the 1980s—1980 to 1983—I was financial counsellor for the Maritime Command. During those years I was lecturing in financial counselling: CSBs, RRSPs, orderly payment of debts, bankruptcy, insolvency, and all aspects. I was lecturing