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During a campaign event on Saturday in Nepean, a suburb of Ottawa, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre unveiled a new initiative aimed at enhancing support for military veterans, presenting his proposals in a region where his main political rival, Liberal Leader Mark Carney, is seeking election.
The Conservative plan proposes that military veterans’ disability applications will be automatically approved if they are not processed within a four-month timeframe. This pledge responds to ongoing concerns from veterans about chronic backlogs and delays in the approval process that affect their access to necessary financial support after leaving active service.
Currently, Veterans Affairs Canada has established a goal of processing these applications within 16 weeks. However, statistics from the 2023-24 period indicate that only 69 percent of claims were processed within this target, falling short of their aim to achieve this benchmark 80 percent of the time.
Despite the challenges, the department has reported a significant reduction in the backlog of claims, which has decreased by 75 percent since 2020. Nonetheless, as of the conclusion of the 2024 fiscal year, over 5,000 veterans were still facing unresolved claims.
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The Conservative Party’s proposed measures also include granting veterans greater control over their medical records, allowing military doctors to evaluate injuries through a standardized assessment system, and facilitating access to service dogs for individuals diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Furthermore, the party plans to make educational and training benefits accessible to members of the Armed Forces immediately upon their release.
Barbara Bal, a former Armed Forces member, is the Conservative candidate in Nepean competing against Mark Carney. Meanwhile, Poilievre is campaigning for re-election in the nearby riding of Carleton. As Poilievre makes his rounds in Nepean, there are currently no public appearances scheduled for Carney. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is simultaneously holding a campaign event in Timmins, Ontario, at 7:30 p.m.
Canadians are set to cast their votes in the general election on April 28. With the election date approaching, party leaders are also preparing for televised debates slated for next week in Montreal, with a French-language debate scheduled for Wednesday and an English-language debate following on Thursday.
Source
globalnews.ca