Letter to the Editor

Recent media reports have highlighted the plight of 90 year old WWII
Veterans being turned away from the Camp Hill Veterans Hospital,
underscoring the failings of Veterans Affairs Canada to assist these Veterans
in obtaining access to much needed care.
A much larger issue exists which is not being addressed, and it too has been
ignored by the media and by government.
The issue is that of access to Long Term Care for the Modern Day Veteran
(1953-Present) and the arbitrary cut off legislated in the Pension Act which
denies these Veterans access to the same range of services that are afforded
their WWII and Korean War counterparts. This is discriminatory.
Successive governments have thus institutionalized discrimination based
upon era of service. The Modern Day Veteran is being treated as a secondclass Veteran. The government, through its inaction in bringing forth
legislation and policies which would address this denial of access to the
Modern Day Veteran speaks volumes and are complicit in perpetuating a
system that does not treat all Veterans equally and equitably.
It boils down to the government acknowledging that A Veteran is a
Veteran. That their blood, sweat, toil, efforts and sacrifices are deemed to
not be of equal value is not only wrong, it is also morally repugnant.
The message to Canadas Veterans and their families is rather clear.

Gordon Jenkins, CD (Retd)

President, NATO Veterans Organization of Canada

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