Thursday November 27,, 2014 4 (Vol. 39 No. 46)
V O I C E
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W H I T E
R O C K
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S O U T H
S U R R E Y
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‘They’re like brothers’ Adam Berger and Kyle Miller were once teammates as Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers, but they’ll be on opposite sides of Sunday’s Grey Cup. i see page 37
Auditor general slams federal delays in dealing with injured military personnel
Report fuels Veterans Affairs criticism Alex Browne Staff Reporter
Veterans seeking benefits for mental illness and injury are getting a raw deal from the federal government when it comes to timely access, a report from the auditor general confirms. And officials with a local disabled veterans’ rights group say the finding – including that one in six Canadian vets with mental-health issues is waiting more than eight months to find out if their benefits have been approved – proves the outlook for those injured while
serving their country has only dimmed in the past three years. “Veterans matter – and they’re being mistreated,” said Gerry Lenoski, vice-president of the White Rock-based Equitas Society, which is currently pursuing a class-action suit on behalf of disabled veterans. “It doesn’t square with Canadian values.” Lenoski said he is not surprised at outrage being expressed in the wake of Michael Ferguson’s report, which was issued Tuesday. It adds more fuel to a fire of concern over the government’s overall approach to veterans, he said.
Lenoski said it is particularly disturbing at a time when reports have emerged that Veterans Affairs had returned $1.13 billion in unspent money to the federal Treasury since 2006, while eight Veterans Affairs offices across the country were closed earlier this year and the department received budget cuts and layoffs. “You’d think that we would have reached a tipping point, given the litany of outrage over (Veterans Affairs),” Lenoski said. “It hasn’t got better – it’s deteriorated. You wonder how much worse it can get before a political effect takes place at the ballot box.”
Meanwhile, Veterans Affairs minister Julian Fantino – out of the country this week observing ceremonies commemorating Canadian service in Italy during the Second World War – has issued a statement that the Conservative government “accepts all of the recommendations made in the auditor general’s report.” Fantino said he’d recommended a year ago that Ferguson review mental-health supports and, even before receiving the results, had announced a $200-million program of “expanded mental-health initiatives.” i see page 4
Surrey MLA under fire
Virk now recalls Kwantlen emails Tom Fletcher Black Press
House fire claims cat
Boaz Joseph photo
Surrey firefighters begin to battle a house fire at 5437 148 St. in Panorama Ridge on Wednesday morning. The blaze broke out shortly before 9 a.m., with smoke billowing out all sides of the two-storey house. No people were hurt, however, firefighters found a cat inside and performed CPR and provided oxygen for 10-15 minutes, but were ultimately unable to save it.
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Opposition MLAs have renewed their call for Advanced Education Minister Amrik Virk to be removed from cabinet, after releasing emails showing Virk took part in discussions about a hidden bonus for a university executive. Virk, MLA for SurreyTynehead, was on the Kwantlen Amrik Virk Polytechnic minister University board of governors in April 2011, when an offer was made to then-University of Regina dean of business Ann Lavack for the position of vice-president academic (VPA) for Kwantlen. Emails released by the NDP this week show Virk, then an inspector with the Langley RCMP and a voli see page 4