Demand the government halt the cuts planned for Veterans Affairs 

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It seems that every Remembrance Day, my medals, symbolizing my long, honorable and unheroic service, evoke the all-too-familiar refrain of “thank you for your service” from politicians and members of the public.

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In light of upcoming cuts planned at the Department of Veterans Affairs, the question arises: why?

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By definition, “gratitude” can express relief that something is over, just as much as it can express gratitude. Could it be that whoever “thanks” me for my service on Remembrance Day is expressing relief that their little one-day love for veterans is all they really need to do to make sure they fulfill their duty to recognize and support Canada's veterans?

They can then easily turn a blind eye to the challenges faced by disabled veterans trying to access Veterans Affairs benefits.

Veterans Affairs faces $4.2 billion in cuts.

Buried deep in last week's news cycle as Prime Minister Mark Carney's budget has passed a vote of confidence.It is the ongoing reality that the Department of Veterans Affairs will undergo the second-largest level of financial cuts over the next several years, totaling a projected $4.2 billion. This is more than the projected cuts planned for departments such as international affairs, the Canada Revenue Agency, and innovation, science and economic development, to name a few.

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“Thank you for your service?”

But rather than highlight the hypocrisy evident in the foolish praise delivered on Remembrance Day by the Prime Minister and his Veterans Affairs Minister, let me frame my disagreement in the economic terminology of supply and demand that Carney – our economist-turned-banker-turned-Prime Minister – could understand.

If, and this is a really big “If”, The Carney government is pursuing an ambitious proposal to expand the Canadian Armed Forces. And if he does find a way to get today's generation of young people to enlist in large numbers, it will invariably significantly increase the number of disability claims coming into our shriveled, financially starved Department of Veterans Affairs.

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“Thank you for your service?”

And, like it or not, whether current or former military personnel are 18 or 80 years old, they are eligible to receive veteran's benefits for any service-connected disability.

So what will be cut?

So where would the proposed $4.2 billion in Veterans Affairs cuts go? Assuming Veterans Affairs is to be believed at this point, the only identified reduction planned for the department is a $2.50 reduction in the medical cannabis benefit, from $8.50 to $6 per gram, for any veteran who may be eligible for that benefit.

Really! I'm not a mathematician or an expert on the economics of medical cannabis.

However, my basic calculations show that if $4.2 billion amounts to just a 29% reduction in medical marijuana benefits, then our disabled veterans should truly be heading into psychedelic oblivion!

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Which, if true, might be a good thing once the real targets of the proposed cuts become clear. Of course, the proposed cuts to marijuana, which is still widely perceived as a recreational drug, are a callous and shrewd political move on the part of the Veterans Administration. But let's be realistic: the proposed financial cuts will inevitably impact disability pensions, prescription drugs, physical therapy, occupational and mental health services, and other important benefits and programs far more than medicinal marijuana.

Privatization of veteran services

This will either lead to a catastrophic reduction or termination of services and benefits already provided, or, almost as bad, to the continued outsourcing and privatization of veterans' services. The creeping privatization of veterans' health care, a deeply unpopular trend in the US, has ironically been wholeheartedly embraced former Prime Minister Justin Trudeauwhen his government moved in 2022 to privatize veterans' medical, psychosocial and vocational rehabilitation services to for-profit firms such as Lifemark, a company owned by Loblaws.

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If the ultimate leader of left-leaning liberals had no ideological qualms about privatizing veterans' health care, imagine what corporate, cost-cutting Carney might be willing to do?

And let's not forget that outsourcing veterans' health care to for-profit corporations like Loblaws-Lifemark invariably involves trusting those companies with our medical files.

So, instead of thanking me for my service, how about using every possible non-violent legal and political means to ensure that the government does not cut veterans' affairs spending or reverse its recent privatization initiatives? Sincere gratitude for my service should mean that you are willing to pay more in taxes to support a robust and well-funded government veterans service. Otherwise, be prepared for further cuts to other departments and funding that you may benefit from, all for the sake of veterans like me and my disabled veteran friends.

No, can you do it?

Then please stop thanking me for my service and instead be grateful that your Liberal government gives us veterans the fleeting and fading support that they, and presumably you, think we deserve.

— Robert Small is a retired teacher who served in the Canadian Armed Forces Reserve for over 20 years. He is currently defending his doctorate in military history. Contact him at: [email protected].m

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