- Reaction score
- 1,279
- Points
- 1,160
I love it when an Adjudication clerk, using a Merck Medical Reference book, overturns what a licensed medical professional reports.
dogger1936 said:And yet it always surprises me vets never act like the enemy no matter how bad they are treated.
At what point do vets stand up for themselves. Cause let's face it...no one else cares except us.
Kat Stevens said:How do we do that? We don't count. The organization that was supposed to advocate for us, the RCL, has become nothing but a place for people with little to no connection to us to play crib and darts, and hold Friday meat draws. Individual veterans' "cries in the wild" will never be heard as far away as Ottawa.
To paraphrase the famous misquote from Nixon: Lies, damn lies and statistics.
“I realize then that my job will be to look at the board’s program with fresh eyes, to make sure it is living up to its mandate.”
I am not at liberty to become involved in any discussion of your case once a decision is rendered.
FTFYJim Seggie said:MND and the CDS were very publicly spanked for using aircraft that are meant to be used. And thisbureaucratgovernment appointee should be as well.
The chairman of an embattled veterans review board billed taxpayers on two occasions to attend high-brow lectures in Britain where his wife was a participant.
John Larlee has regularly attended the Cambridge Lecture series, but went on the federal government's dime in 2009 and 2011.
The prominent events at Queen's College at Cambridge University north of London, attract movers and shakers in the British and Canadian political and legal communities.
Set amid the neatly manicured lawns, waterways and stone ramparts of the centuries-old university, the lectures have featured the likes of former prime minister Paul Martin and Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin of the Supreme Court of Canada.
Larlee's bills for both trips, listed as professional development in the expense records of the Veterans Review and Appeal board, totalled $7,285.97, including flights, accommodations and meals.
His wife, Justice Margaret Larlee of the New Brunswick Court of Appeal, has been a fixture at the events.
She was moderator of a panel on ending rape in both war and politics at the 2009 conference and led a discussion in 2011 on the role of Israel's supreme court in the fight against terrorism.
Justice Larlee was also featured at the 2007 lectures, discussing commissions of inquiry and whether they are worth the money. Her husband accompanied her that year as well, but paid for the trip out of his pocket, according to a veterans board spokeswoman.
The chairman refused an interview request, but Danielle Gauthier, who speaks for the independent agency, says the trips were justified.
"His daily work involves providing leadership to a board of independent adjudicators who make decisions based on evidence and according to the legislation that governs disability benefits for veterans," Gauthier said in an email statement to The Canadian Press.
"The lectures provide valuable insight into the global and common challenges of adjudicating from the perspective of leading lawyers, academics and judges from Canada and around the world."
Some topics discussed during Larlee's taxpayer-funded trips included nation-building in Afghanistan, Asia after the (financial) crash, Canada's response to terrorism, lectures on the rule of law, sovereignty and the responsibility to protect, the justice system in Tanzania and the unwritten principles of the constitution and minorities.
Board records show Larlee has attended five other conferences in Canada — at a total cost of 6,757.67 — since he was appointed in 2009. These included a Canadian Bar Association meeting in 2009.
Gauthier said the Cambridge conference expenses were paid by the veterans board in accordance with federal Treasury Board guidelines, which require justification for international travel.
Veterans Affairs Minister Steven Blaney signed off on the 2011 trip, as his predecessor Jean-Pierre Blackburn did for the 2009 conference, officials said.
"We absolutely did not know his wife was a participant," added one senior official, who spoke on the condition of not being named.
Board officials, also speaking on background, emphasized that Justice Larlee's expenses were not covered by the agency and they declined to talk about how they were paid ....
dogger1936 said:14043.64 for eating and travelling about.
That's about what you get from veterans affairs for losing a hand!!
Where's our bill or rights you were talking about Harper? Can we please have a pension back?
Not_So_Arty_Newbie said:14 grand for 6 td trips 5 of which were in Canada is a drop in the bucket.