OTTAWA — A promised infusion of cash to help Veterans Affairs Canada address a massive backlog of requests for services from thousands of wounded warriors has sparked mixed reactions — with some fearing it won’t be nearly enough. The new money, included in this week’s federal budget, amounts to $42 million over two years and is specifically earmarked to speed up the delivery of services to disabled veterans. The one-time injection of additional funds follows revelations that Veterans Affairs Canada had a backlog of 29,000 applications for disability benefits at the end of November — a nearly 50 per cent increase over the previous eight months. Veterans Affairs Minister Seamus O’Regan said he has heard first-hand from former Forces members about the impacts the growing wait times have had on their lives, and that the government knows it has to do better. “It’s going to stress a system that’s already stressed to the max,” he said of the pension-for-life plan.

Source: National Post March 01, 2018 20:12 UTC