A class action law suit is being prepared against the federal government challenging the fairness of some benefits paid to injured and disabled veterans under the New Veterans Charter.
The Vancouver-based Equitas Society seeks parity in disability benefits for wounded and injured military members with those provided for provincial and federal government employees. It argues that the New Veterans Charter, which came into effect in 2006, provides less disability compensation than both the Pension Act, which serves Second World War veterans, and provincial worker compensation packages.
The society is raising funds to cover an estimated $250,000 in court-related costs for military personnel and veterans joining the suit. The national law firm Miller Thomson has agreed to provide lawyers at no cost for the proposed class action suit, which will challenge the validity of disability settlements under the New Veterans Charter, based on veterans’ constitutional right to protection under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
