The federal government came under considerable scrutiny last week over revelations it has tucked more than a billion dollars in unspent money budgeted for Veteran’s Affairs Canada back into general revenues since 2006. Critics, perhaps predictably, argue the Conservatives are fattening up a surplus in advance of an election.
Financial statements show government departments regularly put millions of unspent money back into the treasury. That’s actually very good News and it belies the common perception of department heads wantonly spending every last dime allocated in an effort to ensure their budgets aren’t reduced the following year.
However, the News of the unspent cash earmarked for veterans has upset advocates such as the Royal Canadian Legion, whose spokespeople say the money could have been spent on ill or injured veterans in need. The Legion is still waiting for a response after asking Veteran’s Affairs minister Julian Fantino why he said his department didn’t have enough money to increase programs for veterans in need when there was still hundreds of millions of dollars left in the budget.
The current administration already has a rocky relationship with veterans over such issues as the closure of veterans offices around the country and allegations of inappropriately discharging injured veterans from service.
So the optics of this latest revelation are not positive, particularly so soon after a Remembrance Day commemorating the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War, and the recent fatal attacks on Canadian soldiers in Ottawa and Quebec.
Still, it’s an ill wind that blows no one any good and, surprise, surprise, Sunday brought an announcement that the feds will invest $200 million over six years to address mental health issues among members of the armed forces – assuming the money gets spent, one might be tempted to add.
Whether or not the timing is suspect, it appears the government is going to put some dollars toward addressing an important issue for soldiers. Statistics Canada says about one in six full-time members of the Canadian Forces experienced symptoms of mental health or alcohol-related disorders in the past year. Statistics also show a disproportionately high number of suicides among members of both the regular forces and military reservists in Canada.
If the move is largely a reaction to the earlier negative publicity on the file, well perhaps that’s how things have to work these days. Hopefully it’s a lesson learned by this government on the proper treatment of soldiers and veterans.
Responsive government or damage control? Pragmatism or politics? Sometimes it’s hard tell the difference.
