A former Canadian soldier, Veteran Tom Beaver, who was part of a 2015 effort to deny Stephen Harper’s Conservative government re-election because of its treatment of veterans is once again urging voters to vote “ABC — anybody but Conservative.”
“We believe that Canadians support their veterans and are also angered by the disrespect shown by the Conservative party.”
As veterans” he writes, “we answered the call from our country to serve. We expected, if we were fortunate enough to come home, that we would be given the support we need to survive. In too many cases, this has not happened.
Mr. Scheer and Mr. Bernier were standing right beside Mr. Harper when (he made) the most significant cuts off the backs of veterans since World War II,” he wrote.
This time around, Tom Beaver says he is personally endorsing the Liberal government for meeting its key campaign promises to veterans. But the website for his group is called Veterans Against Conservatives.
“Yes, I am a Liberal, Beaver writes, But In the past, I have also voted NDP and even Conservative once! And yes, I have many good friends that support the NDP and Conservatives…
“I trusted my life to them in the past, and I would again. I hope they would do the same. The ABC campaign is not telling anyone who to vote for. We are asking you not to vote Conservative.”
Beaver says the Trudeau Liberals have completed “all obligations” they made to veterans in 2015. He checks off this list of items “completed”:
- Help injured veterans by re-establishing lifelong pensions.
- Expand access to the Permanent Impairment Allowance to better support veterans.
- Pain and suffering compensation.
- Deliver a higher standard of service and care, and ensure that a “one veteran, one standard” approach is upheld.
- Re-open the nine Veterans Affairs service offices recently closed.
- Ensure veterans have access to financial advice and the cost is covered.
- Double funding to ensure that all veterans receive a dignified burial.
- Improve rehabilitation services.
- Create a Veterans Education Benefit that supports the education costs of Canadian Forces veterans after completion of service.
- Improve career and vocational assistance for veterans.
- Reduce complexity and strengthen partnerships between National Defence and Veterans Affairs.
- Develop a suicide prevention strategy for Canadian Armed Forces personnel and veterans.
- Increase the veteran survivor’s pension amount from 50 per cent to 70 per cent.
- Support families who are providing care and support to veterans living with physical or mental health issues.
- End the time limit for surviving spouses applying for vocational rehabilitation and assistance services.