OTTAWA, ON, September 17, 2003 - The National Council of Veteran Associations (NCVA) has forwarded a letter to Veterans Affairs Minister, Rey Pagtakhan, requesting that the Government’s policy to restrict groundskeeping and housekeeping benefits only to widows of war disability pensioners who die after May 12, 2003 be reviewed.

“We seriously question whether the Canadian public is aware of the discrimination in this new policy,” says Cliff Chadderton, Chairman of the 46-member NCVA. He has drawn attention to the fact that this policy denies benefits to widows of 100% pensioners who died from their disabilities prior to the commencement date of May 12, 2003, whereas the widows of pensioners who die after the commencement date would qualify for a benefit, for life, of approximately $300 per month.

Chadderton stated that his organization was having great difficulty in explaining to the widows whose husbands died prior to the commencement date that they are excluded. "This creates two classes of widows. It denies the benefit, for example, to World War II veterans who were seriously disabled and who have carried their disabilities since the war with the wives providing caregiver assistance. This should be compared with the benefit for a widow whose deceased husband may have given much less service to the country in time of war,” Chadderton said.

“The question of the continuation of benefits for widows who remain in their own homes has been under discussion with the Minister and Officials of Veterans Affairs for nearly two years,” Chadderton continued.

His group, along with other veterans organizations, agreed to the decision that provided a benefit only to widows whose pensioned husbands died in recent months. "Our understanding was that the restrictive policy was of the ‘stop-gap’ variety and that the Government would consider making the continuation of these allowances to widows retroactive if and when funds were available,” Chadderton concluded.