OTTAWA, ON, September 30, 2003 - The restriction in the legislation of May 12, 2003, should be removed and benefit applied at least to widows of the most seriously disabled veterans.

The 47-member National Council of Veteran Associations (NCVA) today filed an extensive submission to the Government of Canada asking that the added benefit announced on May 12th of this year be extended to those widows who provided care to the totally disabled veterans.

The new legislation proposed that entitlement for added compensation for widows who remain in their own home or require housekeeping assistance be implemented but only for veterans who die after the effective date of May 12 of this year.

Cliff Chadderton, NCVA Chairman, stated that, in restricting the new legislation only to those whose husbands died after May 12, was a "humiliating insult" to all widows, and drew particular attention to those who had cared for the disabled veterans who had been dependent upon "caregiving" by their wives for many years.

In commenting on the cost, Chadderton stated consideration should be given to all of the 26,000 widows but that if the Government was strapped for funds, at least a priority should be given to the most deserving group of widows who had earned the right as they had devoted all of their adult lives to caring for the most heavily disabled members of the Armed Forces.

"The number of widows who would qualify would not create a large financial liability," Chadderton continued. The reasons given were, firstly, that very few pensioners carry disabilities which qualify them for 100% pension and Exceptional Incapacity and Attendance Allowances. Chadderton pointed out also that these widows were now in the 80-plus age bracket and their need for help would not stretch over many years. He added that the benefit would be available only if the widow resided in her own home or required housekeeping if in an apartment or condominium. Also, the benefit is available only in Canada.

Chadderton stated that in order to ensure that proper attention was drawn to the situation, the National Council had cited the May 12th date as a "BLACK DAY IN MAY".

The brief extracted information from the databank of The War Amputations of Canada, listing 348 widows whose husbands carried an average of 10 to 12 disabilities, including amputation and total blindness.

The typical case in the research documents is that of Viola McDonald of Montreal whose husband lost an arm and a leg fighting with the 7th Recce Regiment in Normandy. Arising from his major disabilities, he developed another 35 disabilities. He died in September 2001.

"We have been meeting with officials of Veterans Affairs for more than two years on this subject," Chadderton stated. He agreed that in final meetings with the Minister of Veterans Affairs, the veterans organizations were faced with an edict from the Treasury Board that no new money could be available for veterans projects.

Chadderton suggested, however, that one of the major recommendations from his organization was that if added compensation could not be made available to the small number of widows, the Government, as a priority, should at least consider the situation where the widow had looked after the most seriously disabled of Canada's pensioned veterans.

A copy of the submission is available on The War Amps Web site.