OTTAWA, ON, November 3, 2003 - The Prime Minister of Canada stated on October 1, 2003 that the Liberal Caucus was in favour of providing the Veterans Independence Program to all widows, without reference to the commencement date in the present Regulations of May 12, 2003.

The House of Commons gave unanimous approval to a resolution that VIP would be payable to all widows.

The Honourable Minister of Veterans Affairs Canada, Dr. Rey Pagtakhan, told the House of Commons in Question Period on November 3rd, 2003 that the proposal regarding regulatory changes concerning VIP for widows has been approved by the major veteran organizations of Canada.

The National Council of Veteran Associations (NCVA), which represents 47 veteran organizations in Canada, was present at those meetings and raised serious concerns about denying this benefit to a number of widows of the seriously disabled veteran pensioners. These concerns were outlined in a media statement sent to the Minister under the date of May 12, 2003. The statement says in part: "The National Council was particularly pleased to see what it called a 'breakthrough' under which the government will now recognize that an allowance under the Veterans Independence Program could continue for a widow after the death of a seriously disabled veteran."

Cliff Chadderton, NCVA Chairman, and Brian Forbes, Honourary Secretary General of NCVA, were present at these meetings. No minutes were taken of the meetings and no written report was produced by the NCVA.

We suggest the Minister of Veterans Affairs Canada is failing to carry out the will of Prime Minister Chretien and the House of Commons.