Veterans wanted dead, not alive, ombudsman charges

[CHIMO]

Source: thestar.com

OTTAWA – Col. Pat Stogran, a retired infantry officer, has spent the last three years advocating better treatment for Canada’s wounded veterans.

But the federal ombudsman only realized the enormity of the battle he was fighting after a recent conversation with a civil servant who watches over the government’s purse.

“I was told … that it is in the government’s best interests to have soldiers killed overseas rather than wounded because the liability is shorter term,” Stogran said.

For the former Canadian commander in Afghanistan, it was a revealing answer to a stunning problem. The government’s treatment of soldiers and Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers who have sacrificed their limbs, mental health and lives for the country was a question of dollars and cents.



Read more: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/848820--veterans-wanted-dead-not-alive-ombudsman-charges?bn=1