WAmm-MI-dly.Novunbu7.2012'3 . 171' Law 0 i - . ‘ - - 1' O CITY NE V V 8 'WE""'â€'“:: ““““ â€D" â€can a m Imus Maison ‘ - 1 V†gt. . l.“ I wwwlastpostfundca 7 , rwtfhgnidesmlf \ 9-“ Criticsarecallingon theConser- >- «'3‘ .. vative government to make ust days before Remembrance * \ q ‘ ‘1 amends. I Day. the Royal Canadian .‘ y g ‘ "The federal government had legion is calling on the federal ‘ . ,’ the responsibility to provide veter- government to increase funding to ‘ g ' ' ? ans and their families with the serv. help cover the costs of burying . Â¥ ‘ ’ ices and support they requim.†said Canada's impoverished war " _. ’ â€"\ Liberal Veterans Affairs critic Sean veterans. l .\ « ‘ Casey in a release Monday. “it is The Veterans Funeral and Burial e, .\ \ time to stop using our troops as Program. also known as the last i ‘ \ x props for their photo-ops and start Post Fund. gives $3,600 to ex-solâ€" N treating them with the dignity and diets who qualify, compared to 1‘ ‘\ respecttheyhaveeamed' $12,700 for those currently sewing . Overhauling eligibility, includ- in the Canadian military .2 ing raising the stipend for the ï¬rst â€Funeral costs have skyrocket- . .1" ~ _. time in a decade, could cost ed.†said Gordon Moore. president . 2 between $5 million and $7 million of the Royal Canadian Legion. ' V » annually, the Canadian Press “What we're trying to do here is to , .5"? g 3* ¢ _ reported. make sure that any veteran who . _ , ‘ ~ .( ' , as; 5.» "Not all the veterans need the needs the funding to be buried has » ' ~’ " . ‘ _ ; 5‘5 "“4. funding, it's only the ones who she a digniï¬ed burial and all expenses at " , - g; I as“ .. “w financially handcuffed,’ said are paid. equal to our serving memâ€" !“ a: ’ , o“ g A . . a» ‘ , ;. Moore. "We do have a number of hers" W " ' ‘ "‘9 " ‘i‘MS" veterans who are law-income citi- Kitchener»Waterloo MP Peter L .5 ‘ / ' I . ‘ .2. ' ,. ukw‘ ~ zens and they should be looked Braid said it was time for his gov- _ . "- , i . a ' after." eminent to review the eligibility V, W†_. a “:3 ‘ I' a " p ‘ MlnisterBlaneywas unavailable criteria of the program and consid- ’ » V“ 5‘- ‘ ' » for comment, but his ofï¬ce did er any changes that might be made. Brigadier General Matthew Overton lays a wreath at the monument of local soldiers who died during the First respond with an email. "Like all â€If there is a systematic prob- World War at the Mount Hope Cemetary in Kitchener Sunday, part of thdiSikh Remembrance Day ceremony. programs, the department contin- Iem. we need to ï¬x it," Braid said in manometer!) um to review the funeral and burial an interview Monday. calling for these revisions so close obstructing the process. assessment. program and explore options on The government has offered no to Remembrance Day is a coinci- last week the Canadian Press To qualify, a veteran with a how to irnprrmtheprogram." reason for the discrepancy. Moore dence. and in 2010. the Legion reported that more than two-thirds spouse or dependentchildrenmust Braid has not heard directly said. adding it is not a priority the passed a similar resolution request- of veterans who apply for thebene- have a combined net asset value from veterans in his riding of any government wants to address. ing Veterans Affairs Canada take fits are denied. Figures presented to below 512.015. Single veterans are concerns for veteran funerals. but Since taking ofï¬ce in lune. he has the necessary action to increase the Parliament show of the 29.853 eligible for funding if the net value oonsistentiydlscusses issuesaflect- been working with Minister of Vet- burial funding program. requests for funding made since of their estate fails to cover the bal- ing membas of legion Branch 530 eran Affairs Steven Blaney. but has The Legion also wants the 2006, more than 20,000 were reject- anceofthe funeral. inWaterloo, hesaid. seen no progress. money to be made more readily ed for either failing to meet the eli- A list of the criteria is available “Veterans have served us, and He said the fact the Legion is available. with less red tape gibility criteria or failing a ï¬nancial on the Last Post Fund's website. weneed to serve them." hesaid. ifs hint“ ‘ ' _ x , . ‘ ' _ “is.“ in} AWAFU , , . . . r». . ‘ '.‘.’Z.‘."~'l.‘£'i ‘{ illi/‘x 5‘ HAIR SALON it & , or. - , ‘ a . ., , . i r . ’ was ' ' ‘ ’ ' ' SPA-I‘ll tints-Int m 519 m. 2090 I allurin-