The Canadian Forces is not backing down from its position that Kevin Clark, diagnosed with PTSD after coming to the aid of a fellow soldier shot by a Bosnian sniper, has to pay up for the two days of extra sick leave he took in 2006. But department officials say the pension issue is a separate case that retired master corporal Kevin Clark will have to work through.
Clark received notice of the bill on Monday. Clark says he’ll pay, but he is now demanding the Canadian Forces and the DND do what they should have done six years ago — return his pension contributions.
“When I left the organization I didn’t get any return of contributions towards my pension,” Clark explained. “If they’re so hyper to get me to pay up for sick days, then where is what they owe me?”
A new report from Canadian Forces Ombudsman Pierre Daigle determined that the defence department never informed Clark of the steps associated with his departure from the public service, including the repayment of his pension contributions.
Clark originally complained to the ombudsman that he had been forced from his DND job at the Operational Stress Injury Social Support (OSISS) program. Clark had been hired at OSISS to help support military personnel with mental health issues.
“The decision to let him go was hasty, poorly thought out and profoundly unfair,” Daigle’s report determined. “It also damaged him further, emotionally and financially.”
Daigle recommended that DND acknowledge Clark was treated unfairly and he be fairly compensated in recognition of the loss of his public service job and “the effect the events have had on his health.”
Instead, DND sent Clark a letter dated Oct. 17, demanding he pay the $427.97 for sick days he took beyond his entitlement. If he didn’t pay up by Nov. 17 then legal action could begin.
Rear Admiral Andrew Smith, chief of military personnel, had also written to Daigle in June to inform the watchdog that the Canadian Forces rejected the findings regarding Clark and the ombudsman had no jurisdiction to even look into the complaint.
Asked about Clark’s case on Tuesday, Veterans Affairs Minister Steven Blaney stated, “I can confirm that Minister MacKay has asked his department official to look into this story and they will come back to you shortly.”
Defence department officials privately confirmed Clark had been sent the letter demanding payment for the extra sick days.
Clark had taken the sick days because of the stress of the situation he faced at OSISS, the ombudsman reported.
A department official also revealed the DND owes Clark pension contributions for two years and 84 days. It will be up to the former soldier, however, to try to get that from the government.
“I don’t know how much that amounts to but it’s a hell of a lot more than $427,” said Clark.
On Tuesday a veterans group offered in a posting on Facebook to pay Clark’s debt, but he declined the offer with thanks.
Auditor General Michael Ferguson released a report Tuesday warning that veterans and other military personnel forced to leave the Canadian Forces because of illness or injury are at risk of falling through countless cracks as they attempt to make the transition to civilian life. That’s because the system set up to support them is rife with inconsistencies, poor or inadequate service standards, and other issues that have created a patchwork approach to helping those who have served in uniform, the auditor found.
Ombudsman staff acknowledge the 47-year-old Clark has been put through the wringer by the Canadian Forces. When officers originally found out he was suffering from PTSD they tried to boot the soldier out of the military, even though he had just two months to go before he could collect his pension for 20-years of service. They backed off on that and Clark found his way into OSISS, eventually working out of offices on Coventry Road.
The standoff between Daigle and the senior military leadership found its way into the Commons several weeks ago. But Defence Minister Peter MacKay brushed aside concerns the government was trying to undercut the role of the ombudsman, saying that he, as minister, could be relied on to stand up for the country’s soldiers.
MacKay, however, also warned Daigle not to advocate on behalf of soldiers.
Original Article
Source: ottawa citizen
Author: DAVID PUGLIESE
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