Casson's statement just not true

Ombudsman’s term could have been renewed

Written by Mark Sandilands

Friday, September 10 2010, 10:02 PM

The Conservatives are at it again! I read with amazement Rick Casson’s monthly column (“[Pat] Strogan’s term was non-renewable,” Sept. 3). Casson’s statement, “when the position of  Veterans Ombudsman was created in 2007, a decision was made that the appointment would be made for a three-year, non-renewable term” is just not true. This same statement can be found in statements from other Tory MPs, too. Obviously this is the Conservative government’s spin on the issue. It all sounded fishy to me so I went looking for the documents creating the Veterans’ Ombudsman. I found the Order in Council establishing the Ombudsman’s office (http://www.ombudsman-veterans.gc.ca/pdf/OVO_Charter_English_Feb19.pdf, or http://bit.ly/dbAOQV), but nowhere does the document say anything about “non-renewable.” In fact, the terms of reference are supposed to be in Annex A of the Order in Council but, interestingly, Annex A is missing from the website (Annex B is there) and the pages seem to have been renumbered. I did find a blog with a link to a report from the Ombudsman (http://www.ombudsman-veterans.gc.ca/reports-rapports/publications/line-ligne-eng.cfm) which contains this statement: “The Ombudsman shall be appointed by the Governor in Council for a term of three years, which term may be renewed   . . .” Strangely, this report cannot easily be found on the Ombudsman’s page. Would the government actually remove parts of a webpage so their public statements cannot be contradicted? Perhaps they don’t want to reappoint Strogan because of his strong criticism of how veterans have been treated. Example: “[He] was told by a senior Treasury Board analyst . . . that it is in the government’s best interest to have soldiers killed overseas rather than wounded because the liability is shorter term.” Another example is the Agent Orange issue from the 1960s. Stogran said he received a press briefing backgrounder and spotted what he considered to be “gross exaggeration, bordering on outright lies.” He wrote a complaining note to the minister — and was cut off from the mailing list. There’s a growing list of civil servants who have suffered by speaking out: Peter Tinsley, Military Police Complaints Commission; Paul Kennedy, RCMP Public Complaints Commission; Linda Keen, president of Nuclear Safety Commission; all are gone. Soon Pat Strogan, Veterans’ Ombudsman — gone. Is this what Stephen Harper meant by open, accountable, transparent government? Mark Sandilands Lethbridge Federal NDP Candidate