The recent budget legislation introduced by the Carney government includes an amendment that legal representatives of veterans believe is an attempt to conceal a decades-long mistake that resulted in veterans being overcharged for long-term care.
Malcolm Ruby, a partner at Gowling WLG and co-counsel in a proposed class-action lawsuit seeking damages for tens of thousands of veterans, stated that rather than admitting to their error, the government is trying to alter the rules retroactively. He likened the proposed amendment to a powerful tool that the government could use in legal battles.
The amendment, tucked away in the 637-page budget implementation act presented on Tuesday, aims to “clarify” the calculation method for determining veterans’ long-term care costs and apply this formula retroactively. This move is seen by the lawyers involved in the class action as an effort to legitimize a costly mistake made by the federal government.
In October 2024, CBC News disclosed that the federal government had likely misinterpreted its own law, leading to miscalculations by the Veterans Affairs Department regarding veterans’ payment obligations. Despite internal awareness of the issue, it remained unaddressed.
Under normal circumstances, veterans enrolled in the department’s long-term care program are responsible only for their accommodation and meal expenses. These costs should be equivalent to the lowest room and board expenses in the most affordable province, with territories included in the federal law’s definition of “province.” However, CBC News analysis revealed that territories were not considered in the calculation, despite the Northwest Territories offering the most affordable long-term care rates.
The analysis suggested that veterans may have been overcharged by approximately $3,130 in the past year alone. Subsequently, Malcolm Ruby and co-counsel Michel Drapeau initiated the class action, alleging that veterans have been overcharged since at least 1998.
Following the CBC News report, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau informed the House of Commons that officials were investigating the matter. However, the Carney government’s proposed amendment to the Veterans Health Care Regulations seeks to redefine “province” retroactively, excluding territories, potentially absolving the government of reimbursing overpaid veterans and halting the class action prematurely.
Ruby criticized the government’s move, accusing them of attempting to evade accountability for their mistakes by hindering veterans and their legal representatives. In response to queries about the amendment, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne emphasized the government’s increased support for veterans’ services.
Champagne’s spokesperson defended the amendments as clarifications to existing benefit calculation methodologies, asserting the government’s right to make such adjustments. However, Drapeau, with over 30 years of service in the Canadian Armed Forces, disagreed, denouncing the retroactive alteration of legal definitions impacting benefit calculations as unprecedented and unacceptable.
The bill must undergo parliamentary approval before becoming enforceable.
