The truth of the matter is when the government gutted the old veteran charter for the new one they moved the goalposts for injuries far to the right while also reducing the value of each claim, effectively gutting the charter twice.
Link below to the current rating system so you can self-assess:
Will cherry-pick one as an example:
| Two |
- Can use limb efficiently for normal tasks but with excessive fatigue and/or pain occurring within 1hour.
|
| Twenty-one |
- Uses limb inefficiently in all circumstances. Use of limb subject to major limitations; capable of light grip only. Multiple aids may be required for every day activities such as writing and eating.
|
So chronic lifetime pain that severely limits you is worth 2% or about $30 dollars a month on the low end and $250 if you have essentially lost the use of a limb!
The criteria scores for every condition in the whole document are equally ridiculous and get exponentially harder to qualify for as you move above 5%. It gets to the point 20% is almost a totally debilitating condition that under the former charter or American chart would be almost a total disability.
The one to get a higher percentage more easily is mental health as there are 3 charts they add together and add a quality of life modifier of a few %. That said physical injuries are almost to the point of farce to get above 15% if it is still attached to your body or works in any way.
Multiple injuries do add together towards a total disability cap of 100% or $1300ish a month indexed. Do remember your physical injuries can cause mental health issues. For me, my 25-30% physical rating also translated into a 40% mental health claim to bring the total to around 70%.
Once you are out you can also apply for additional pain and suffering. It has 3 indexed Levels 500/1000/1500 ish respectively but again getting anything above the first level requires almost total disability or hospitalization.
At 70% disability rating I am level 1 and I have to prove it yearly to qualify or it is taken away. I still work part-time and there are other programs so it is not all as doom and gloom as I may have made it sound but they do not make the process easy when the member is at their weakest. I am also fortunate that with 27 years in I get a 54% pension.
For a young soldier, it would be very daunting as a severe injury may not qualify for long-term disability income replacement while it does limit their career prospects all for $1000 cad a month and no ones surviving on 1K a month.
The government has sadly truly stacked the deck against its veterans where it should have just punished anyone found abusing the old system. As much as I dislike JT and the current liberals the bulk of these changes was under Harper. So every political party felt we were asking for more than they were willing to give.
TL/DR: The system is stacked against claim values even when approved, please use the above provided link for your reference.
