The budget legislation introduced by the Carney government includes an amendment that legal representatives of veterans believe is an attempt to conceal a long-standing 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 compensation for tens of thousands of veterans, criticized the government’s move as an effort to evade accountability for their error by retroactively altering legislation. The proposed amendment, tucked away in the 637-page budget implementation act unveiled on Tuesday, aims to redefine the calculation method for veterans’ long-term care expenses and apply it retroactively, potentially legitimizing a costly federal error, according to the lawyers involved in the class action.
In October 2024, CBC News disclosed that an error in interpreting federal law likely led to the Veterans Affairs Department incorrectly determining the amount veterans should pay for long-term care. Despite internal awareness of the issue within the department, it remained unaddressed. Generally, veterans enrolled in the department’s long-term care program are only responsible for covering their accommodation and meal costs, which should be based on the lowest room and board expenses in the least expensive province, including territories as per federal law. However, CBC News analysis revealed that the department omitted territories from the calculation, even though the Northwest Territories historically had the most affordable long-term care rates. The analysis suggested that veterans may have been overcharged by approximately $3,130 in the previous year alone.
Following these revelations, Malcolm Ruby and co-counsel Michel Drapeau initiated the class action lawsuit, alleging that veterans have been overcharged since at least 1998 due to the department’s failure to consider territorial expenses in their calculations. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acknowledged the issue and informed the House of Commons that investigations were underway. Despite this, the Carney government’s proposed amendment to the Veterans Health Care Regulations is aiming to redefine “province” retroactively, excluding territories, which could absolve the government from reimbursing veterans who were overcharged and potentially derail the ongoing class action.
Malcolm Ruby criticized the government’s amendment as an attempt to evade accountability and prevent veterans and their legal representatives from holding them responsible for their mistakes. Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne defended the amendments as clarifying existing benefit calculation methodologies and emphasized the government’s commitment to supporting veterans. However, former Canadian Armed Forces member Michel Drapeau expressed strong disagreement with retroactively changing legal definitions that impact benefit calculations, labeling it as unprecedented and unacceptable. The bill containing the proposed amendments must pass through Parliament for implementation.