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The Conservatives are decrying a push by the federal Liberals to retroactively amend a law which some lawyers believe is a way to avoid paying out veterans over a federal error that may be responsible for overcharging them thousands of dollars.
The Carney government’s budget implementation act contains an amendment that it says “clarifies” the formula used to calculate long-term care costs for veterans.
Lawyers in a proposed class action contend the federal government has been overcharging veterans for long-term care due to a decades-long miscalculation.
The amendment, if passed, would be retroactive — and potentially spell the end of litigation intended to reimburse affected veterans and their families.
“I think what it really boils down to is the government made a mistake. They should have acknowledged they made a mistake, instead of sneakily putting something buried on page 375 on the budget implementation act,” said Conservative veterans affairs critic Blake Richards.
In October 2024, CBC News reported that the federal government likely made an error interpreting its own law. Sources with ties to the department had said the issue was known internally and never addressed.
Though there are some exceptions, veterans in the department’s long-term care program are required to cover only the cost of their accommodations and meals.
That cost is supposed to be set at a level equal to the lowest cost of room and board in the least expensive province, with federal law defining “province” to include territories.
But Veterans Affairs was interpreting the definition of “province” to exclude territories, even though the Northwest Territories had the cheapest rate — meaning veterans may have been overcharged thousands of dollars annually.
The federal government is seeking to retroactively amend the law to define “province” as excluding territories, essentially legislating the error into law, according to lawyers representing veterans in a proposed class-action lawsuit.
The budget bill will have to work its way through a minority Parliament before being passed — and Richards said he is open to amending it, to remove the section proposing this change.
“That’s certainly an option for sure. We’ll be opposing anything that would harm our veterans,” he said.
A spokesperson for Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said the amendments “clarify” existing methodology used to calculate benefits, and that the government is entitled to make such changes.
“While there is a general presumption that legislation only applies to future events, this presumption can be displaced if there is clear legislative intent for the law to apply to past events,” said the spokesperson, John Fragos, in a statement on Wednesday.