|
This page contains a copy of an
article that appeared in the Ottawa Citizen on October 9, 2005 written by Dave
Brown. I had written to him about the "over 60" problem after
asking for advice from BGen George Simpson (Ret'd). This was the start of the
publicity that hopefully will end with legal action being taken to rectify the
blatant discrimination of Canadian Forces Superannuation Act Section 31(1).
1901 LAW STILL FIGHTING THE
MILITARY 'GOLD DIGGERS'
Canada's gold diggers, those
gorgeous younger women who would take advantage of aged military veterans,
should unite in a class action defamation suit aimed at the Canadian government.
The challenging question in the suit would be: How stupid do you think we are?
Reg Warkentin of Kingston is one
of those veterans who happily announces that at age 62 in 1994, he married one
of those younger women (now close to 60). But to suggest that Hilde Warkentin,
his wife of 11 years, had money on her mind, is an insult. Something happened in
1992 that made him worthless to her. He turned 60. At that precise moment when
the second hand of a clock said he aged from 59 to 60, Canadian law deemed him
too stupid to handle his own affairs. To protect him from gold diggers, his
military pension was locked down. "Do they really think a woman would go
after a man to tap into his pension benefits of around $330.58 a month? Hardly
gold digger wages!"
He acknowledges that in today's
numbers that figure would be higher. Pensions that kicked in decades ago were
much lower and have increased little, and skew the numbers. What the retired
major is talking about has its roots in the 1901 Militia Pensions Act. There was
fear an opportunistic young woman could set up a deathbed marriage to a Boer War
vet, and thus net for herself half the old soldier's pension for the rest of her
life. The thinking in that old act exists today in Section 31 of the Canadian
Forces Superannuation Act. When a veteran turns 60, he is protected from the
gold digger, and the woman who marries him after that birthday, is doing it for
love. She can't collect a penny.
The money that Mr. Warkentin piped
into the fund during his military career, to protect his spouse, stays there. It
will be absorbed into the $40 billion reserve in the CFSA fund. He has
been unable to find current statistics about those brides of the over-60, but
says insiders have told him "at least 1,000" is a fair guess.
"These are almost all women, and they've been left high and dry."
Was there really a gold digger
rush on Boer War veterans? Gordon O'Connor, with a military background and now
MP for Carleton-Mississippi Mills, doesn't think so. "I think it was one of
those urban legends that got out of control." He says he recently attended
a committee meeting with Veterans Affairs Canada and the gold digger issue was
on the table. "They take the view there's nothing they can do; that they
are following the law."
Mr. O'Connor also makes the point
MPs' pensions don't have the same catch. They're considered smart enough to know
a gold digger when they see one, can marry after age 60, and should they die,
the spouse would receive 60 per cent of the pension. They also continue to get
medical and dental benefits, another perk denied the widows of those who married
vets who were between best-before and expiry dates.
British Columbia MP Werner Schmidt
also sees the gold digger rule as ridiculous, and has a private members bill
(C-362) on the table, but chances of it getting to a vote are slim. Meanwhile,
Mr. Warkentin soldiers on. For the past 10 years, he has written all ministers
of national defence and from most received a lukewarm response, saying the
matter would be studied.
The reply from David Pratt during
his time at Defence, still rankles. He keeps a copy handy. It stated that he was
getting a more than generous pension. He is still waiting for a reply from the
current minister, Bill Graham. Reg Warkentin entered the military as a private
soldier and worked his way up all the ranks to major. He says he is finding
growing support for his cause and had retired general officers onside. A website
is being built.
"I made some mistakes when I
was younger. I assumed Gail would live to collect the benefits I was paying for.
Because she died when she did, a penalty was applied. When you're young you
don't think of these possibilities." There are other penalties applied to
military service. One pointed out by Mr. Warkentin is that employment insurance
benefits are different when applied to veterans. While serving, it's mandatory
that they pay into the employment fund. But unlike civilians, they can't apply
for benefits when they part company with the military. They must find a job and
build up the necessary points under the plan, as if they never contributed
before.
| ;)
