Funding announced for Metis war veterans

Page 2

Korean War veteran Bob Ducharme, 71, thinks back to 1955 and the first time he entered a veterans' legion. The Metis man had just returned home, the war still ringing in his damaged ear.

"I went to a Canadian veterans' club and they asked me to leave. They said I wasn't Canadian ... Why? There was a stigma attached to being a Metis; [that] the Indian and sort of half-breed gets a little alcohol in him and he'll go crazy."

As for veteran's benefits and support networks when he got home, "we didn't even know about things like that," Ducharme said.

In 1977, Ducharme was issued $38 for the damage to his hearing he sustained in the war, but he was told Veterans Affairs wouldn't accept responsibility. He wouldn't get a disability pension for more than 15 years. In 1992, Ducharme found out his damaged eardrum did qualify him. He would be paid $843 a month for his service.

"[Metis war veterans] are not serviced very bloody well," said Ed Borchert, president of the National Metis Veterans Association. "Sometimes, the veterans located in outlying areas don't get the support they deserve."

There were other Metis who qualified for benefits, and Ducharme knew many didn't know about them, or didn't have any confidence in Veterans Affairs Canada. Many had tried for benefits earlier, but were turned down or found the process very frustrating.

"What's the sense of going there and getting nothing? Or a cheque for $38?"

On Nov. 10, Indian Affairs Minister Andy Scott announced $100,000 in funding to improve access to veterans programs and services for Metis war veterans.

The Metis vets association will use half the money to develop a Metis veterans outreach delivery program. The other half will fund a documentary video on the contributions of Metis soldiers during the Second World War.

Borchert said many Metis war veterans don't get benefits because they don't know about benefit programs or they don't read and write English well enough to fill out claims forms correctly.

Borchert didn't have exact figures on how many Metis war veterans struggle to get benefits. He figured there were about 2,000 surviving Metis war veterans, and "most of [the veterans I am dealing with] are living in the north in rural settings.

"Where the hell do you buy a battery for a hearing aid at Buffalo Lake, or in the bush up at Wabasca?" Borchert said. "All of a sudden, having that choice of lifestyle of the Metis warrior, you're punished for the life you chose to live," Borchert said.

Borchert said Veterans Affairs Canada has done its best to meet the unique needs of the Metis veterans, but is coming up short.

"My veterans don't even have a damn phone," Borchert said. "And then I end up with someone at Veterans Affairs upset because paper work wasn't filled out correctly."

A 1996 report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples highlighted these concerns:

"Many Metis and non-status Indian veterans also had great difficulty obtaining veterans benefits (upon their return home from war), often because no one had bothered to inform them about their options. Many had come from remote northern communities with limited communications facilities and no [department of Veterans Affairs...] Language, distance and communication barriers effectively prevented the flow of information and the process of applying for benefits. "

Janice Summerby, a spokesperson for Veterans Affairs Canada, said she was excited at the opportunities the funding offers. She stressed that Metis veterans are offered benefits on the same basis as other veterans.

Summerby doubted there were the challenges that Borchert and Ducharme described.

"We have checked the records. We have done the reviews and that doesn't bear out from our research." Summerby said all veterans, including Metis, "should have been told about the programs available to them upon discharge."

"I wasn't told sh** all," said National Aboriginal Veterans Association presidentClaude Petit, a Metis veteran of the Korean War.

Some Aboriginal soldiers returning from wars were offered benefits, but a lack of education kept many from vocational training. Housing in the big city was unappealing for many who had spent their lives in rural areas hunting or working seasonal jobs.

As for contacting the veterans not yet receiving benefits, "We are not able to contact the veterans directly unless they are already receiving benefits," Summerby said. She added it was quite unlikely veterans are living in the same place they were in 1945. "Well, Metis can live anywhere, so that's the challenge."

That's a big challenge, said Borchert.

"Coming in from a small settlement, from Fort Vermillion, there's a great transportation cost," Borchert said. "Most of the vets don't drive anymore, so they're forced to pay for transportation. Then there's accommodation. They have to pay for this out of pocket. Then he's got to turn around and fill out the paperwork to get the money back. They're left with little or nothing to live off for the rest of the month."

Borchert said he receives 30 to 40 phone calls a month from veterans or their families. Most of the veterans he helps don't receive Canada Pension because they were seasonal workers after returning from service.

"There weren't health benefits at the jobs they worked."

Upon receiving the money from the government, Borchert plans for the Metis veterans association to sit down with the Metis National Council and "write out how we envision the delivery of services to our veterans."

Borchert said the council already has a representative in each province dealing with health issues, seniors' issues and housing issues. This representative can oversee the delivery of the veterans program.

"We're not trying to duplicate services," Borchert said. "We're asking to ensure the service is provided in the most equitable and cost effective way."

The Metis veterans association has launched a lawsut against the federal government claiming Metis vets were denied rights and benefits given to other soldiers.

But "no action is being taken at this time as we're still in discussions with the government," said Ed Borchert. "Hopefully, we'll come to some understanding as to what is owed to our vets."

The video production is in the hands of Kathy Hodgson-Smith, interim executive director of the Metis National Council. She and her production team previously produced Charlie: Metis Hunter, Trapper, Patriot, Soldier.

Broadcast D-day this year on CTV, Charlie documented the struggles of Metis veterans for recognition and compensation on their return from the Second World War.

Featuring then 86-year-old Charlie Fosseneuve from Cumberland House, Sask., Charlie is the story of a Metis man who fought for Canada only to return to a battle at home with the government he fought for.

Hodgson-Smith said the second video, which should be ready to air by next spring, will go "further down the road of explaining the experience of the Metis veterans and what's behind the claim that they were not compensated."

The documentary will examine questions central to the Metis experience, Hodgson-Smith added. "What is the significance of being a Metis person? How did it happen that Metis people have such a common experience? Many of those veterans are passing on and not seeing any resolution. That's passing on to the next generation. What does that mean when the Elders have passed on and that feeling is still there?"

Distribution of these documentaries is a challenge, Hodgson-Smith said, but work is under way to get as much airtime as possible.

"We're going to try and work with CTV again."

Charlie was produced on DVD and VHS and work is underway to get it up on the Internet.