OTTAWA - The family of at least one Canadian soldier killed in Afghanistan had to shoulder part of the cost of burying their son last year because the Defence Department's funeral stipend wasn't enough.
And there appear to be other cases.
The injustice has prompted the military to ask the federal Treasury Board for a formal increase in the allowance, a request that will be considered this week, The Canadian Press has learned.
The long-standing limit imposed on funeral expenses for both regular and reserve members of the Forces has not increased for a number of years. It was not given any consideration until the military learned through the grapevine about the plight of an individual family, which it did not identify.
"This was brought to our attention and we immediately looked into it," said Cmdr. Denise Laviolette, a spokeswoman for the Forces.
"My understanding is that a family was speaking to another individual, who was not from the department and that person passed it along to us."
Within days of contacting them, she said, the soldier's family had been reimbursed the shortfall between the stipend and the total funeral bill.
"That was one of the reasons we looked into the overall rate," said Laviolette. "We did not get a formal complaint, but we were certainly made aware that one family had initially paid out of their pockets."
All serving soldiers, sailors and aircrew are entitled to a funeral at public expense, but there are a series of limits and exceptions.
While Treasury Board considers the rate increase on Thursday, Laviolette said no families will have to make up the difference.
"In the meantime, we are definitely funding to the actual cost of a funeral," she said in an interview. "We have gone to other monies available until we get the increase."
The department has been topping up burial costs for at least the last nine months, Laviolette added.
A number of relatives were reluctant to talk, but at least one other family of a soldier killed last year, contacted by The Canadian Press over the weekend, said they also experienced a shortfall in burial expenses, have requested reimbursement and have not been given a decision.
"We haven't heard back, unless they put the cheque in the mail yesterday," said a family member, who declined to be named, but indicated they have written twice within the last year.
The funeral for their relative added up to just over $12,000. Average burial costs vary across the country, but in Ontario a traditional funeral runs approximately $7,500, plus the cost of a cemetery plot and monument, according to figures compiled by the Board of Funeral Services.
The military's current death and disability booklet sets a limit of $4,675.00 for funeral services. Cemetery plots or cremation urns, headstones and transportation for a select number of grieving relatives are also covered.
"Any extra or higher cost will be bourne by the (next of kin)," says the 2007 copy of the booklet.
Ontario Liberal MP Dan McTeague says it's unacceptable the department had to be prodded by families and now the media into taking action.
"For a Canadian hero to have given their life; it is clear we do not respect the life and properly mourn the loss of a modern day hero by short-changed on funeral expenses," he said.
"If you're going to honour the lives of those who have given so much for the freedoms of our nation, the last thing you should do is penny-pinch and navel-gaze about the cost. Soldiers have heard their country's call to action and are prepared to give everything, including their lives and back home the bean-counters seem interested in saving a few bucks"
"I think Canadians will find this fact disgusting."
Some of the funeral costs not covered by National Defence include flowers, donations, photos, register books, death notices in newspapers, church seating attendant fees and the reception after the funeral service.
Laviolette was not able say the last time that the rate schedule was reviewed, but conceded it's been a long time.
A search of archives showed the current rate has been in place since at least the late 1990s.
ManuLife Insurance advises its clients to have between $8,000 and $12,000 on hand to bury a loved one.
