Afghanistan veteran Kevin Sweeney says his family nearly lost their home during five months spent waiting for his military pension to kick in.
鈥淚t looked very, very close,鈥� he said. 鈥淢y wife was very scared about (losing the home). I was crossing my fingers.鈥�
The retired Master Corporal had to leave the military in December because of mental health injuries. He applied for his pension but it did not come.
When he found himself struggling to afford food for his family, a Veterans Affairs employee suggested he go to a food bank.
鈥淚t felt like they worked against us than working for us,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t felt almost like they became our enemy.鈥�
His wife Lorie Sweeney said they felt like they had to 鈥渂eg to keep a roof over (our) heads, to have food on the table, money for gas.鈥�
The couple turned to a charity that helps at-risk and homeless veterans pay the bills. (VETS) Canada bought Sweeney food and helped with the mortgage too.
Debbie Lowther, co-founder of VETS, says the charity are currently working with four people in similar circumstances, including a single mother with three children.
Sweeney is getting his benefits now, but said he is speaking out to try and help other veterans avoid bureaucratic delays.
Military Ombudsman Gary Walbourne has In April, he noted that he has received 1,300 complaints since 2007 about delayed pensions and severance pay, with many veterans waiting three months or more.
鈥淚n extreme cases, retiring members have been left unable to pay their mortgages or rent while awaiting their pensions,鈥� Wallbourne noted.
鈥淎dditionally, members find themselves out of pocket for medical expenses while awaiting coverage to be activated as a CAF pension recipient,鈥� he added.
鈥淚t has been my experience that Canadian Armed Forces members tend not to complain when they are well within their rights to do so,鈥� Wallbourne went on.
The government concedes that there is not enough staff to process the paperwork. Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, who is also a veteran, called the delays 鈥渦nacceptable.鈥�
鈥淲e can鈥檛 immediately change the backlog,鈥� Sajjan said.
He added, 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to put all the resources in the right areas to making sure that those backlogs are taken care of.鈥�
With a report from CTV鈥檚 Mercedes Stephenson
