OTTAWA - The frustrated and heartbroken parents of a Canadian soldier killed in Afghanistan are set to speak out Wednesday to contradict Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor's claim that the military is paying the full cost of soldiers' funerals.
The couple, who say they were short-changed on the cost of burying their son, told The Canadian Press that they'll reveal their identity at a news conference on Parliament Hill.
Their son was killed last year in a roadside bombing and they say they have been reimbursed less than half the cost of his funeral.
The whole experience has been painful and excruciating, said one family member.
"We've been more than patient," he said. "We don't want our names revealed until (Wednesday) because we don't want the phone ringing off the hook."
The Defence Department says it compensated one family whose funeral expenses outstripped the military's $4,675 burial stipend, and O'Connor assured the House of Commons this week that the full cost of each service has been covered since he became minister in early 2006.
But the couple coming forward Wednesday say they have not been reimbursed the difference between the allowance and their final bill, despite at least two written requests to National Defence last year.
"This should not have gone this far," said Liberal MP Dan McTeague. "The family who is still grieving the loss of their fallen hero shouldn't have to prod the media or come cap in hand to Ottawa to look for money they so clearly deserve."
O'Connor took a step back from his previous assurances Tuesday and said he's instructed his department's casualty support staff to contact families of those killed in Afghanistan to make sure they have not been left short. The department has also put out a plea for families to voluntarily come forward.
"If they have (been overlooked), we will make sure the difference is paid to them," said O'Connor, who then attempted to shift the political blame. "And as I said, we are resolving this problem that was left to us by the Liberals."
The schedule of funeral limits imposed on serving soldiers, sailors and aircrew has not been revised in nearly a decade. The military has put a submission before the federal Treasury Board for an increase - a request that will be considered Thursday.
Another family of a Forces member who died a few years ago in a training accident also says they paid over $5,000 out-of-pocket to bury their relative. But like many other families contacted by The Canadian Press, they are reluctant to be identified because of the pain and frustrations they've already experienced.
O'Connor said he instructed his defence bureaucrats to update the schedule soon after he took office, but did not explain publicly why it has taken over 16 months to ask for the revision.
"The story keeps changing by the day," said McTeague. "The reality is that either the minister has misled Parliament - or his staff has wilfully ignored his request. Which is it?"
The majority of the 55 soldiers killed in Afghanistan have died under the Conservative government's watch and it was their responsibility to fix it, he added.
Across the country, the average funeral costs about $7,500, but that doesn't include the cost of a cemetery plot and monument, according to figures compiled by the Board of Funeral Services.
National Defence pays for plots or cremation urns, as well as transportation of some relatives. But it does not provide for flowers, donations, photos, register books, death notices in newspapers, church seating attendant fees and the reception after the funeral service.
In contrast, the funerals of most police officers killed in the line of duty are entirely covered with major forces, the Canadian Police Association confirmed. In some smaller municipal police agencies, the families must rely entirely on personal insurance.
