Supreme Court of Canada gives nod to class-action suit over vets’ pension
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (AHN) – The Supreme Court of Canada allowed Thursday the filing of a class-action lawsuit by veterans over their military pension. The action reverses an earlier decision by the Federal Court of Appeal, which was initially certified by the Federal Court.
The case stems from a suit filed by military mechanic Dennis Manuge on behalf of 6,500 injured veterans. Manuge was hurt in 2002 while assigned at the Canadian Forces Base Petawawa. When he left the military, Ottawa took back $10,000 of Manuge’s disability pension, which prompted the ex-mechanic to file the suit.
Manuge got Federal Court okay for a class action, but Ottawa appealed and secured a stay. The Court of Appeal turned down Manuge’s class-action lawsuit, ruling he should have applied for a judicial review of his case.
The basis of the Supreme Court action was a $250 million lawsuit filed by TeleZone Inc. against Industry Canada. The firm accused Ottawa of denying it a license for wireless communication services. The Ontario Superior Court of Justice allowed TeleZone’s legal action, ruling it was not necessary for the telecom firm to seek a judicial review of Industry Canada’s action.
More than 50 percent of veterans in Manuge’s class-action lawsuit have mental health problems. Manuge, who once was deployed in Bosnia, suffered depression after he injured his back at the military base in Ontario.
When Manuge was released in 2003 after nine years of service, he became eligible for long-term disability insurance benefits of 75 percent of his pay. However, Ottawa removed almost $400 – included for pain and suffering – from the amount that Manuge received monthly.
Ottawa explained the clawback for recipients of disability payments was to keep premiums as low as possible, and that such deductions were common among public and private plans during that time. Manuge’s class-action lawsuit would not apply to veterans who were injured after 2007 because by that year Veterans Affairs started to give lump-sum pain and suffering payments that were not deducted from long-term disability.
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