Sean Casey, MP

EI Changes: I can think of a few bad jobs

Considering his comments, it appears the Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty and the Conservatives obviously have not experienced the same hard road as many Canadians. To have the audacity to pretend to be the average Joe because he drove a taxi at one point is rude and ignorant to the reality that a lot of Canadians face.

The Government is proposing adding these two clauses under what is considered Suitable Work:

• If the vacancy is in the claimant’s usual occupation, but at a lower pay rate, and/or in working conditions less favourable than the claimant has the right to expect
• If the vacancy it is not in the claimant’s usual occupation, and is at a lower pay rate, and/or in working conditions less favourable than the claimant has the right to expect

The Government is claiming that although the unemployment rate in Canada is high that employers cannot find workers. Yet our Employment Insurance is there to protect those that have lost their jobs- whether it be seasonal or due to layoffs. It is there to provide them time and resources to find suitable work. I worry with the proposed changes that Atlantic Canada will be hollowed out. If you had the choice to work in your field in the West or be forced to take a lower quality job in your home area-the choice will be to move. If we make these changes and give the power to the employer, they will dictate where and how Canadians will work.

This is another example of this government not understanding the layout of the country. Prince Edward Island does not have the natural resources to compete with the west and as such, we cannot offer as many year round jobs. Yes, we don’t want people to take advantage of the EI system but these changes go too far for an insurance that is paid for by the workers and should be there for the workers.

Science Fair comes to Prince Edward Island

This week hundreds of students from across Canada and around the world are visiting Charlottetown for the Canada-Wide Science Fair. I’m planning to take in some of the exhibits tomorrow where I will see the best and the brightest students in action. I’m quite sure I will be humbled when I compare my science projects to the ones who have made it to this level.

I offer my congratulations to the organizers for bringing this national science event to our City and to our province. Many future science students will be inspired this week after they see what these exceptional students and educators have accomplished.

I encourage you to drop by and see what is taking place for the remainder of the week.

THE CANADIAN PRESS:Veterans board chair charges to attend UK lectures where wife was participant

By: Murray Brewster, The Canadian Press

OTTAWA – The chairman of an embattled veterans review board billed taxpayers on two occasions to attend high-brow lectures in Britain where his wife was a participant.

John Larlee has regularly attended the Cambridge Lecture series, but went on the federal government’s dime in 2009 and 2011.

The prominent events at Queen’s College at Cambridge University north of London, attract movers and shakers in the British and Canadian political and legal communities.

Set amid the neatly manicured lawns, waterways and stone ramparts of the centuries-old university, the lectures have featured the likes of former prime minister Paul Martin and Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin of the Supreme Court of Canada.

Larlee’s bills for both trips, listed as professional development in the expense records of the Veterans Review and Appeal board, totalled $7,285.97, including flights, accommodations and meals.

His wife, Justice Margaret Larlee of the New Brunswick Court of Appeal, has been a fixture at the events.

She was moderator of a panel on ending rape in both war and politics at the 2009 conference and led a discussion in 2011 on the role of Israel’s supreme court in the fight against terrorism.

Justice Larlee was also featured at the 2007 lectures, discussing commissions of inquiry and whether they are worth the money. Her husband accompanied her that year as well, but paid for the trip out of his pocket, according to a veterans board spokeswoman.

The chairman refused an interview request, but Danielle Gauthier, who speaks for the independent agency, says the trips were justified.

“His daily work involves providing leadership to a board of independent adjudicators who make decisions based on evidence and according to the legislation that governs disability benefits for veterans,” Gauthier said in an email statement to The Canadian Press.

“The lectures provide valuable insight into the global and common challenges of adjudicating from the perspective of leading lawyers, academics and judges from Canada and around the world.”

Some topics discussed during Larlee’s taxpayer-funded trips included nation-building in Afghanistan, Asia after the (financial) crash, Canada’s response to terrorism, lectures on the rule of law, sovereignty and the responsibility to protect, the justice system in Tanzania and the unwritten principles of the constitution and minorities.

Board records show Larlee has attended five other conferences in Canada — at a total cost of 6,757.67 — since he was appointed in 2009. These included a Canadian Bar Association meeting in 2009.

Gauthier said the Cambridge conference expenses were paid by the veterans board in accordance with federal Treasury Board guidelines, which require justification for international travel.

Veterans Affairs Minister Steven Blaney signed off on the 2011 trip, as his predecessor Jean-Pierre Blackburn did for the 2009 conference, officials said.

“We absolutely did not know his wife was a participant,” added one senior official, who spoke on the condition of not being named.

Board officials, also speaking on background, emphasized that Justice Larlee’s expenses were not covered by the agency and they declined to talk about how they were paid.

The review board, an independent agency where ex-soldiers go to have appeals over their benefits claims heard impartially, was criticized last week by the veterans ombudsman for not giving applicants the benefit of the doubt.

It has also been immersed in a privacy scandal in which a sitting member claimed his diagnosis of post traumatic stress was whispered around and used to smear him because his decisions were deemed too generous.

Both opposition parties were aghast the chairman was allowed to attend the lectures, especially at a time when the government was in deficit-fighting mode and preaching restraint.

“Get serious,” said NDP veterans critic Peter Stoffer. “It is the board that has said no to people, many, many times and here we have the head of the board, travelling to an overseas conference that in my personal view appears to have absolutely nothing to with veterans benefits. And it appears to be a junket.”

Liberal veterans critic Sean Casey demanded Larlee appear before the Commons veterans affairs committee to justify the trip. The committee is already planning hearings on the agency.

“He’s exercised poor judgment and should provide a full explanation,” said Casey.

Blaney did not comment, but a spokeswoman said the onus is on the chairman to answer for his expenses.

“The Veterans Review and Appeal Board is an arms-length, quasi-judicial body that serves to provide our veterans with an unbiased, independent level of appeal,” said Codi Taylor in an email note.

She noted Blaney “expects the board to be responsible and show respect for taxpayers’ dollars at all times.”

Treasury Board guidelines require recurring travel and conference events be validated for “continued relevance, value for money and the efficient and economical use of resources.”

Whether that validation has taken place is unclear.

Larlee’s predecessor, Victor Marchand, took no trips outside of the country in his six years leading the board and during that time attended only a handful of conferences that could be considered professional development.

Exchange with Minister of National Defence on Federal Court Ruling on Veterans’ pensions.

Mr. Sean Casey (Charlottetown, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, the minister of national “defensiveness” is now in his third week of reading a 31-page federal court ruling on [...]

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PEI is unfairly punished by the federal budget: Sean speaking this morning on Budget in parliament

Mr. Sean Casey (Charlottetown, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to be able to speak to the budget implementation act. I am going to focus [...]

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A victory for Veterans

A Victory for Veterans This afternoon, the Standing Committee on Veteran Affairs passed my amended motion to conduct public hearings into the Veterans Review and Appeal [...]

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StartUp Entrepreneurship Program Launched

I was recently made aware of a new program for entrepreneurs in Canada called Startup Canada. This is the first-time an entrepreneur-led, national movement to enhance [...]

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Sean Casey questions government on the budget and cuts in services to PEI

House of Commons Mr. Sean Casey (Charlottetown, Lib.): Madam Speaker, I was interested to hear my friend say that this is a Canadian budget. I come [...]

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My CTV Morning Live Ottawa Interview on CPA Wheelchair Day on the Hill

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CBC PEI: Stop veterans’ disability clawback, says MP

CBC News Posted: May 2, 2012 2:17 PM AT Ottawa should abide by a court ruling to stop clawing back the disability pensions of veterans, says [...]

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