Former soldiers camp out to demand improvements for vets

Two former Canadian soldiers have set up camp beneath the veterans memorial buildings in downtown Ottawa, hoping to draw attention to their frustration with the federal government's treatment of veterans.

Trevor Sanderson and Dick Groot arrived in Ottawa Friday after driving from Winnipeg.

Since then, they've spent their days and nights in the tents they've erected at the corner of Wellington and Lyon streets, near the East and West Memorial Buildings.

'We just want to feel normal'

8 years ago

Duration 0:47

Former soldier Trevor Anderson, who says he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, is camping out in downtown Ottawa to protest the federal government's treatment of veterans.

Braving the cold temperatures and blowing snow, theyplanto camp out until Thursday, when a larger protest calling for improvements to veterans' services is scheduled to take place on Parliament Hill.

Sanderson said he hopes Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will hear and respond to the group's grievances.

"We're not asking for a lot," he said. "We're only asking to feel normal again."

'Broken' system

Sandersonsaidhe has lived with PTSDfor close to 25 years, tracing it back to a training exercise from his time with Princess Patricia's Light Canadian Infantry at CFBCalgary.

He described a normal day as waking up with his body hurting, not knowing whether he would endure an anxiety attack and not being able to enjoy being with his family and friends.

Like Sanderson,Groot said he also hasPTSD, first triggered by a training exercise during his service as a reservist in Saskatoon.

"We want to go back to being human," he said.

Groot describes his experience with the veteranbenefits system as frightful. He says he felt totally abandoned by the country he set out to serve.

"When I did go to the system, everything went crazy," he said, describingwait times and a crippling lack of treatment options.

"It failed utterly."

'More than we are able to give'

Sanderson and Grootboth said they wereangered by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's comments during a town hall meeting in Edmonton earlier this month.

"Why are we still fighting certain veterangroups in court? Because they're asking for more than we are able to give right now," Trudeau said, answering a question from a veteran, who said he lost his leg to an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan.

Colin Saunders, a veteran of the Bosnian war, saidthe prime minister's comments only inflamed dissent among the country's current and former soldiers. He is frustrated by what he describes as a "broken system."

In response, Saunders organized Thursday's rally on Parliament Hill,hoping to spur the government to reconsider its recent changes to veterans' benefits.

Compensation system overhauled

In December, the Liberal governmentlaunched an overhaul of the system that compensates wounded ex-soldiers, pouring an extra $3.6 billion into veterans' benefits.

Veterans Affairs MinisterSeamusO'Regan said thatnot everyone will receive the same level of compensation. He also said the government is also committed to providing improved rehabilitative services to get able veterans back to work.

But those investments are cold comfort to Saunders, who says the new system does not treat all soldiers equally.

"The reality is veterans aren't seeing that money," he said.

Instead, Saunders said, the new compensation regime prioritizes critically injured veterans, leaving soldiers with less serious injuries with fewer resources and options.

"It's one thing to say that we're providing more services to our veterans, but they're making it really hard for veterans to get that care," Saunders said.

"If our government can't take care of our veterans, where does that leave us?"