Veterans

Medical marijuana is shown in Toronto, Nov. 5, 2017.The federal government is reimbursing a record number of veterans for medical marijuana, with new figures showing Ottawa shelled out more than $150 million in the last fiscal year alone – more than double the amount just three years ago. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy

Ottawa on track to spend $200M per year on cannabis for veterans

Compensation for medical cannabis began in 2008 and has skyrocketed since

 

RCMP Corp. Amadeo Vecchio (left) returns World War documents and medals to Michael Wintermute. The items belonged to his father and grandfather. (Photo Brittany Webster)

World War discharge certificate and medals come home to owner

Items were stolen from a home in fall 2021 but the theft was not reported to police

 

Premier John Horgan and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were in Vancouver Tuesday (May 24) to announce the 2025 Invictus Games will be held in the city. (Jane Skrypnek/Black Press Media)

$30M pledged for Vancouver to host winter hybrid Invictus Games in 2025

Province, federal government each contributing $15 million to event

 

Stocky Edwards' funeral was at Christ the King Catholic Church in Courtenay on May 20. Photo by MIke Chouinard

World War II flying ace Stocky Edwards laid to rest in Courtenay

“He was a hero when we needed heroes.”

Stocky Edwards' funeral was at Christ the King Catholic Church in Courtenay on May 20. Photo by MIke Chouinard
A ceremony at Lakeview Memorial Cemetery on May 8, 2022 (Brittany Webster - Capital News)

Memorial ceremony in Kelowna disrupted when woman drives over graves

People were gathered at Lakeview Memorial Cemetery to mark the anniversary of the end of WWII

A ceremony at Lakeview Memorial Cemetery on May 8, 2022 (Brittany Webster - Capital News)
The Penticton Naval Veterans Association will be commemorating those lost at sea on May 1 outside the S.S. Sicamous in Penticton. The anchor that was located outside the former Royal Canadian Legion Branch 40 headquarters on Martin Street has been relocated to the paddlewheeler. (Brennan Phillips - Western News)

Ceremony at Penticton’s S.S. Sicamous to commemorate those lost at sea during WWII

The ceremony will include the dedication of an anchor on Sunday, May 1 at 11 a.m.

The Penticton Naval Veterans Association will be commemorating those lost at sea on May 1 outside the S.S. Sicamous in Penticton. The anchor that was located outside the former Royal Canadian Legion Branch 40 headquarters on Martin Street has been relocated to the paddlewheeler. (Brennan Phillips - Western News)
From left to right, Sergeant Dwayne Snow, Major (Ret.) David Snyder, Corporal (Ret.) Henry Kriwokon, and Lieutenant Colonel Vincent Virk. (Submitted)

Happy 102 to Penticton’s Henry Kriwokon

The WW2 veteran was one of the soldiers in the famous ‘Wait for me Daddy’ photo

From left to right, Sergeant Dwayne Snow, Major (Ret.) David Snyder, Corporal (Ret.) Henry Kriwokon, and Lieutenant Colonel Vincent Virk. (Submitted)
Kenneth Van Allen of Summerland died after a air fight over Belgium during WW1. (Contributed)

Air fight over Belgium cost local man his life in WW1

Remembering Summerland’s Kenneth Van Allen (1889-1916)

  • Nov 11, 2021
Kenneth Van Allen of Summerland died after a air fight over Belgium during WW1. (Contributed)
Dozens of people lined the streets surrounding the Vernon Cenotaph for the Remembrance Day service Thursday, Nov. 11. (Jennifer Smith - Morning Star)

VIDEO: Vernon remembers

Hundreds of residents show up to pay their respects and lay poppies throughout the day

Dozens of people lined the streets surrounding the Vernon Cenotaph for the Remembrance Day service Thursday, Nov. 11. (Jennifer Smith - Morning Star)
Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence Minister Lawrence MacAulay responds to a question during a news conference in Ottawa on November 10, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Government will hire more staff to address veterans’ backlog, caseloads: minister

Announcement made in the wake of 5-part Canadian Press series on veteran’s issues

Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence Minister Lawrence MacAulay responds to a question during a news conference in Ottawa on November 10, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
The Last Post Fund’s Unmarked Grave Program have identified 7,000 unmarked Commonwealth veterans’ graves and given them a permanent headstone or marker. (Ben Lypka/Abbotsford News)

Unmarked Grave Program looking for Canada’s lost veterans

Last Post Fund’s gravesite program giving veterans final respects

The Last Post Fund’s Unmarked Grave Program have identified 7,000 unmarked Commonwealth veterans’ graves and given them a permanent headstone or marker. (Ben Lypka/Abbotsford News)
Veteran Matthew Kane poses for a photograph in Surrey, B.C., on Thursday, November 4, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

The Money: Today’s veterans fighting Ottawa for equality with previous generations

Campaign continues in fight for equity and fairness for all veterans

Veteran Matthew Kane poses for a photograph in Surrey, B.C., on Thursday, November 4, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Joe Greaves (standing left) and George McLean with Isaac McQueen (sitting) and Jimmy Ingram. (Courtesy of KMA photograph collection No. 930)

Premier remembers Indigenous Okanagan veteran who served two wars

From Head of the Lake, now Okanagan Indian Band, George McLean earned a distinguished honour

Joe Greaves (standing left) and George McLean with Isaac McQueen (sitting) and Jimmy Ingram. (Courtesy of KMA photograph collection No. 930)
World War II veteran Nelson Whatmore places a wreath at the foot of the monument during Monday's Remembrance Day Ceremony at Kal Tire Place in Vernon. (Brendan Shykora - Morning Star)

Veterans served respect by Vernon restaurant

Free soup and sandwich on Remembrance Day for Canadian Armed Forces and veterans

World War II veteran Nelson Whatmore places a wreath at the foot of the monument during Monday's Remembrance Day Ceremony at Kal Tire Place in Vernon. (Brendan Shykora - Morning Star)
Minister of Veterans Affairs Lawrence MacAulay uses his phone as he arrives for a cabinet meeting in Ottawa, Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021. Tens of thousands of Canadian veterans who sustained long-term injuries from their military service are waiting to find out whether Veterans Affairs Canada will approve their disability claims. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

The Backlog: Thousands of veterans with disabilities are waiting years for support

Tens of thousands of veterans are waiting to see if their injuries qualify them for support

Minister of Veterans Affairs Lawrence MacAulay uses his phone as he arrives for a cabinet meeting in Ottawa, Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021. Tens of thousands of Canadian veterans who sustained long-term injuries from their military service are waiting to find out whether Veterans Affairs Canada will approve their disability claims. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Canadian soldiers Benjamin Van Eck, left, and Dan Campbell are shown in Kandahar, Afghanistan in this 2007 handout image. While Campbell would eventually settle down to start a family, Van Eck struggled with drug addiction and homelessness after hanging up his uniform before his lifeless body was found on the streets of London, Ont., this past June. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Dan Campbell, *MANDATORY CREDIT*

The Streets: Ottawa faces calls to step up on veteran homelessness

Grassroots organizations have stepped in to feel in the gaps left by government services

Canadian soldiers Benjamin Van Eck, left, and Dan Campbell are shown in Kandahar, Afghanistan in this 2007 handout image. While Campbell would eventually settle down to start a family, Van Eck struggled with drug addiction and homelessness after hanging up his uniform before his lifeless body was found on the streets of London, Ont., this past June. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Dan Campbell, *MANDATORY CREDIT*
FILE – The Canadian flag flies at half-mast at the funeral for Lionel Desmond and his mother Brenda Desmond at St. Peter’s Church in Tracadie, N.S. on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017. Desmond killed his mother, wife and young daughter before taking his own life earlier in the month. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

The Caseload: Veterans Affairs staff overwhelmed by number of vets assigned to them

An internal review released in 2019 found case managers spent more time filling out paperwork than helping veterans directly

FILE – The Canadian flag flies at half-mast at the funeral for Lionel Desmond and his mother Brenda Desmond at St. Peter’s Church in Tracadie, N.S. on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017. Desmond killed his mother, wife and young daughter before taking his own life earlier in the month. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan
Grade 11 Brookswood Secondary student Charlie Farquharson, 16, wrote and recorded a rap song for Remembrance Day last year as part of a Grade 10 class assignment. He did the entirety of the project from his home computer using software he was already familiar with, calling writing and recording music a hobby. (Special to Langley Advance Times)

B.C. teen writes, records rap to bring Remembrance Day to forefront for youth

16-year-old Charlie Farquharson says youth should be engaged in different ways

Grade 11 Brookswood Secondary student Charlie Farquharson, 16, wrote and recorded a rap song for Remembrance Day last year as part of a Grade 10 class assignment. He did the entirety of the project from his home computer using software he was already familiar with, calling writing and recording music a hobby. (Special to Langley Advance Times)
A previous edition of Operation Raise a Flag is seen. Canadians across the country are once again invited to buy a flag to be planted outside the Sunnybrook Veterans Centre in Toronto this Remembrance Day. (Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre)

British Columbians invited to help plant 30,000 flags at Canada’s largest veteran facility

Toronto’s Sunnybrook Veterans Centre seeking nation-wide support to plant flags for Remembrance Day

A previous edition of Operation Raise a Flag is seen. Canadians across the country are once again invited to buy a flag to be planted outside the Sunnybrook Veterans Centre in Toronto this Remembrance Day. (Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre)
British Columbia Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin, Royal Canadian Legion BC and Yukon commander Angus Stanfield and Austin’s temporary aide-de-camp Glen Greenhill at Government House gather for the first poppy presentation, Oct. 26. (Kiernan Green/News Staff)

VIDEO: Lt. Gov. Janet Austin given first poppy of BC/Yukon Legion’s 100th remembrance campaign

Poppies will be available by donation through various organizations across Canada as of Oct. 29

British Columbia Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin, Royal Canadian Legion BC and Yukon commander Angus Stanfield and Austin’s temporary aide-de-camp Glen Greenhill at Government House gather for the first poppy presentation, Oct. 26. (Kiernan Green/News Staff)