Toronto Star: Canada’s treatment of war veterans 'a national embarrassment'

[tuvor]

OTTAWA—The way John Sheardown and other veterans in need of long-term care are being treated in their twilight years amounts to a national embarrassment, critics of the Conservative government say.

Sheardown, 85, is a former bomber pilot and a Canadian hero who, along with former ambassador Ken Taylor, played a key role in the rescue of six Americans during the Iranian hostage crisis 30 years ago.

Suffering from Alzheimer’s and recovering from a broken hip, the long-time Canadian diplomat is languishing in hospital and faces a wait of up to 18 months for a bed in a veterans’ long-term home in Ottawa, the Star revealed Friday.

“I simply cannot understand how Veterans Affairs is dragging its feet here,” Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said Friday while touring the Niagara Region.

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http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/842596--canada-s-treatment-of-war-veterans-a-national-embarrassment?bn=1