Corporal Glen Kirkland has been fighting to stay in the military after being discharged because of injuries he sustained in Afghanistan.BRUCE BUMSTEAD/The Globe and Mail
A Canadian soldier who was gravely injured in a rocket attack in Afghanistan will be allowed to remain in the military until he qualifies for a pension that will help him adjust to a life permanently changed by his disabilities.
But it is unclear if the protections offered to Corporal Glen Kirkland by Defence Minister Peter MacKay on Tuesday will apply to all soldiers who are wounded in the line of duty.
Cpl. Kirkland, 29, has significant hearing loss, posttraumatic stress, and his body no longer produces insulin as a result of the 2008 assault by the Taliban that killed three of his comrades. He says his aim is to ensure proper care and benefits are extended to all seriously wounded members of the Canadian Forces.
"At 10 years in the military, if you get a medical release, you get an indexed pension," he said in a telephone interview from Brandon where he is trying to start a new career in real estate. "I believe that every wounded soldier that has had life-changing injuries deserves that."
Cpl. Kirkland will not have served 10 years until September of 2015. So even though he is unable to participate in active duty as a result of his injuries and can't pursue a career as a police officer, which had been his ambition, he said he would get "zero" pension if he quit the military today.
That is part of the message he brought last week when he was subpoenaed to appear before the Commons Defence committee. Shortly before he was to testify, he said he received a telephone call from officials at his base in Shilo, Man., telling him to come back.
"They didn't say 'do not speak' but they wanted e-mail confirmation that I was invited here," he told the committee. "They wanted to know exactly what I was going to say."
The MPs on the committee expressed concern that the Forces were trying to tamper with their witness. And they demanded assurances of Mr. MacKay during Question Period last Thursday that nothing negative would befall Cpl. Kirkland as a result of his testimony.
Mr. MacKay responded that Cpl. Kirkland is courageous for stepping forward and he "will, of course, suffer no consequences and will continue to serve in the Canadian Forces as long as he decides."
But, when Cpl. Kirkland returned to Shilo on Friday, he was handed his six-month release papers.
This week, opposition MPs again sought a commitment from Mr. MacKay that the corporal would be able to remain a member of the military until Sept. 15, 2015, when he will qualify for his pension.
"Yes, Mr. Speaker, I have already answered that question," replied Mr. MacKay. "In fact, all injured members are not released from the military until they are prepared to do so. Until they are prepared for release, they work with members of the Canadian Forces on their transition plan, and when it is appropriate for their families and they are ready to make a shift into the private sector."
Cpl. Kirkland said a senior member of the Defence staff called him on Tuesday afternoon to assure him that he did not have to leave before he qualifies for his pension. And he said he was thrilled with Mr. MacKay's response.
The minister "said all wounded soldiers can stay in for as long as they want now," he said. "There's not a Taliban ambush in the world that could knock the smile off my face. I am ecstatic. I think this is something that should have been fought a long time ago. But better late than never."
Defence staff, however, could not confirm late Tuesday afternoon that the minister meant to say all wounded members of the military will now be able to stay in the Forces until they qualify for their pensions.
And John McKay, the Liberal Defence critic, said that, while Mr. MacKay has been definitive with respect to Cpl. Kirkland, "I am not at all clear that he offered the extension to all injured veterans."