I'm not faulting Mark Carney for considering money spent on Medical Cannabis, since I believe it is overpriced, for insurance reasons.
But, politicians think in dollars, not in medical benefits.
It's not all dried flower, creams, tablets, capsules
http://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/smol-prime-minister-mark-carneys-war-on-veterans-goes-beyond-budget-cuts
It costs $245 million for Veterans' medical cannabis and $63 billion for national defence: so, that corresponds to 0.389% of the spending money, that the government spent to get Military members injured, is spent to help them heal or improve. And the reduction now, gives me 60% of my prescription.
https://nationalnewswatch.com/2026/03/13/what-canada-owes-its-veterans-getting-medical-cannabis-reimbursement-right
I don't think a Budget should reduce medical money for injured veterans while finally increasing the budget for the Military and NATO commitments. You have more injured veterans and you reduce the amount?
I'm not the only veteran PM Carney that is concerned. Letters have been written
https://www.ourcommons.ca/documentviewer/en/house/latest/hansard
“The government is now claiming that Bill C‑15 will generate $4.23 billion in savings by reducing cannabis reimbursement rates for veterans. Let us look at the actual numbers. VAC spends roughly $200 million a year on medical cannabis. The government is cutting the reimbursement rate to 60%
That is roughly $50 million in annual savings.
Even over many years, the math does not come close to $4.23 billion. The government has not explained the gap.” — Hansard, House of Commons Debates, March 12, 2026.
Bankers know these numbers?
There isn't a good excuse
PM Carney for this reduction, but I will tell you the spin-off costs. After 33 years of service, we were seeing less and less new recruits. The Canadian Armed Forces is under strength, and even with long hair and personal identity, recruitment is down
1/15 complete recruitment, expecting to recruit 20K and not reaching 15k recruits is still a significant shortfall. We who have worked with these low numbers of personal, know how limited Canada is in Military strength.
Entice them a little? Tell them you will cut their benefits if they are injured https://forces.ca/en/
I'm third generation Military, it was all we ever knew. Folks that might consider joining, have asked me questions over the years, and I've encouraged others to join, and the conditions were not bad, and benefits were there.. Well, I thought they were. Mr Carney, you've disappointed Veterans. /FIN
#CdnPoli #Cannabis #Veterans #Canada #Budget #Medical #VAC #HOC #CdnPoli #Hansard #recruitment #Recruiting