Thanks for Friday’s editorial (Reservists Deserve Better) aiming to bring to light equal compensation for reservists.  

Your listing of the regiment’s contribution to the community is also appreciated.  

The editorial stated I was commenting on the Ombudsman’s report, which is not the case. Reporter Mike Youds’ Thursday story (Reservists Not Treated Equally: Ombudsman) rightfully identified I had not yet seen the ombudsman’s report, and my comments were on experience with the treatment of ill and injured reservists, which has improved significantly over the past decade. 

I have now seen ombudsman Pierre Daigle’s report. The first of two not yet implemented action items is equal compensation for accidental dismemberment, which you noted the minister’s office intends to address.

The second item also not yet actioned is a recommendation for periodic health assessments for reservists. While not yet actioned there is a trial ongoing.  

I know Daigle personally and he is a man of very high integrity; as a retired army general who served with the Royal 22nd Regiment Vandoos, he believes strongly in the institution of the army and the Canadian Forces.  
Perhaps newsworthy would be investigation of why he felt the need to use a press release to gain faster movement on his recommendations.

The answer may be related to a phenomenon of our times, that of slow bureaucratic response to complex issues — a phenomenon not unique to the Department of Nation Defence. If we can cut through that bureaucracy once in a while, all the better.

LT.-COL. KEVIN TYLER

Commanding officer,

Rocky Mountain Rangers