FAQs

This proposed class proceeding follows – and carries on from – the class proceeding in Manuge v His Majesty the King (Federal Court Action No. T-119-19), which was certified by the Federal Court in 2020 and for which a $817.3 million settlement was approved in 2024. Despite that settlement, the Government of Canada has not changed its practice and continues to make the same benefit calculation errors. The Manuge settlement provided compensation to affected individuals from January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2023. This proposed class proceeding now seeks compensation for subsequent benefit underpayments as a result of the errors which occurred from January 1, 2024 onwards.

Disability Pensions received on or after January 1, 2024 are affected by this proposed class proceeding. If you have any questions about your eligibility as a proposed class member, please contact class counsel by calling 1-866-545-9920 or by e-mailing [email protected].

Affected benefits include:

• Pension Act pensions for disability;
• Pension Act pensions for death;
• Pension Act attendance allowance;
• Pension Act allowance for wear and tear of clothing or for specially made apparel;
• Pension Act exceptional incapacity allowance;
• Veterans Well-being Act clothing allowance;
• Civilian War-related Benefits Act war pensions and allowances for certain civilians including salt water fishers, overseas headquarters staff, air raid precautions workers, and injury for remedial treatment of various persons and voluntary aid detachment (World War II);
• Flying Accidents Compensation Regulations flying accidents compensation; and
• RCMP Disability Benefits awarded in accordance with the Pension Act.

A class proceeding (often referred to as a class action) is a type of lawsuit where a group of people who have been subjected to the same, or similar, legal wrongs are represented collectively by one or more members of the class, who act as the voice for the group as a whole and who instruct the lawyers for the plaintiffs on behalf of the whole class.

A proposed class proceeding is not a class proceeding until the court determines that it has met the requisite legislative test and certifies the action as a class proceeding.

Class proceedings have three main goals: access to justice, behaviour modification, and judicial economy. A class proceeding makes the legal process simpler and more manageable for each class member seeking to make a claim. It often does not make economic sense for each person of an affected class to sue the defendant individually, because the money sought on an individual basis is less than the legal costs it would take to prosecute the case. A class proceeding functions as an affordable procedural vehicle for the victims of mass wrongs.

Veterans Affairs Canada administers certain disability benefits for current and former members of the Canadian Armed Forces and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, which must be adjusted annually. The class proceeding seeks damages for alleged underpayments that occurred between January 1, 2024 and the present because of errors committed in the calculation of annual adjustments under section 75 of the Pension Act.

Annual adjustment provisions under Part V of the Pension Act require that the basic pension amounts listed in Schedule I be adjusted annually based on the statutory formula set out in section 75 of the Pension Act.

Annual adjustments ensure that basic monthly disability pensions and awards keep pace with the cost of living and price inflation. The annual adjustments are based on calculations that take into account: (a) annual increases in the Canadian Consumer Price Index (“CPI”); and (b) average wages of certain categories of federal public sector employees minus income tax for a single person calculated in the province with the lowest combined provincial and federal income tax rate (“Wage Rate”).

The plaintiffs allege that, from January 1, 2024 to present, Veterans Affairs Canada (“VAC”) miscalculated annual adjustments under section 75 of the Pension Act in each of the following respects:

(a) VAC incorrectly used Ontario as the province with the lowest income tax rate for the Wage Rate calculation. During the same period, however, Nunavut had a lower income tax rate that should have been used instead of Ontario rates. Section 34 of the Interpretation Act defines “province” in every enactment to include Nunavut.

(b) VAC incorrectly failed to include the Canada Employment Amount in its calculation of the “income tax for the single person” or « le montant de l’impôt sur le revenu d’une personne célibataire » of a member of the federal public administration for the purpose of the Wage Rate calculation. 

In order to determine the basic pension effective January 1, 2024, VAC applied the increase in CPI to the basic pension effective in 2023. However, the basic pension in 2023 was miscalculated and lower than it should have been due to VAC’s calculation errors. VAC most recently applied the Wage Rate to determine the basic pension in 2018, and VAC’s errors meant that it underpaid the basic pension for that year. Therefore, in subsequent years, VAC applied the CPI rate to a lower basic pension from the previous year than it should have in accordance with the statute.

Annual adjustments to disability pensions and disability awards are also relied upon in related federal legislation that provides benefits to the proposed class. The related federal legislation determines amounts payable for benefits based on the rates of annually adjusted disability pensions or disability awards VAC’s errors in calculating annual adjustment rates for disability pensions and disability awards are repeated for every benefit payable under federal legislation that is based on the annual adjustments to disability pensions under the Pension Act.

The plaintiffs allege, on their own behalf and on behalf of the proposed class, that affected individuals are entitled to compensation (as damages, restitution, equitable compensation, and/or interest) for their pension and benefits underpayments, loss of the use of those amounts, and any related loss caused by the calculation errors. Further, or in the alternative, the plaintiffs allege that they are entitled to an accounting and disgorgement of the benefits that the federal government obtained through these errors.

The proposed class is defined as:

All Canadian Armed Forces and Royal Canadian Mounted Police members and veterans, and their spouses, common-law partners, dependents, survivors, orphans, and any other individuals, including eligible estates of all such persons, who received, at any time between January 1, 2024 and the present – disability pensions and other benefits from Veterans Affairs Canada that were affected by the annual adjustment of the basic pension under section 75 of the Pension Act including, but not limited to, the awards and benefits listed below:

• Pension Act pension for disability;
• Pension Act pension for death;
• Pension Act attendance allowance;
• Pension Act allowance for wear and tear of clothing or for specially made apparel;
• Pension Act exceptional incapacity allowance;
• Veterans Well-being clothing allowance;
• Civilian War-related Benefits Act war pensions and allowances for salt water fishers, overseas headquarters staff, air raid precautions workers, and injury for remedial treatment of various persons and voluntary aid detachment (World War II);
• Flying Accidents Compensation Regulations relating to compensation for flying accidents; and
• RCMP Disability Benefits awarded in accordance with the Pension Act.

The above-listed awards and benefits rely on the basic pension indexation provision under section 75 of the Pension Act. The plaintiffs allege that all benefits relying on the basic pension indexation provision are affected by an error in the indexation calculation under section 75.

If the proposed class proceeding is certified and then succeeds at trial, or is settled, class members who do not opt out of the class may be entitled to a payment.

If you are a member of the class, you don’t need to do anything to be included in the proceeding. All class members have the right to participate in the class proceeding.

If you think you may be a class member and want to receive updates on the progress of the class proceeding and copies of legal notices, please register by completing the online registration form.

You can get more information about the action or class membership by emailing class counsel at [email protected].

The lawyers for the class (“class counsel”) are:

• Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP (Toronto);
• Michel Drapeau Law Office (Ottawa);
• Murphy Battista LLP (Kelowna and Vancouver);
• Koskie Minsky LLP (Toronto); and
• McInnes Cooper (Halifax).

There are no out-of-pocket legal fees. The lawyers are paid on a contingency basis under an agreement with the representative plaintiffs.

If the case is unsuccessful, there will be no legal fees. If the class proceeding is resolved in favour of the class, either through contested litigation or a negotiated settlement, class counsel will be paid at their regular hourly rates for any amount recovered up to $165 million. If the amount recovered exceeds $165 million, class counsel may receive a scaled fee of up to 30% of any amounts recovered above $165 million. The Federal Court must approve class counsel’s fees and any settlement of the class proceeding.

If you are a class member and the class proceeding is resolved in favour of the class, either through contested litigation or a negotiated settlement, you may be eligible to receive a payment.

Class proceedings that are litigated proceed to a common issues trial where the court will render judgement on the questions of law and fact common to the class. If some or all of these common questions are resolved in favour of the class, it may be necessary for individual issues to then be determined through a court-ordered process.

Class proceedings can also be resolved through a negotiated settlement of the action, which must be approved by the court. A court will only approve a settlement of a class proceeding if it is fair, reasonable, and in the best interests of class members.

We are pleased to inform you that the Federal Court decision approving the settlement of this class proceeding in Manuge et al. v His Majesty the King (Federal Court File No. T-119-19) became effective on March 19, 2024.

In 2024, class members who received disability pensions directly from Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) received settlement payments from VAC by direct deposit or cheque.

Estates, family members of deceased class members and other class members who did not receive disability pensions directly from VAC during that time were required to submit a claim by March 19, 2025 to the Claims Administrator’s website:

• veteranspensionsettlement.kpmg.ca
• veteranspensionreglement.kpmg.ca

Please note that the claims period has now ended.

The deadline to submit a claim was March 19, 2025. The Claims Administrator is now in the process of reviewing all submitted claims. The Claims Administrator has until March 19, 2026 to issue all payments. Please note that the Claims Administrator cannot provide claimants with specific updates about the status of claims.

A dedicated call centre has been established by the Claims Administrator to address general inquiries and help individuals complete the online claims form. Please call 1 (833) 839-0648. You may also visit the Claims Administrator’s FAQ page.