OTTAWA — Canada’s veterans’ watchdog is calling on MPs to remove a provision in the federal budget bill that she says will paper over an error that led to veterans in long-term care being overcharged for decades.

Veterans ombuds Nishika Jardine told a House of Commons committee Thursday it is “patently unfair” that the government is trying to retroactively fix its mistake through a provision buried deep in its budget implementation bill.

She said Ottawa has for years mistakenly calculated the maximum amount a veteran in long-term care must pay for meals and accommodations.

The payments are calculated using the cheapest rates for room and board in the least-expensive province, but Jardine said Veterans Affairs excluded the territories from its formula for decades at the expense of elderly and disabled veterans.

The budget bill would retroactively exclude the territories from its payment formula going back to 1998, but would not reimburse veterans who were overcharged.

Under questioning by the federal Conservatives, Veterans Affairs Minister Jill McKnight said the changes “clarify how benefits have been calculated” and will not affect future benefits.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 5, 2026.

Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press