Veterans Affairs Canada and the Department of National Defence introduced a new Veteran’s Service Card earlier this week.
The Royal Canadian Legion calls it a step in the right direction but more changes are still something they plan to advocate for.
One of these changes is to have the new service card be a legal piece of identification. Vice President BC-Yukon Command John Scott explains.
“It’s not an identification card. It will tell you that you served but you can’t use it for government identification, which is one of the things the Legion would like to see.
“It’s something you can show for pride and you can never have enough picture identification,” continues Scott, who is also the Prince George Legion Service Officer.
“I wouldn’t say that there are limitations that [veterans] are going to face, it’s just something they can show with pride recognized by Canada as an identification card.”
Another ask from the Legion is to have something similar to the service card for the families of veterans.
Veteran’s Service Cards are available for those who have completed basic training and have been honourably released from the Canadian Armed Forces. As of September 2018, all eligible members will automatically receive the card when released from the CAF during the final release interview. Starting December 1st, 2018, CAF members and veterans released between February 2016 and September 2016 can apply online for their service card. CAF members and veterans released before 2016 can request their card after summer 2019.