KIA Canadian Soldier's car storage bill

[Mightyfire89]

Interesting article in the Toronto Sun:

PETAWAWA -- The last thing you'd think we would want our soldiers in Afghanistan worrying about is if they die there, will a $250 cancellation fee have to be paid to get their car out of a storage facility and returned to their family.
And yet this is what a lot of them and their families were worrying about this week -- when word got out that a $250 cancellation fee had to be paid for a contract broken by Pte. Michael Freeman.

In the end, the fee is being covered by the military, so the family isn't on the hook for the extra cost, but it seems a little bit ghoulish to me that the owner of the business is making extra profit from Canadian soldiers dying overseas. You would think the guy could waive the cancellation fee for this type of situation, if for nothing other than the optics of it within the military community.

http://www.torontosun.com/news/colum...99991-sun.html

I did a little more digging and found a forum in which a poster details an email that was sent out by the Petawawa Base Commander, seemingly for damage control purposes:

http://www.canadianstalk.ca/viewtopic.php?f=100&p=27732

This guy's business could very well go under rather quickly, I suspect.

[Ford Prefect]

Sounds like his business deserves to go under.

Links don't seem to be working.

[Mightyfire89]

Links should be fixed now.

[Maritime Q-Scout]

so you're son died fighting for our country, that'll be $250 please?!

WTF?!

We should draft this moron into the military and send him over to Afganistan

[Ford Prefect]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Krack Korn

Links should be fixed now.

Thanks. It sounds like the businessman may not be so evil after all. It's just the way the media is spinning it.

Edit: Scratch that. After reading the second link, the guy's a tool and deserves what he gets.

[ok, ok,....I get it]

I think is this more of a missunderstanding/media hype. Pet. is dependant on the base, and really only exists b/c of the base. In fact it would not surprise me if the business owner had served or knew or had family that served.

[mykalberta]

There are alot of stories like this that come out. I for one dont think a buisness should start waiving standard clauses just because the person is in the military. Its a financial decision for the family, either you need the car desparately and you pay the break fee or you dont and you get the car when you can.

I support our position in Afghanistan and the men and women over there, but sometimes this stuff gets way overblown IMO.

[KTrain]

Originally Posted by Maritime Q-Scout

so you're son died fighting for our country, that'll be $250 please?!

WTF?!

We should draft this moron into the military and send him over to Afganistan

Apparently he is a former 20 year member of the Canadian Armed Forces.

This is a message from the Base Commander about the story. It shows that things might not be so cut and dry. Before you start calling for the demise of his business and shipping him overseas you might want to read this.

MESSAGE FROM THE BASE COMMANDER

This e-mail is being sent to clarify a recent issue with regards to
Carbank Storage, located on the Base.

There has been an e-mail chain that has grown yesterday to the point
where I have deemed it important to ensure the facts of the situation
have been given to all members of CFB Petawawa. The issue deals with
Carbank Storage and their charge for the early removal of a fallen
soldier's, Pte Michael Freeman, vehicle from their storage facility.
Pte Freeman was killed in Afghanistan on December 26th, 2008.

Below are the facts and the situation as of 28 Jan 09:

Mr. Kevin MacWilliams, the owner of Carbank storage, has dealt with
approximately two dozen incidents whereby the car owners were killed
during operations. He incurs a cost of $250 each time this happens.
The removal fee is a legitimate fee which Director of Compensation
Benefits Administration (DCBA), not the family, pays for. It covers
an incurred cost to Mr MacWilliams and is part of a legitimate
contract established with DND. In this particular case, Mr.
MacWilliams had also completed a number of repairs totalling $500
which was not charged to the family or DCBA. He did this at his cost
as he wanted the car to be safe and completely roadworthy for the
Freeman family.

While there have been many occasions whereby Mr. MacWilliams and the
Base Service Station/Carbank have gone out of their way to assist
soldiers who have been injured, these actions are never really known
within the community. It is unfair to single out this particular
business man who has done much behind the scenes to help out our
troops. For example, he also donates all of the funds generated by
the coin operated air pump at his station to the Base Fund to support
military families. As a result of this story being spread all around
the Base and the community, without all the facts or details, Mr.
MacWilliams is receiving telephone calls and mail from frustrated
service and community members. Please note that Mr. MacWilliams had
previously served 20 years in the Canadian Forces and is doing his
best to serve the members of this Base.

Unfortunately this one-sided story spawned from an initial e-mail
chain and has spread within the Base, to other bases, and within the
general public. Understandably, this is a sensitive and emotional
issue for many soldiers, families, and community members; however, I
would urge all to fully consider the facts of this issue before coming
to a conclusion about how the Base Service Station does business.

Thank you.

W.R. Moore
LCol | Lcol
Base Comd | Comdt de la Base
CFB/ASU Petawawa | BFC/USS Petawawa

[ok, ok,....I get it]

exactly, good find Ktrain

[Mightyfire89]

Originally Posted by Ford Prefect

Thanks. It sounds like the businessman may not be so evil after all. It's just the way the media is spinning it.

I'm sure he didn't anticipate this being a problem. With his somewhat unique clientele, he should have, especially with him allegedly being ex military. He should have had a clause in his contracts stating that this particular fee would be waived in the event of a client dying overseas while on active duty. I understand that as a business owner, you want to maximize profits and so forth, but this is a different situation. At any rate, he is embroiled in a crap storm among military members now.

Perhaps not evil, but not very forward thinking IMO.

[Ford Prefect]

Originally Posted by ok, ok,....I get it

I think is this more of a missunderstanding/media hype. Pet. is dependant on the base, and really only exists b/c of the base. In fact it would not surprise me if the business owner had served or knew or had family that served.

That was my impression too after reading the Toronto Sun story, but it doesn't sound like the guy did himself any favours based on the comments in that link with the e-mail exchange. It sounded more like he figured he was "entitled" to certain considerations and payments from the government (DND). That sounds rather typical of the whole Liberal culture that has become instilled in the civil service. If he thinks that, then I figure he deserves the bad publicity.

At this point though both sides seem to be in damage control mode so now is when the spin starts and who knows what the truth is once that happens.

[onetwo_threefour]

According to the base commander, the fee is never charged to the family, it's charged to the military as part of the overall contract. Is there a reason to change the practice when the government is being charged a fee under the contract for a KIA soldier, maybe, but it doesn't seem that bad to me. If he actually is charging the family, then yeah, I think it's pretty cold-hearted, but based on the other things the base commander says about him, it seems doubtfull that that is true.

[BlackArcher101]

This thread is proof #1 why I never believe a single thing in the media or on the internet and always remind people that everything should be taken with a grain of salt.

[Maritime Q-Scout]

Originally Posted by KTrain

Apparently he is a former 20 year member of the Canadian Armed Forces.

This is a message from the Base Commander about the story. It shows that things might not be so cut and dry. Before you start calling for the demise of his business and shipping him overseas you might want to read this.

MESSAGE FROM THE BASE COMMANDER

This e-mail is being sent to clarify a recent issue with regards to
Carbank Storage, located on the Base.

There has been an e-mail chain that has grown yesterday to the point
where I have deemed it important to ensure the facts of the situation
have been given to all members of CFB Petawawa. The issue deals with
Carbank Storage and their charge for the early removal of a fallen
soldier's, Pte Michael Freeman, vehicle from their storage facility.
Pte Freeman was killed in Afghanistan on December 26th, 2008.

Below are the facts and the situation as of 28 Jan 09:

Mr. Kevin MacWilliams, the owner of Carbank storage, has dealt with
approximately two dozen incidents whereby the car owners were killed
during operations. He incurs a cost of $250 each time this happens.
The removal fee is a legitimate fee which Director of Compensation
Benefits Administration (DCBA), not the family, pays for. It covers
an incurred cost to Mr MacWilliams and is part of a legitimate
contract established with DND. In this particular case, Mr.
MacWilliams had also completed a number of repairs totalling $500
which was not charged to the family or DCBA. He did this at his cost
as he wanted the car to be safe and completely roadworthy for the
Freeman family.

While there have been many occasions whereby Mr. MacWilliams and the
Base Service Station/Carbank have gone out of their way to assist
soldiers who have been injured, these actions are never really known
within the community. It is unfair to single out this particular
business man who has done much behind the scenes to help out our
troops. For example, he also donates all of the funds generated by
the coin operated air pump at his station to the Base Fund to support
military families. As a result of this story being spread all around
the Base and the community, without all the facts or details, Mr.
MacWilliams is receiving telephone calls and mail from frustrated
service and community members. Please note that Mr. MacWilliams had
previously served 20 years in the Canadian Forces and is doing his
best to serve the members of this Base.

Unfortunately this one-sided story spawned from an initial e-mail
chain and has spread within the Base, to other bases, and within the
general public. Understandably, this is a sensitive and emotional
issue for many soldiers, families, and community members; however, I
would urge all to fully consider the facts of this issue before coming
to a conclusion about how the Base Service Station does business.

Thank you.

W.R. Moore
LCol | Lcol
Base Comd | Comdt de la Base
CFB/ASU Petawawa | BFC/USS Petawawa

Good find, I shouldn't post in threads like these after reading a thread like the Penny Boudreau one.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

A Sun newspaper not researching a headline thoroughly in favor of a sensationalistic headline? Naw....

[PIMking]

Originally Posted by Ford Prefect

Sounds like his business deserves to go under.

Links don't seem to be working.

Well they are probably not Canadian or are bleeding heart libs and dont like war. but that is utter crap.