OTTAWA -- Defence Minister Jason Kenney says it's unacceptable that reservists who've left the military now face a wait of nearly two years for severance pay in a system the department had promised to fix in 2013.
Kenney was responding to repeated questions in the House of Commons by NDP MPs who call the situation shameful.
The minister says the Department of National Defence has recognized the problem and is throwing staff at the backlog of 2,754 files.
Former military ombudsman Pierre Daigle investigated a series of complaints in the late summer and early fall of 2013 when reservists were waiting between nine and 17 months for their payouts.
Full-time members of the military wait approximately 18 weeks.
Former corporal Nicholas Vanderplas, of London, Ont., has waited 21 months for his $4,500, which is owed him for six years as a part-time member of the infantry, and he says he's fed up.
