Stuart Micklethwaite received a letter from Veterans Affairs Canada last month stating he owed them more than $69,000. 

The veteran from Fall River, N.S., learned Veterans Affairs overpaid him by that amount while he was receiving Income Replacement Benefits, and he would have to repay it.

Micklethwaite, who spent 23 years in the air force and did military contract work for IMP aerospace, received Canada Pension Plan payments as well as superannuation from the Canadian Armed Forces. He had informed Veterans Affairs of that, but it wasn’t processed.

However, the letter stated that the financial responsibility fell to him.

“I had to discuss with my wife that we may be losing our house because of a mistake that Veterans Affairs made,” Micklethwaite said. 

More than 1,000 overpayments

The Income Replacement Benefit is distributed to veterans who cannot work while in rehabilitation or who are deemed unable to return to work because of physical or mental injury.

The benefit ensures veterans receive 90 per cent of the salary they received while in service. At age 65, the percentage lowers to 70 per cent.

Veterans are required to inform Veterans Affairs of any additional income sources, including pensions, while receiving the taxable, monthly benefit so it can be adjusted accordingly.

Veterans Affairs said in a statement that benefits are only automatically reviewed when a veteran turns 65. 

Since October 2025, Veterans Affairs has identified 965 overpayments valued at more than $5,000. The total identified between Nov. 17 and March 19, including overpayments below $5,000, is 1,123.

“For every identified overpayment, VAC [Veterans Affairs Canada] conducts a review to determine the underlying cause of the overpayment and assesses whether the Department had the necessary information at the time the benefit was calculated,” the department wrote.

“This review examines all documentation on file, including any income reports submitted by the Veteran, information shared through interdepartmental agreements, and previous communications between VAC and the Veteran.”

However, both veterans and their advocates questioned how the department identified these overpayments, as some veterans claimed they had reported their additional income.

They said Veterans Affairs is failing to adjust benefits with the information provided.

Peter Stoffer, chairperson of the Veterans Legal Assistance Foundation, has worked with 12 veterans who received clawback letters. He wonders how many more veterans are receiving these letters without support, and how many of these letters are actually wrong. 

“It’s sort of like you’re guilty before you’re innocent,” Stoffer said. “We shouldn’t be scaring people like this.…Veterans Affairs should know they’re dealing with some very fragile people here and they shouldn’t be treating them in that way, it really is uncalled for.”

Stoffer said Veterans Affairs should at least give veterans advance warning that a review of their benefits is being conducted. He said the department should tell the veteran over the phone if there are overpayments, provide a breakdown of each overpayment and walk through their options. 

Veterans Affairs told CBC News it contacts veterans by phone when overpayments exceed $50,000. 

The department said veterans registered with My VAC Account will be able to view their IRB income offset information online starting in early April, and will be able to correct erroneous information that way as well.

45 remissions since October

From Oct. 1, 2025 to Feb. 28, 2026, the department processed 45 remissions. That means 45 veterans out of more than 1,000 had their overpayments forgiven.

Micklethwaite is one of them.

He immediately appealed the overpayment. After sending a letter to the minister, his case was resolved within a month.

But he worries about all the veterans who are unable to fight for their case. 

“I’m one of the ones that fought this tooth and nail because I had the information, I knew what I did,” he said. “I did everything they asked for and I proved to them that I did. Not all veterans can do that.” 

Micklethwaite was told it could take 12 weeks to more than a year before his case was resolved. As he waited, he said his anxiety went “through the roof,” his PTSD increased and his chronic pain worsened.

He still feels angry.

“It’s going to take a lot for VAC to get that trust back,” he said. “For me, I don’t think it’ll ever happen because I had to fight this myself.”

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