While many think of the Royal Canadian Legion as a place to remember the fallen and thank veterans for their service, one local veteran credits the local legion with saving his life.
Many people are aware that the funds raised during the Poppy Campaign go to the legion and are then distributed to projects that support veterans, or in some cases directly to the veterans themselves. Each legion across the country has to put its funds in a trust account, but the individual Legions get to distribute the funds raised by their branches on a local level.
However, along with allocating the funds from their Poppy Trust, the legion also has service managers who will liaise with Veterans Affairs on behalf of veterans. Their purpose is to help veterans navigate the paperwork and the requirements that must be met to make a claim.
For Roy Silver, a local veteran, the legion came to his aid by keeping him connected and helping him get his claims processed.
Silver served in the Canadian military from 1959 to 1964 as an electrician in the armoured division at Fort Garry Horse in Winnipeg. During his time in service, Silver was injured and hospitalized for a short time.
“He injured his knee moving some equipment around, spent three days in the hospital. When he got out, the doctor that clears him for release says, ‘He can walk and talk and he’s got a pulse; he’s good to go,’” says Bill Cavanagh, a member of the legion for 50 years and now the District Commander for District 8 of the Royal Canadian Legion.
Over the years, Silver developed arthritis in his knees due to his injury. He also developed hearing loss during his time on the base.
For years, Silver lived his life with his wife without any compensation from Veterans Affairs aside from his pension. At one point, he did attempt to get coverage for hearing aids, but he was denied because he was an electrician. After finding out he didn’t qualify, Silver went without.
Cavanagh says Silver had kept in touch with legion members over the years, usually when it was time to renew his membership and a couple of other times throughout the year. For the most part, though, Silver didn’t spend a lot of time in the legion.
Things took a turn for the worse when Silver’s wife became ill. He put all of his time and money into looking after her. When she passed in the fall of 2024, Silver had nothing left.
“After Anne died, I was destitute. I’d sold everything I had to take care of her,” says Silver. “Basically, I was ready to end it all.”
However, members of the legion kept checking in with him and encouraging him to come and reconnect. Cavanagh’s wife, Mary, told Silver to come in more often, and when he told her he doesn’t drink anymore, she told him to come, anyway. When Silver came into the Legion, he tried to sit at one of the far tables but was told to come join everyone else and visit.
“The first while, I was just going to be here until I made the decision one way or the other,” he says.
But the members were persistent in their efforts to make him feel welcome and part of a whole.
“People treated me so great. I come in here and felt nothing but love,” he says. “That’s what the legion is all about.”
From there, Mary asked Cavanagh to talk to Silver about looking into what he was due from Veterans Affairs.
“When we advocate for a veteran, they sign a piece of paper saying we have carte blanche; we have access to all their files so we can review, make an assessment, and figure out what may or may not be done for them,” says Cavanagh.
Cavanagh learned that Silver went to Veterans Affairs to get compensation for hearing aids, but was turned down because he was only an electrician.
Once Cavanagh started reading Silver’s file, he saw that it clearly showed in the file that Silver met the criteria.
What Veterans Affairs had failed to consider when Silver first approached them was what was happening at Fort Garry Horse. Silver says soldiers were firing 105 howitzers, 155 mm howitzers, 0.50 calibre machine guns, and rockets on a regular basis as they trained on the equipment.
“We had no hearing protection at all,” says Silver. “They said if you want to protect your hearing, stick your fingers in your ears. That was it.”
While Silver had been turned down, Cavanagh was able to get Veterans Affairs looking into the matter right away. They started the process in March 2025, and by April 2025, Silver was getting a hearing test done. The results confirmed what everyone already knew — Silver needed hearing aids.
Not only did Silver get hearing aids, he also got a significant disability pension payout from Veterans Affairs.
“I didn’t really think that we were going to get anything,” he says.
He says he wants other veterans to know that there is assistance available through their legion wherever they are in Canada.
“So many people don’t know about it,” says Silver. “But the assistance is there. It’s so wonderful to know that Veterans Affairs will help you with the proper prodding from the legion.”
Silver says the legion will always have the veterans’ backs and there is nothing they won’t do. If they can’t tackle a problem, they will find someone who can.
“We’ve helped veterans that are going to have their power and their gas shut off; they’re going to lose their homes because their mortgage payments aren’t up to date,” says Cavanagh.
He says Veterans Affairs doesn’t just deny people who need the assistance. They go through each file and not only ensure the candidate qualifies for certain things, they also look to see if a veteran is or can get support from other programs like assured income for the severely handicapped (AISH).
“Logistically, it makes sense, but it’s not a quick process,” says Cavanagh.
Silver says he agrees that Veterans Affairs does care about helping veterans, just not enough to actively reach out to veterans who have records like his own.
“I’ve talked to probably a dozen guys about this already that have no idea that stuff like this is available for them,” says Silver. “And they have injuries a lot more serious than mine.”
He says it’s important for people to go to their legions, participate in social activities and learn about what can be offered.
Cavanagh says the legion doesn’t charge for its services; instead, they hope that if they help a veteran, that person will be able to help others down the line and pay it forward.
For more information about what services the Royal Canadian Legion offers or to find a branch, visit www.legion.ca.
