Kimberly Fawcett
Kimberly Fawcett | |
|---|---|
| Allegiance |  Canada |
| Service/ | Royal Canadian Air Force |
| Rank | Captain |
| Battles/wars | War in Afghanistan |
Kimberly Fawcett is a Canadian soldier and para-athlete.
Early Life[edit]
Born in 1968 [1] in Nova Scotia, Fawcett attended the University of Manitoba and in 1996, shortly after graduating, she joined the Canadian Army as a combat engineer and later transferred to the Royal Canadian Air Force as a Air Movement Officer.
Military Career[edit]
In 2006, Fawcett was traveling to bring her son to his grandparent’s house while her husband was on deployment in Africa and her unit was poised to be deployed as well. While driving she was involved in an automobile accident in which she lost her right leg and her then nine month old son.[2] After recovering from her accident Fawcett continued her career as a soldier and later became the first Canadian female soldier to serve in a war zone with a prosthetic leg. [3] She then began training as a para-athlete and began competing in endurance sports including the Invictus Games. In 2009 she filled a grievance with the Canadian Armed Forces for not being provided benefits or disability pensions. In 2011 the military denied her the benefits that she had requested but a judicial review by the Federal Court of Canada determined that the decision to deny Fawcett of benefits was unreasonable and a re-evaluation was ordered. After four years and multiple re-evaluations a Federal Court of Canada judge ruled in the military’s favour. In February of 2016 Fawcett was billed over $34’000 for repairs to her prosthetic leg.[4] The military claimed that because Fawcett was not “on duty” at the time of the incident they were not obligated to pay her.[5] In December of 2018 a GoFundMe account was created to help Fawcett pay for her leg and has raised over $32’000 as of May of 2019. Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan promised the government would assist Fawcett.
Politcal Career[edit]
In 2019 Fawcett was elected as the candidate for the Conservative Party of Canada for the riding of Scarborough Southwest.[6]
References[edit]
- ↑ Union, International Triathlon. "Athlete Profile: Kimberly Fawcett-Smith". Triathlon.org.
- ↑ "Military, Veterans Affairs won't pay for Air Force officer's prosthetic leg, leaving her with $34,000 bill - National - Globalnews.ca". globalnews.ca. 12 December 2018.
- ↑ News; Canada (6 June 2018). "She lost her child and her leg in a horrific car crash. Now, an air force officer is fighting her military bosses - National Post".
- ↑ https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/military-legal-fight-kimberly-fawcett-1.5109132
- ↑ "Hero denied funding for prosthetic limb by veterans affairs runs as a Conservative against Bill Blair". 1 May 2019.
- ↑ https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/kimberly-fawcett-bill-blair-air-force-disability-compensation-1.5117176
This article "Kimberly Fawcett" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Kimberly Fawcett. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
