Evidence of meeting #4 for Veterans Affairs in the 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was husband.
A recording is available from Parliament.
12:50 p.m.
Conservative
Bev Shipley Conservative Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON
I just had Comox, Cold Lake, Petawawa, Valcartier, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Whether it's 9 Wing Gander or 5 Wing Goose Bay, I'll leave it to those who.... I think we should be out there, though.
12:55 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rob Anders
I understand.
All right, Mr. Valley. I think there's general acceptance of what you've talked about.
Now we'll go to Mr. St. Denis.
12:55 p.m.
Liberal
Brent St. Denis Liberal Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON
We have some ideas out there. We should have somebody on the logistics side map out these rough ideas to get the best scenario.
I think we should get some independent, objective advice from someone in the military who says that those are good selections so that we have a little bit of cover. You know, there should be a logical reason for them.
12:55 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rob Anders
Mr. Gaudet, I'm going to recognize you next.
I'm sensing that because Shearwater is in Mr. Stoffer's riding, and Goose Bay is the one Mr. Russell prefers, what it's probably going to come down to is Comox, Cold Lake, Shearwater, and Goose Bay.
Go ahead, Mr. Gaudet.
12:55 p.m.
Bloc
Roger Gaudet Bloc Montcalm, QC
What sort of a trip are we going on? Are we just paying a courtesy visit or are we really going to meet these people?
My friend Roger wants to go to Valcartier and Petawawa in the same day. Will this be the type of trip where we just pass through, or are we going to take the time to engage in dialogue?
12:55 p.m.
Bloc
12:55 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rob Anders
The way I understand it, Mr. Gaudet, either Petawawa or Valcartier are close enough that they could be done as day trips from Ottawa. In other words, rather than your being here in committee, we could use that day to go to one of these bases, and it doesn't have to be the same day.
12:55 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rob Anders
We have some other issues to deal with. I sense right now that we have what I think is a fairly decent compromise here. Maybe we're going to leave it and you can do extra negotiations on the side, if you wish, or whatever.
Let's move on to the next issue.
12:55 p.m.
Conservative
Betty Hinton Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC
Well, do we want to leave it with the chair?
12:55 p.m.
Some hon. members
Agreed.
12:55 p.m.
Conservative
12:55 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rob Anders
Okay. I think we have what we want there. That's fine. And if you want to talk about it outside of here, you can.
Now, as our second issue, Mr. St. Denis has a notice of motion.
12:55 p.m.
Liberal
Brent St. Denis Liberal Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON
Yes. I'll just read it into the record:
That the recently appointed first Veterans Affairs Ombudsman be sent a copy of the Veterans Affairs Committee testimony of the November 27th, 2007 meeting during which witnesses Jenifer Migneault and her husband Claude Rainville provided a case study in how difficult it seems for veterans diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder to access services. And further that at some appropriate time, as soon as possible after his office has been established and he considers their testimony, the Ombudsmen be asked to offer his comments and possible recommendations.
12:55 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rob Anders
Okay. We can talk about that.
Number three is an issue I'm putting on the agenda about the veterans independence program. Of course, we're going to be taking a big break over Christmas and coming back in late January. I think it may be useful for us to generate something on this previous to the Christmas break.
We have the veterans independence program as it stands. I think we all generally agree with the idea of expanding its services; one of the big questions is expand them by how much? We'll be looking at some of the areas that need to be expanded, and all that type of stuff.
As Michel, our researcher, begins to look at these types of things, maybe he has something to add.
November 27th, 2007 / 12:55 p.m.
Michel Rossignol Committee Researcher
If the committee wants a report before the Christmas break, it's important to let us know. There are considerations for the actual drafting of the report, not to mention translation. A short report could be done before the Christmas break, but anything more complicated would be problematic because of the time the committee needs to consider the report.
12:55 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rob Anders
I'm okay with the idea of a short report as opposed to a long one.
My sense is that we touch on the things we've heard here and lay out some ideas on what those different levels of expansion could be.
Mr. Valley.
1 p.m.
Liberal
Roger Valley Liberal Kenora, ON
Did anybody catch the ombudsman on TV last night? I was surprised to see him on TV for an hour talking about our issues when we hadn't talked together. He was on Talk Ottawa last night for an hour taking calls. The last call was with Shawn Brière. I was surprised. We hadn't seen him yet, but he was there.
1 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rob Anders
Such is life.
Mr. Stoffer, you have something about VAC paperwork.
1 p.m.
NDP
Peter Stoffer NDP Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS
Yes.
Perhaps we can agree that at the end of every committee, we will let the ombudsman department know that it's online. They should pick up everything we do here so they have an understanding of all the things we've talked about.
I know that the DND ombudsman's office does that. I don't know if the veterans ombudsman has had a chance to think of that yet, because his office is just getting up and running. Perhaps he can be sent a note that everything we say can be picked up online. If the ombudsman can have an understanding of what we're working on--some of the challenges and the testimony, not just on this but on all other issues--it may go a long way toward developing a relationship between his department and us.
1 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rob Anders
You know, the researcher raises a very fair point: he will be here at the next meeting, on Thursday.