Madam Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to further question my colleague on the opposite side of the House on a question that I asked the minister on March 29.
On March 29, I asked a very simple and direct question regarding new veterans and the care and commitment that the current government had to the huge and new challenges they face. They want to play a part in building tomorrow's Canada but the Conservatives are failing them. When will the government commit to the care and benefits these soldiers deserve and are calling for themselves? It is a very clear and simple question about looking at modern veterans and their particular needs as expressed in the 21st century.
I did a preamble about that because it was the week before we honoured veterans from World War I, the last living veteran from that war having just died.
The minister gave no answer and actually avoided my question completely. He did not say one word that related to new veterans. Instead, he reflected upon the Great War that ended in 1918 and talked about a book of remembrance and about the commemorative services to be held on April 9.
I am trying to move the government forward from 1918 to 2010. It is almost 100 years since that war ended. The question I want answered very clearly is: What is the government's plan to deal with the veterans who have not been what we have called “traditional” veterans, those veterans who are not from World War II or the Korean War, but all the veterans since then, so-called “modern” veterans, who are now actually falling into two different categories, which are those from the cold war, from failed state operations, peacekeepers and the war in Iraq, to those new veterans, post the New Veterans Charter, who are mostly from Afghanistan?
The reality is that since 2006, we have a new class of veterans who have been under a new regime, under a new charter, a charter that was conceived and passed unanimously by all parties in the House, as a new way forward for veterans of the modern age.
However, over the last several months, if not the last couple of years, we have been hearing from veteran after veteran, veterans organization after veterans organization, that the programs, the financial compensation, the disability awards and the lump sum payments are simply not enough. They are not working to keep veterans engaged in the activities in which we want them engaged to help them do successful rehabilitation and reintegrate into family and community.
We are seeing more and more instances of post-traumatic stress disorder, homelessness, suicide, financial problems and family strife and the government has not presented one change since 2006.
In the New Veterans Charter, which was meant to be a living charter, the minister was given the power to make changes to programs and to update them as needs changed. The number of soldiers who have come home with these profound problems increases day after day. I am hoping the parliamentary secretary can give a clear answer on this very pressing problem.