Mr. Speaker, I am following up on a question I asked last year of the Minister of Veterans Affairs concerning the Conservatives' treatment of our servicemen and women. I notified him at the time that Thunder Bay's mayor and city council had voted unanimously to condemn the closure of the Veterans Affairs Canada offices in Thunder Bay and across Canada, but the minister went ahead and closed the offices anyway.
I told him that I had received hundreds of messages from Canadians who are angry at the government's poor treatment of our veterans, but instead of reconsidering and ending the clawback of benefits to injured and disabled soldiers, the minister actually insulted and further outraged veterans who came to visit him.
One veteran that he insulted was my constituent. Roy Lamore is a World War II navy vet from the Branch 5 Legion of Thunder Bay—Superior North. I joined him last Friday at the Veterans Affairs Canada office in Thunder Bay, along with dozens of other vets and constituents, and we had a memorial service for the closure of this local office. Mr. Lamore was outraged that the minister had treated him and his fellow vets so badly, after coming all the way to Ottawa. He said it was a complete disgrace that the office that he and other vets depend on is closing. Many people I meet say the same thing.
The local Thunder Bay office served a vast area, all the way from the Manitoba border to past Sault Ste. Marie. It served over 2,000 veterans and their families and employed 10 hardworking, skilled people. On Friday, the Conservative government closed that office. This shows a complete disregard for the needs of our veterans, the opinions of the people of Thunder Bay—Superior North, and all of our servicemen and women.
It is ridiculous to say they will get the specialized support they need through a 1-800 number or some byzantine website. They are now supposed to go through Service Canada, which in Thunder Bay—Superior North is already way overworked after deep cutbacks and layoffs there. My own constituency office is now doing much of the work that Service Canada is supposed to do, and now my two hardworking staffers, Shannon and Vicki, will have to try to replace the services of 10 expert, laid-off Veterans Affairs staff. Our veterans have specific needs that require specialized training, yet Conservatives think that a general Service Canada employee, who does not have the knowledge or the experience, will be good enough as a replacement.
Veterans Ombudsman Guy Parent has called for the government to rectify failures in supporting veterans. He found that veterans who sustained serious and permanent injuries are all too often left with little or no support and are at high risk of falling into poverty. Vocational rehabilitation programs for those under 65 are deficient, and families left to care for wounded or addicted soldiers are left without the necessary resources.
In short, the Conservative government is leaving our servicemen and women in their time of need. It is shameful. What is even worse is the tragic rash of suicides by veterans over the last two months. One can only imagine how abandoned they felt. There has never been a worse time to abandon our vets. Things are so bad that veterans have actually sued the government for disability support. Imagine, not only has the government been derelict in its responsibility to veterans, it is actually arguing in court that no such responsibility even exists. The government feels that there is no special obligation to veterans who were injured in Korea, Bosnia, Afghanistan or World War II. That is incredible.
I ask the minister, will he stop fighting our veterans in court, reinstate the disability supports, and replace vital services, or will he resign?