House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2019, with 50% of the vote.
Right to Procedural Fairness February 4th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, thank you for recognizing me.
Further to the tabling of the ombudsman's report entitled “Veterans' Right to Know Reasons for Decisions: A Matter of Procedural Fairness”, today, I would like to table, in both official languages, the Department of Veterans Affairs' Right to Fairness Implementation Plan.
Veterans February 4th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, when the member is given the opportunity to stand up for veterans in the House, I invite her to do so.
We welcome the ombudsman's report. It is a report that we take very seriously because we care for our veterans. They must be provided with the services and programs to which they are entitled and fully deserve. At this very moment, 70% of veterans' first applications are approved by our department. I intend to bring in more measures to streamline our processes to better serve veterans.
Veterans February 4th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for the question.
Yes, the ombudsman did release a report today, a report that I welcome, because our government cares about serving veterans and providing them with the programs and services they are entitled to and deserve.
I would remind my hon. colleague that nearly 70% of veterans' applications are approved at the first stage.
Furthermore, today I intend to announce additional measures to make our process even more efficient to better serve our veterans.
Veterans Affairs January 31st, 2013
Mr. Speaker, since 2006 more than 10,000 veterans and their families have benefited from the funeral and burial program.
Unlike the Liberals who cut this very program, we have brought benefits and programs to veterans at an unprecedented level over the last seven years under the leadership of our Prime Minister. We are always interested in looking at ways we can improve our programs.
Veterans Ombudsman January 30th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table, in both official languages, the 2011-12 annual report of the Office of the Veterans Ombudsman.
At the same time, seconded by the Chief Government Whip, I move:
That the House do now proceed to the orders of the day.
Veterans Affairs November 29th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, fortunately there are members like the member for Edmonton Centre who are providing outstanding support for veterans and our men and women in uniform. This is in sharp contrast to what we witnessed yesterday at the veterans affairs committee. We know that the NDP vote against veterans all the time, but not only did they vote against them but they also wanted to cut services to veterans.
Not to worry, though, because our Conservatives were there to stop that. We will actually be providing services to veterans in 600 Service Canada offices in the country, including in the Northwest Territories, Prince Edward Island and via three offices in the Yukon.
Veterans Affairs November 29th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, I have a secret to share with the House: Veterans Affairs Canada's headquarters is in the member's riding in Prince Edward Island.
Thanks to the Conservatives' support, six Service Canada offices will be opening. Furthermore, we will invest $18 million to expand services.
We believe that veterans must be served not only by Veterans Affairs Canada, but by the Canadian government as a whole.
Veterans Affairs November 8th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, I must say that it is a big job looking after our veterans after years of Liberal neglect.
For six years, our government has invested in our veterans. I can reassure them that we have no intention of making cuts to programs, as the Liberals did to the program that we are talking about.
Every week, every month, we continue to improve the quality of life of our veterans by providing them with better services, because they deserve that.
Veterans Affairs November 8th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, the member for Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, a former RCMP officer, is absolutely right. We as Canadian parliamentarians owe a tribute to our veterans because it is due to their sacrifice that we can stand for democracy in this very House.
On the weekend, I invite all parliamentarians to take the time to thank the veterans, reach out to them, lay a wreath and say thank you. Canada thanks you for the sacrifices you made for our country.
Tribute to Veterans November 7th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, in the foggy dawn of August 19, 1942, when Europe was under the control of the Nazi regime, 5,000 Canadians landed at Dieppe. Let us talk about one of those veterans.
Arthur Rossel was 22 years old and in a landing craft. He was part of The Essex Scottish Regiment from Windsor and said, “I was a lucky man because when we hit the water, I was supposed to be a bodyguard for the Brigadier-General”. It did not turn out that way. As he was trying to save the general, he was seriously wounded. He spent 18 days in a coma and months more in hospital following the raid. Arthur feels that he was lucky.
Nine hundred soldiers were not so lucky and fell at Dieppe seventy years ago. Close to 2,000 Canadians were taken prisoner.
A young French nurse, Sister Agnès-Marie, and her nursing colleagues welcomed these injured, maimed and dying soldiers and cared for them day and night with limited means. Soldiers told these nurses that they would free France for them. They told these nurses that they reminded them of the sisters in Quebec. This young French nun, Sister Agnès-Marie, put her own life at risk to care for these soldiers. Through her prayers and her tears, she witnessed the last moments of many soldiers' lives. That is what we are commemorating this week.
This is Veterans' Week, and today we, as parliamentarians, would like to take a few moments to pay tribute to veterans.
I would like to thank my colleagues for their presence here and tell them that Arthur returned to Dieppe 70 years later and received a hero's welcome. Arthur told us that he signed more autographs than ever this year because the people of Dieppe remembered the sacrifices and courage of Canadian soldiers. Arthur returned to Dieppe for a very simple reason: he wanted to pay tribute to his comrades who were not as lucky as he was and who never returned home.
Sister Agnès-Marie, the same nun from 70 years ago, was also there that year. She is 98 years old and she said that we must never forget the lasting scars left by these brutal massacres. She added, “They were fathers, husbands and brothers, young and old, before being dragged into a world war that altered the course of their existence. Alas, some did not even have the chance to experience the pleasures of life before going to war. Thrown into a dangerous raid, they were sadly unable to meet their objective, but they found their way to a blessed eternity.”
I believe that Canada should thank Arthur and the veterans of Dieppe for risking their lives for our democracy. Thank you so much, Arthur.
On the ground and in the sky, the battle went on during the Second World War. The efforts of approximately 50,000 Canadians who served with the Royal Canadian Air Force in Bomber Command operations over occupied Europe was one of our country's most significant contributions during the Second World War.
Ed Carter Edwards was one of them. In 1942, Ed enlisted and joined the sixth Royal Canadian Air Force group. He flew 21 successful missions as a wireless operator air gunner, but, unfortunately, he was shot down over France in 1944. He first made contact with the French resistance but then fell into the hands of the Gestapo. He was betrayed and ended up in a Buchenwald concentration camp. There he saw the atrocities of war. Luckily, the German airmen took him to a prisoner-of-war camp so he could escape.
He finally made his great journey with his son Justin. We are very proud, Mr. Speaker, that you were able to recognize Ed Carter Edwards today.
We can be so proud, as all parliamentarians can be so proud, of what our great veterans have accomplished. Their legacy goes on in Korea where we will be commemorating the 60th anniversary next year. It also goes on in our peacekeeping and NATO missions. It goes on in Bosnia. Canada and other peacekeeping nations faced huge challenges in the Balkans, and there was only so much they could do to curb the worst of the violence brought on by the hatred and viciousness of the combatants there. Many horrible acts were perpetrated that the peacekeepers simply could not prevent.
In 1992, Alfie Bojalil gained recognition and was awarded the commander-in-chief commendation for his participation in this effort. He was in the besieged city of Sarajevo. He returned on his own this year. Mr. Speaker, I thank you for recognizing Alfie Bojalil as one of our NATO and UN veterans and others for what they are giving us and what they are doing for our country.
But some never come back. On September 6, 2009, a few weeks before the end of the second mission in Afghanistan, Major Yannick Pépin lost his life when his armoured vehicle struck an improvised explosive device. I went to the funeral, where I met his wife, Annie Roberge, and their children. Today, she is courageously moving on with her life.
Today, we talked about Vimy.
Madison Ford has not been in a war. She is 16 years old and she is in one of my colleague's riding. She is a student at Bear Creek Secondary School in Barrie, Ontario. She travelled, along with 5,000 students, to the 95th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge this past April, and she wrote, “These soldiers gave their lives for our freedom. These brave soldiers gave Canada its identity of “the true north, strong and free”.
I was listening to her and I kind of envied her because I felt that she was speaking like the Minister of Veterans Affairs. However, the good thing is that the youth understand that not only was Vimy the birth of a nation, but when our youth go to Vimy, it is the birth of a new generation.
Madison is asking us one thing during Veterans Week. She asks, “Please take a moment to acknowledge the bravery and heroism of the veterans that are with us today. Thank you for your service and risking your life for me. Let us together listen to the final prayer of those sacrifices we are honouring. We may hear them say softly: 'I love my family, I love my comrades, I love my country and I will defend their freedom to the end'”.
I thank Madison for the great words she has written.
We can see that this is the Canadian journey. It has begun in many conflicts. We have seen Arthur in Dieppe. We have seen Ed in Bomber Command. We have seen Alfie in Bosnia, and we are still seeing our great soldiers in Afghanistan today.
We can say today, with hope, because Madison is reminding us that these youth care for our veterans. In the famous words of John McCrae:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.