Veterans Affairs committee  Most veterans prefer to stay there. We have a funeral and burial program in cooperation with the Last Post Fund. The slide speaks for itself. There is an interest in looking at the rates we pay. People are eligible if the death occurred as a result of war service or if the veteran of overseas service can't afford the funeral using his or her own resources.

First Nations, Métis and Inuit War Veterans  Finally, they received military decorations: 17 medals for acts of bravery during the second world war. Beginning in the 1920s, the Last Post Fund burial privilege and pension relief were discontinued, as aboriginal veterans on reserves were treated exclusively as treaty Indians. This policy was subsequently modified. Families of aboriginal soldiers received the same allowance as other servicemen, but in 1941-42, some allowances were placed under the control of the local Indian agent, and aboriginal soldiers and their dependants were urged to invest in Indian trust funds if they wished to receive maximum benefits.

Veterans Affairs  Families of eligible veterans were told that their loved ones would be laid to rest without a headstone and that their names would be added to a six year waiting list. The problem is that the federal government has not ensured that the last post fund has the money it needs to ensure a timely distribution of these important memorials. Since this story first broke I am pleased to report that Canadians have banded together to answer the call.

Supply  Various legion branches have passed resolutions calling for reinstatement of the last post fund to $24,000. By the end of World War II the Canadian merchant marines grew to 180 ships and 12,000 mariners. Sixty-seven ships were lost with 11,046 mariners killed and 198 taken prisoner.

Veterans  Speaker, there has been $182 million cut from the Department of Veterans Affairs' budget. This has made it most difficult for the veterans and their families. Cuts to the last post fund have made it more difficult than some of the other cuts because it costs a lot more today to bury a veteran than it did 10 years ago. Once again I ask the minister to please take a look at the last post fund to see if there is not some way we can bring back dignity for the veterans.

Veterans  Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Veterans Affairs. The government has cut the last post fund for veterans from $26,000 to $12,060. This has made it very difficult for veterans. Will the minister assure the House that he will have his department review the cuts it made to the last post fund and deal with the difficulties and injustices it has caused to the spouses of those families?

War Veterans Allowance Act  The major features of this bill are as follows: inclusion in the definition “member of the forces”; payment of a veterans allowance under the provisions of the War Veterans Allowance Act; a prisoner of war allowance; assessment increases for survivors of disability pensioners; deadline extension for termination of war veterans allowance payments; regulations assigning funeral and burial programs to a non-government body, such as the Last Post Fund; continuation of pension payments for those blinded during the 1917 Halifax explosion and provision for the board to review earlier decisions. Recently, three former members of the merchant marine staged a hunger strike on the steps of the Parliament Buildings in order to obtain compensation for something that should have been sorted out right after the war ended.

Merchant Navy Veterans  Mr. Speaker, in 1995 changes were made to the last post fund legislation to allow merchant navy veterans to be buried in cemeteries as Canadian war veterans. The Department of Veterans Affairs recognizes these merchant navy sailors as veterans when they die but will not officially recognize them as war veterans when they are alive.

Speech From The Throne  What is the hon. member's government going to do to correct the error it has made and help those veterans become eligible for the veterans programs? It should put more money back into the last post fund and all the programs it has removed.

Veterans Affairs  Two years ago we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II and people from all around the world thanked our vets for the role they played. Since then the government has cut the last post fund. It has taken our vets out of the war museum and put in young people. It has even taken the poppy making industry away from them and privatized it. Can you justify, Mr. Minister, how you are going to close Ste.

Veterans Week  I say that because many of our veterans come to see me because they are worried about the cuts in the last post fund. We must look after our merchant navy vets as well. Today I say thank you to those who fought for the freedoms that we enjoy. I say thank you to those who continue to wear the uniform of Canada for their extraordinary service to us.