Mr. Chair, thank you for giving me the opportunity to explain amendment NDP-8, which seeks to incorporate an independent review.
It should read in English, “Independent Review”, not “Independent Teview”. Sorry for that. It should be part of a grammatical correction at the end of the process.
The amendment introduces the following obligations:
161.1 (1)The Minister of Veterans Affairs must cause an independent review to be conducted of the provisions enacted by this Part, including a comparative analysis of gains, if any, arising out of the new benefits. (2) The Minister must cause a report of the review to be tabled in each House of Parliament within 3 years after the day on which this Part comes into force.
The purpose of this amendment is to clarify the issue we have just discussed in order to determine whether the new pension plan for veterans is more generous than the old one. Unfortunately, we have had no data so far. Today, we received confirmation that it will not be possible to have them before we vote. Actually, we have just adopted the proposals without having the figures to show us on average the real benefits for veterans.
The review would allow parliamentarians and the public to find out whether pension plans for veterans have actually been improved. This would require the minister to report over the next three years and to demonstrate that there are real benefits or, conversely, that there are fewer benefits than in the previous system.
I hope to have my colleagues' support for this perfectly reasonable amendment. Its purpose is simply to shed a little more light on the changes and their effects on veterans, to ensure that they have the benefits to which they are entitled since they have given so much to Canada.
I hope to have the support of all my colleagues.