I don't want to belabour the point, but I will. Madam Hinton said that if we wanted to have input into something, we should move on. That's what I thought we were trying to do, have input on the bill of rights, and once we made our recommendations, the government would look at our recommendations and make their own parameters around them. They never did; they just did it anyway, so we really didn't have access to it or a way to say that.
Second, what I'd like to know from the government is whether this bill of rights that has been announced by VAC is a mission statement. Or does it have any legal standing?
The problem that bothers me, and I was assured that most veterans do this.... As I said before, we deal with a lot of hearing problems among veterans who can't get hearing aids or pensions because of their hearing concerns, because when they left the war in 1946, 1947, or 1954 after Korea, they didn't get a hearing test. So they get one now, and of course there's no sign of progressive loss. So they don't get it.
In here it says: “Receive benefits and services as set out in our published service standards”. Many veterans have problems with that. That's the crux of the matter. If VAC officials are going by the legislative letter of the law that says that you didn't do this, so you don't qualify for benefits, so too bad, so sad, you appeal, you get the same answer, and you take it to the Federal Court of Appeal--that's some of the problem.
What I'd like to know is whether this has any legal standing, or is it just a nice mission statement that makes members of Veterans Affairs and the RCMP folks feel better about themselves? That's what we asked the lawyers from before. If we do something, what kind of legal standing would this have: “Be treated with respect, dignity, fairness, and courtesy”? If a veteran felt that he wasn't treated with fairness, could he sue the government? I don't know. That's something lawyers would have to answer.
In conclusion, I'd like to ask whether this has any legal issues, or is it just a nice mission statement?