Sir, with all due respect, I don't think we should be comparing with the civilian population whether or not they are satisfied with their pension plan. I don't think we should be comparing. They have unions to represent them, to look after their welfare, to look after their benefit. I know for a fact--I was told this by some civil servant employee--they were told by the Government of Canada that negotiation with regard to pension was off limits. I don't know if that's true or not, but I don't want to get into that type of conversation. We should only be considering ourselves with the veterans. They paid, but to be prepared to sign a blank cheque that may include your life, to come back home with broken limbs...the wear and tear of a body.
I spent 15 years on ships. Sir, you want to try it around the banks of Newfoundland when your stomach is turned upside down. I am a different government provider. I spent five and a half years in isolation. I served at Masset on the Queen Charlotte Islands. You want to try that for a little while. I served in Goose Bay, Labrador, sir, where the temperature went down to 101 degrees below zero. I served in CFS Lac St. Denis--twenty and a half years of my life in isolation, in operational units.
I am not the only person in the armed forces who does that. We're all doing it, sir, so therefore we are a different government provider and we should be treated differently. We were not told. We were not briefed properly. Therefore now we are asking that you give us justice and fairness.
Thank you, sir.