First of all, before I start off, I'm going to tell you I'm not an educated man in regard to what you people have gone through. I am a soldier. I have been a soldier since the age of 15. And I will talk like a soldier. I'm not here to make friends. I'm not here to get a job, a high-paying job, or any other thing. What I'm trying to do is bring to light what's going on with the new charter, having worked with many veterans under the OSISS program, if you please.
Mr. Chair and fellow members of the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs, it is a great honour to sit with such noble individuals. Thank you for your time to let me speak to you today on issues that are very concerning to my fellow veterans, and I speak for the fellow veterans. Having served in all three branches of the military over a span of 37 years, there's not much as an individual that I have not covered. This includes tours with NATO and the United Nations organizations. My schooling was completed carried out on a battlefield. My instructors were hardened men who had served in the Second World War and Korean conflicts. So one might say that you grew up very fast or you were forced to the wayside.
My first encounter with death through battle was at the age of 18 in Cyprus, 1967-68, and my last throw of the hat in the battlefield was under the conditions in Somalia in 1992-93.
If given the chance, I would like to bring issues to the table in regard to the new charter and how it has failed the veteran. Other issues that should be covered are how Veterans Affairs treats its veterans, patronizing by persons of authority who have no experience with military or no understanding of the afflictions suffered daily by veterans. These same persons always seem to come to light when serious conditions arise regarding the veterans and their health. The final decision has to be made by them whether or not the veteran is entitled to his/her claim.
It must be remembered that the majority of these patrons have no medical or psychological background whatsoever. It has gotten to the point where the system is overriding the recommendations of medical professionals. This is not only a sham but a disgraceful and demeaning act to the medical system. Some very highly qualified medical professionals have actually been picked out and harassed by Veterans Affairs and deemed not competent to give medical advice to Veterans Affairs in regard to veterans' claims.
Where does a veteran stand? He or she is left to their own demise. More and more I see that Veterans Affairs is being run like a business and not as an agency to help our veterans who have served for years without the right to appeal or complain. Now that the veterans need help, they seem to be dropped to the wayside, and it is getting worse.
William (Bill) Maguire, P.O. Box 5, Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia.
I've brought 20 copies of this, plus 20 copies of my time served in the forces. And I apologize, sir, it's not in French.
I am open to questions.