Are you asking me to add what I want?
I want the amounts to be more reasonable than the $1,609 and the $1,000. Trying to get the $1,000 is like reaching for a star. So the eligibility criteria should be less strict.
I suggest that the government go back to the previous system. Overall, the New Veterans Charter is not bad. I have examined it from cover to cover since law is my former profession. I am able to go over a bill with a fine-toothed comb and see what it's all about, and so on.
The charter as a whole is good, but not the lump sum, especially when we know it has been done for economic reasons. We buy meat, but human flesh is not for sale.
When people are being sent to combat international terrorism in Afghanistan, I am with them. If I was young, I would go to Afghanistan because it's for a good cause. But if a guy gets hurt, he shouldn't just get a small pittance. He has to receive something more substantial so that he can be reintegrated into society and live like any another person. If he has lost his limbs or part of his head or his mind because of serving abroad, why wouldn't he be entitled to the same system as before? It's an economic reason, pure and simple. It's a lump sum of $200,000 or maybe $300,000.
I did some research. In England, they get $800,000 for the same thing. That's $800,000 in Canadian dollars. If that amount is invested in a good portfolio, you won't be living in the lap of luxury, but you can get by. However, it is not possible to live with $275,000, unless you buy an annuity that will give a good return. Either it won't be for life or the annuity won't be big.
I think the minister has good intentions. We met with him after he was appointed. We met with the ombudsman. He came to Quebec City. I was sitting next to him and we talked as equals. He is just like any other person and I think he has good intentions.
Yet the government as a whole has mishandled the issue or cabinet has rejected it. I don't know, but, in my opinion, the amounts are not reasonable.
The conditions are too strict and the amounts are not sufficient. If the bill is passed, there will be a few dollars more than before for those with more serious injuries and with 100% disability. But the rest won't get anything. There is no icing and there is not even a cake. There's nothing. There are just a few crumbs.
The figure of $40,000 certainly came up in the press conference. But that's just mixing things up. This has nothing to do with the injuries the people suffered in Afghanistan. Keep the charter in its current form, but, in terms of pensions, we should revert to the previous system and assess each soldier's state accordingly. If he is 50% disabled, he will be entitled to a given amount for the rest of his life.
I was injured in 1953. I was in my twenties and I have lived my life with my injuries. I continued to make my way through life. People couldn't see what was underneath my clothes for me to be able to function like another being. My intellectual capacity was good, because I had already finished a classical education when I enlisted in the army. So I was ahead of other soldiers.
I was accepted into university and was able to pursue a higher education, but not all soldiers have the same opportunities. It is not their fault. They can learn a trade. They also need to have all their limbs. If a guy wants to be a welder, a climber or do something in construction and he has two artificial legs, he won't be able to do it. He needs to get reasonable compensation, like any other person.
That's what I think the government should have done. It got on the wrong track with this. It took a step in the right direction, but it's a small step. It's one step in a long flight of stairs. It climbed up one step, but it should have climbed higher. That's what I think. I have gone through it. I have been entitled to a pension for 58 years now. I am familiar with all the twists and turns of the process.
It was not that complicated for me. My file was very thick. When you come in pieces, it is not that complicated to be assessed. It's not like there are a ton of them. There are cases here and there. Guys got killed when they stepped on mines—