A lump-sum award has to be the priority for all veterans organizations and veterans advocates who are sitting here. We have young men who have been viciously wounded, suffering mental and physical calamities, who have been forced by this government to turn to the courts for justice. What do they want? They want the same level of justice that was provided to World War II and Korean War veterans. They're not asking for anything more. This has to be the priority. Discussion and dialogue must start on this issue shortly.
We all know that there are different opinions. The Legion wants a lump-sum award. Other organizers want this. Older fellas want the lump-sum award because they're experiencing hearing loss. The point is, without dialogue, without addressing these issues, it will always remain the number one issue. Those people who have lost legs, who have lost their souls, who have lost their minds, are making it the number one issue.
The second important issue is the way we're treating our widows under the New Veterans Charter. There is a discriminatory standard there. They are not being provided the care and comfort that this nation owes to people who have sacrificed so much.
Third, long-term disability is becoming an important issue. As we've noticed through the Sunnybrook situation, the federal government really does not have the oversight required to ensure that the quality of life for these veterans is upheld. The provincial government is now paying for those beds. They're responsible for long-term care, and there is somewhat of a disconnect here. This situation is brewing at Sunnybrook, and you'll hear about it later this week in the news.
Where do I go, as an advocate? I've turned to the Minister of Veterans Affairs in good faith. God bless them: they've launched an audit and things were done, but things haven't been fixed. Here we are in a situation where those veterans who are in the dementia ward, those veterans who need the most care, are still sitting in their soiled diapers for way too long, still eating food that's mush, because it hasn't been served to them quick enough. We have an obligation. Where that obligation takes us is something this committee has to decide, especially on long-term care, now that the downloading has been completed and there is this grey zone.