Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
We only finished it an hour ago, Mr. Kerr. That's why it's not translated.
My roots are Franco-Ontarian, but I live in Nepean now, which is 100% English-speaking. I don't often have the opportunity to speak French. You can ask me your questions in French, but please speak very slowly.
It is a pleasure for the NATO Veterans Organization to be asked back again to address the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs.
I notice, as you did, Mr. Chairman, no fewer than six other veterans organizations around the room. I have a sign here reading “applause” for some point in my speech.
We urge all members of this committee to continue to work towards seeing improvements to the well-being and welfare of Canada's veterans. NATO veterans have all served this country in times of conflict and in times of peace and have done the nation's bidding. We have all proudly served. We now ask, in return for the sacrifice we made in the name of Canada and all Canadians, that this committee hear our concerns and influence the changes that we must see actually occur.
For far too long there have been significant and embarrassingly long disconnects between the policies emanating from the government and the harsh realities faced by the Canadian Armed Forces and our former service personnel, the veterans. Our veterans represent a legacy of service to Canada. Let us now see a legacy of respect and equality from a grateful nation towards our veterans, one that is moral, legal, social, and—the big one—financial.
Our colleagues of the Royal Canadian Legion have addressed the issues. They are all on our list; we support all of them. NATO vets have been asked by this committee to appear today, and if we wouldn't mind, to mention three items. We have three and a couple of further ones.
Those three items are care and support to the most seriously injured veterans, support for veterans' families, and improvement to the way Veterans Affairs Canada delivers programs under the Veterans Charter concerning services and benefits.
Those are the three areas. If any member would like to discuss these with me or Mr. Percy Price offline, we would be pleased to discuss them. Mr. Price is the NATO Veterans acting director of advocacy. For eight years he was an adjudicator with the Veterans Review and Appeal Board and for 23 years was a Royal Canadian Legion veterans counsellor. He still does that work.
NATO Veterans' comments today are directed to the shortcomings of the new Veterans Charter that are known and experienced by our modern-day veterans. We cannot let these issues continue, as the well-being and welfare of our veterans is at risk. Each member of this committee has a responsibility to see that changes are made to the new Veterans Charter, and NATO Veterans of Canada stands ready to assist in providing advice and recommendations to you.
But remember that veterans will also hold the government accountable for inaction and partisan politics. The days are long over, as you've noticed, when veterans will suffer in silence along the lines that a good soldier never complains and just follows orders.
We, of all people, have earned the right to be vocal about the hardships we face at the hand of negligent policies and a lack of leadership in addressing these known shortcomings. As an elected official, I am certain you will all agree it is important to work closely with communities and local interests. These are the people who elected you and whom you represent.
There are 750,000 veterans out there. They all have families, and most of them vote.
I'll now turn it over to Mr. Price who will address the three issues that we were asked to address.