Evidence of meeting #52 for Veterans Affairs in the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was husband.
A recording is available from Parliament.
National President and Chief Executive Officer, CAV, National Alliance, Canadian Aboriginal Veterans and Serving Members Association
Well, that's what we ask. We ensure their care by asking them directly, the World War II veterans particularly and also the Korean War veterans who are all now in their eighties. Then there are the other ones that are in their...Cold War veterans like myself in their seventies. We do have a lot of young veterans and they ask us questions about the new Veterans Charter. We do get a lot of feedback. We also have 20 groups on the social media. We have a great interface there with all age groups. We're a full spectrum national veterans organization. We even have a division in Southeast Asia, and we're connected with the Australian veterans.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Royal Galipeau
Thank you very much, Mr. Blackwolf.
Mr. Valeriote, you've taken three times the amount of time that I said you had left.
Monsieur Lizon.
Conservative
Wladyslaw Lizon Conservative Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON
Mr. Chair, before I ask the question, I need to put something on the record.
The Liberal member, in his opening remarks before he asked a question, mentioned how appalled and how insulted he is by the caregiver benefit proposed in this legislation. I would like to remind him that the previous government, the Liberal government in 1995, made the deepest cuts to veterans, taking away benefits, and taking away benefits that took more than 15 years to restore. Many of the veterans, including those that fought in the Italian campaign, never lived long enough to get it back. I say to the member, you are sitting with those people in the House today that did that. I know you are not in the House, but don't say you are appalled by something that's proposed that's a real benefit. Maybe it's not enough, but you know, I'm appalled by the way you speak because it was your government that hurt veterans the most in the history of this country.
Now I would like to ask a question. Thank you to the witnesses for coming here to this committee. Thank you for your service, and for your work for veterans and for the country. I have one question. I understand from your remarks that what is proposed is a step in the right direction. It's not enough. What would you advise us as members of Parliament? Should we pass the legislation? Of course, this is a step. It's an incremental change, but would you advise us to vote for it and pass it as quickly as possible so the veterans can receive what is proposed and then look for improvements, or would you ask us to scrap it? This is for both of you.
President, Aboriginal Veterans Autochtones
You know what? We can sit here and come to Ottawa every month and continue sitting as a committee, getting feedback and talking about, in this case, this particular bill. I listened to the Legion's presentation yesterday. It is a step in the right direction. We can't afford not to let it pass, but we have to be able to, as a living document...it has to be manipulated in the right direction. When I hear this lady speak here, and I think of the people I met this past summer at the 100th anniversary of the Princess Patricia's and see the suffering of PTSD victims, then this voice has to be heard. You guys and gals, and everybody in the House, have to sit down and stop pointing the fingers across the table and playing the blame game, because you're talking about people who have sacrificed too much and gotten very little back.
Now, that's my voice. Thank you.
National President and Chief Executive Officer, CAV, National Alliance, Canadian Aboriginal Veterans and Serving Members Association
As I mentioned in the presentation, this is the covenant we're making for our service in Canada. It's a covenant between the people, the government, and those that will volunteer. The documents and the legislation have to reflect that care. They did this in 1942 with all the measures they took for returning veterans. This is a new era. The 2006 new Veterans Charter entered a new era. It had many flaws. We're still working on the flaws. We believe this legislation should go forward. We've made a few changes here. We've asked the committee to support the small number of word changes, even that one where it says you develop a disease. When you google disease, you get 4,000 things, but they don't include PTSD; they don't include psychological disorders. That's why we've asked to have reference to physiological disease and psychological disease.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Royal Galipeau
Thank you very much, Mr. Blackwolf.
Ms. Moore, it's your turn.
NDP
Christine Moore NDP Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
My questions are for Ms. Migneault. I'd just like to know her take on my logic.
In a case like your husband's, which I've seen before, it's clear to me that anyone who comes to your home to replace you has to be a qualified professional; that person has to know how to deal with individuals living with problems like your husband's.
In terms of building trust, it seems obvious to me that the person should meet with you, both you and your husband, repeatedly, several times a week. It would start gradually, with 15-minute increments, increasing to 20 minutes, 30 minutes and so forth. It would take many hours of working together before you would be able to leave the house for a few hours, or perhaps even an entire day, to visit family.
When you divide $7,238 by the hourly wage of a private nurse, it doesn't take long before you run out of hours. Do you think that's a problem and that it can't be adapted in some situations?
I did a quick calculation, and if you need someone 24 hours a day, the amount is equivalent to 6 days of private nursing care a year.
As an Individual
I'm not sure whether every spouse in the country in my situation would agree, but this is my personal opinion.
You talked about the hourly wage of a nurse. Am I a nurse? Am I to become a support worker? I would have to be trained. You can give me money but without training... Money doesn't buy happiness. Yes, I need financial compensation. If I was making $90,000 before, does that mean that the government should pay me $90,000? I don't think so.
If we had a reasonable amount, that would be a great start. Right now, we have nothing. In fact, I would even say we have less than nothing. Sometimes, we have to leave or we get left behind; it happens a lot. Often, once veterans get their pensions and their money, the wounds don't seem as bad. Many decide to move on; they buy a motorcycle and just take off.
We have no security, we need a decent starting point. It's a matter of dignity. Dignity is what I am fighting for.
NDP
Christine Moore NDP Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
Mr. Thibeau, I'd like to know what veterans' accommodations are like. How do they manage to find housing?
NDP
President, Aboriginal Veterans Autochtones
I did attend a meeting that the Legion had on homelessness. The only thing I can say is there are groups out there on the issue of homelessness. I am not on...I don't deal specifically with homeless veterans unless they are brought somewhere into our organization, unless I hear about it.
Conservative
Ted Opitz Conservative Etobicoke Centre, ON
Thank you all for being here.
Ms. Migneault, I have no words except God bless. I can feel it.
I don't have a lot of time. I'd like to give Mr. Thibeau, Mr. Blackwolf, and Mr. Burke an opportunity, but I'd like to give you a minute of the four minutes to add anything you'd like to add right now.
As an Individual
The only thing I'd like to say is please, listen to us and include us. I feel if we had been consulted before this measure was announced, we would have been able to explain to you the limitations and the challenges that we are living with, and therefore, maybe it would have been presented and developed differently.
Conservative
Ted Opitz Conservative Etobicoke Centre, ON
Mr. Thibeau, thank you very much for your presentation as well. I thought it was quite good. Is there anything further you would like to contribute?
I read some areas, too, where at some point you all talked about reservists and their contributions as well. Perhaps you'd like to touch on that.
President, Aboriginal Veterans Autochtones
I did read the piece on what they're doing for the reserves, and again, I think it's a good process and a good step forward.
Over 38 years I've dealt with a lot of reservists, whether they were in the reserve unit or attached to a regular force unit, so I know their capabilities and some of the things they've gone through.
The hard and fast thing, when I listen to Jenny talking here, is I also think back to the returning reservists who leave their friends and comrades they've been overseas with and who have absolutely nothing to go to. There were a lot of problems with that. Hopefully, that is one of the points being looked at.
But I agree 100% with Jenny. The people who are most affected by PTSD are not just the veterans themselves but those people who are destined now to look after them, and they have to be included.
Conservative
Ted Opitz Conservative Etobicoke Centre, ON
As a former CO, I know there is a challenge with the reservists when they return, because they're not in garrison. It's hard to muck along to them all the time.
Mr. Blackwolf or Mr. Burke, please, because I think I have a minute left.
