Thank you for being here, Minister.
In a report—I have a copy of it here and I'd be glad to share it with you—in The Globe and Mail published last week on Tuesday, March 13, two issues were brought forward.
The one I want to refer to was brought forward by Mr. Forbes, the head of the veterans associations in Canada. The article states:
According to Mr. Forbes, the new pensions for life will pay a maximum of $3,650 a month to the most severely disabled vets, while the Pension Act pays as much as $7,444 a month to qualified disabled vets who retired before 2006.
Mr. O'Regan has said there is little disparity between the two programs, but Mr. Forbes says the numbers prove that the minister is misinformed.
The commitment to restore the pensions for life has been the subject of veterans' expectations for the past three years, Mr. Forbes said.
But the pensions announced by the Liberal government 'didn't come close to closing the gap,' he said. 'We take the view that the commitment has basically been unfulfilled.”
What is your reaction to Mr. Forbes' comments?