Evidence of meeting #89 for Veterans Affairs in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was indigenous.
A recording is available from Parliament.
12:50 p.m.
As an Individual
As far as I know, the mental health services I have are covered by Indian Affairs, so I don't pay for them, but when I first started, I was paying for them.
12:50 p.m.
Liberal
Colin Fraser Liberal West Nova, NS
Okay.
Veterans Affairs Canada, then, is now taking care of those?
12:50 p.m.
Liberal
Colin Fraser Liberal West Nova, NS
Okay. All right.
One thing we know is pretty important in dealing with difficult situations like this is community support, family support, support of peers, or other people who have been through it. That's why it's so important for the work you're doing to support other families and widows who are grieving and going through this incredibly difficult situation.
Can you talk a little bit about the support you have received on Big River First Nation reserve and about whether there is something Veterans Affairs Canada could do in these situations to help the community assist you in making sure your family is taken care of?
12:50 p.m.
As an Individual
They have set aside a day in remembrance of my husband. They have helped by making sure they keep his memory alive and that everybody is proud of who he was, knowing that he came from the same community as our community members—making him almost a symbol of pride because he lived a life that was worth being recognized. Our youth can be proud to say that many of them even knew him and met him. When he would come home on leave, he would go to the schools and talk to the kids and would wear his uniform.
They have also opened up a centre for post-secondary students. It's called the Sgt. Darby Morin Centre of Excellence for Business Development. They have done things like that to keep his memory.
12:50 p.m.
Liberal
12:50 p.m.
Liberal
12:50 p.m.
Conservative
Robert Gordon Kitchen Conservative Souris—Moose Mountain, SK
Thank you again.
I can relate to you about paying your taxes in the U.S. and Canada. My wife nursed in the States because the hospital is right across the line, nine miles away from us. We had to do those things for years while she worked down there, paying U.S..... Then you have to wait. Then you have to submit Canadian taxes, and the tax rates are different. It's a huge change, and do they accept that you paid in the U.S.?
I can relate to what you're talking about.
12:50 p.m.
Conservative
Robert Gordon Kitchen Conservative Souris—Moose Mountain, SK
You mentioned that you have tried to contact Veteran Affairs. Have you been doing that all online?
12:50 p.m.
Conservative
Robert Gordon Kitchen Conservative Souris—Moose Mountain, SK
Saskatoon has a brand new facility. Have you gone there?
12:50 p.m.
As an Individual
No. I just talked to my counsellor last Thursday, and she told me about it. She said maybe I can try it. Because it is an online application, I have yet to find out if I even qualify for their services. She said they are starting this week—today actually, Tuesday.
12:50 p.m.
Conservative
Robert Gordon Kitchen Conservative Souris—Moose Mountain, SK
You talk a little bit about it being impersonal, etc., but when you go to this one in Saskatoon, you go through a door and then sit in a room, and you have to go through walls and talk through walls. It's not personal. Just be prepared for that when you go to see it.
12:50 p.m.
Conservative
Robert Gordon Kitchen Conservative Souris—Moose Mountain, SK
You mentioned your husband. When he came back he talked to the youth and to the schools. Have you done that?
12:50 p.m.
As an Individual
I do take my sons to go speak at the Remembrance Day ceremonies on our reserve. I've always made an effort to go there. It's hard because it's so personal, especially there because that's our community. I've been encouraging my boys to step up and speak because I think the kids really enjoy that.
I've heard from so many other vets who have been invited to come speak at their ceremonies and they said that out of a lot of the schools the kids there have been the most respectful, listening to everybody speaking, especially when they speak about Darby because a lot of them remember him and they still talk about him. His memory is still very much alive there.
12:50 p.m.
Conservative
Robert Gordon Kitchen Conservative Souris—Moose Mountain, SK
I think you have a great story that you should be sharing with your nation and to let them know that story, and your children as well, if they feel comfortable doing it, of course.
12:50 p.m.
Conservative
Robert Gordon Kitchen Conservative Souris—Moose Mountain, SK
You talked a little bit about discrimination. Do you feel there's any discrimination towards you being the widow of a U.S. veteran and being in Canada with Canadian veterans?
