Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I want to thank everybody so much for the important testimony given today.
First of all, I want to start with all of the amazing Legion folks. I have 11 Legions in my riding, so it would take a lot of time to mention them all. I have been to them all and have called them during COVID. I just want to say what a pivotal role they play in our communities. As an MP who represents more rural and remote, sometimes the Legions are the very place the community frequently gets together. I appreciate the work you do and of course the Legions I have the joy to represent.
I want to say thank you as well. Your statements really reflect the concerns I have about how the backlog is impacting our veterans, their families and loved ones, and about the terrible impact it's having. I also have worked with a lot of veterans who are in dire straits financially and struggling. Unfortunately, one of the things that concerns me is that the minister keeps referring to the veterans emergency fund. In fact, he said in testimony, “if there's a veteran or anybody at all who hears [that] a veteran [is] in dire need, we have the emergency fund, which...certainly address[es] these issues.”
What I've heard from veterans is that of course this does not address the issue. I'm just wondering if you are encouraging people to access the emergency fund and if that is filling in the gap, as the minister is suggesting, for folks who are waiting for their disability pension.
Thank you.