Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the House for allowing me to discuss motions from the last group: the six motions moved by my colleague from Châteauguay. These motions are aimed at preventing the government from slashing veterans' grants and allowances programs.
Need I remind the federal government that veterans are under its responsibility? Yet, I think that the government is abandoning some of its obligations and commitments toward them, despite some historical and solemn promises.
Support to poor people, widows and senior citizens is already being cut. The government knows very well that these cuts merely
shift these needs for assistance to other public services, both federal and provincial. The only real savings that can result from this operation will be in the envelope for Veterans Affairs Canada.
As usual, the government will have succeeded in passing the bill on to other federal departments or to the provinces. We agree with the hon. member for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce who had also moved amendments in this regard.
His amendments are totally in line with the Bloc Quebecois's efforts to oppose this government's proposed attack against veterans. We are therefore calling for the deletion of certain clauses affecting veterans, including clause 42, which amends the Children of Deceased Veterans Education Assistance Act.
This amendment starts the gradual elimination of the benefits allowing the children of deceased veterans to pursue their studies. There are not thousands of them. This does not affect 6 million Canadians. Only 85 orphans currently receive these benefits. With one or two exceptions, they are the children of deceased members of the military who had the courage to participate in Canadian peacekeeping missions.
The government is quick to act in this matter but very slow to do anything about family trusts and big business, for example. The government will now take away from these people, whose fathers died while serving their country, what may be their only chance to get an education.
Under Bill C-76, those students who were receiving these benefits on budget day will continue to receive them, but the department will no longer take applications although some students might be eligible. In 1993-94, this program cost only $315,000. So this is the finance minister's great initiative. Not only does he attack the most vulnerable, but he now goes after the children of those who lost their lives while serving their country. What for? To save a drop in this ocean of expenditures. What is $315,000 in a budget of an amount you know as well as I do.
Clauses 68 to 72 inclusively amend the War Veterans Allowance Act to discontinue the payment of allowances to veterans who served with the resistance. These provisions also provide for the phasing out of allowances awarded to allied veterans who immigrated to Canada after their service and resided in Canada for a period of at least ten years before applying for government assistance. This is another stupid initiative that will save very little money, while making life impossible for them when applying for allowances or even welfare.
Clauses 68 and 71 also repeal provisions so that allied veterans who immigrate to Canada after their service will no longer be eligible for these allowances. This amounts to a pure and simple cut. Under clause 69, allowances will no longer be paid to at least 3,000 veterans. At the same time, this clause will have the effect of taking allowances away from another 1,000 resistance veterans whose old age security and CPP benefits place just above the normal threshold for certain health benefits, just at the limit.
This will affect some 4,000 individuals, two thirds of whom live in Quebec. Today, they are told as offhandedly as can be to go and stand in line for other social programs from now on. The message is that they are no longer recognized by Veterans Affairs Canada and that barely making it back was not good enough.
The government is showing them that it has no respect for the sacrifice they made. Sure, you may argue that, since the Minister of Finance is not a veteran, he cannot really understand what goes on or what these people are going through. However, if he spent some time in a theatre of operations, as a participant and not merely a spectator, he might review his bill immediately upon his return here.
This federal abdication of responsibilities toward our veterans is yet another example of the arrogance displayed by this government. It also shows why we have to get out of that system. The government cannot keep to its word; it goes all out against the poor, while looking after the interests of its friends. It will never manage to eliminate its huge deficit with such a policy. Of the more than 4,000 people affected by these measures, I ask the two thirds who live in Quebec to think about this when the time comes to choose between the status quo, represented by a centralist and controlling federalism, and the sovereignty of a normal country, for a normal people, which will recognize their rights.