Mr. Speaker, we just finished celebrating the 50th anniversary of the end of the second world war and people around the world thanked our vets for the freedom we all enjoy today.
The Ridgewood veterans wing in Saint John is operated under the jurisdiction of the McKenna government and receives a grant from Veterans Affairs to operate. The McKenna government has decided to introduce rethermalized food for the vets. The meals are prepared in Toronto. Even the toast, bacon and eggs are shipped down frozen to Saint John and reheated.
This process has been tried in other local hospitals in Saint John and has had terrible reviews from the patients, the doctors and other staff.
The Legion is outraged that these veterans will be used as guinea pigs. Veterans Affairs has prided itself in the past on the humanitarian treatment of veterans.
The present on-site food preparation is very good. For the sake of our veterans' health, dignity and quality of life, I ask the Secretary of State for Veterans Affairs to stop these unnecessary changes.