Mr. Chairman, I want to thank my hon. colleague for her presentation. I had the distinct honour of making a presentation to the Romanow commission just a week ago. Something I have noticed, and I have noticed it in the House as well, is when we discuss health care no one brings up the subject of veterans hospitals and the need for that to be addressed like never before.
We have been travelling across the country to look at our veterans hospitals. The Ste. Anne's Hospital in Montreal, which is still under the jurisdiction of the federal government, is in excellent condition. The treatment our veterans receive there is wonderful, and rightfully so. However all our veterans hospitals should be at the same standard. Instead of that, unbeknown I am sure to the majority of members sitting in the House of Commons, many of them have been closed or knocked down.
In my riding, the most beautiful DVA hospital was closed and a tiny hospital was opened to replaced it. Hundreds of veterans were in need of beds and help. The hospital was expanded by 48 beds but every one of those beds were for people with Alzheimer's.
Why does no one address that issue anymore except for us? I raised it before the Romanow commission and I noticed that the chairman started to take a lot of notes, which told me that no one had raised that before with him and his committee. What does my colleague think? Does she honestly feel as strongly as I do that money needs to be put into the health care system for veterans and for all walks of life?