Mr. Speaker, it is interesting that all day I have been listening to rhetoric from members opposite, and I was not going to stand up to comment because I thought that many people from our side of the House said very relevant things, but I could not hold myself back. I have to ask the member a question.
My father was in the Black Watch. He was a decorated World War II veteran. There is something that has not been mentioned here, and that is growing up in a family where one's dad spends most of his time in Deer Lodge, which is the veterans' hospital in Manitoba. It has not been mentioned how hard it is make a living growing up on a farm with one's dad away all the time.
As a former MLA in Manitoba and as a current MP in Manitoba, I am now dealing with veterans. As we know, there are few who are alive now, but I am dealing with veterans who are talking to me about the fact that they cannot get the proper false teeth, hearing aids or medical attention from this government.
With all due respect, I think it is a sad day in the House of Commons when I have to come here as a member of Parliament and the first thing I hear is about the death of a military person.
I tried today to stay out of things because I have to watch myself. It hits me very emotionally because of what I have seen first-hand as a child growing up and now as an MP, because, with all due respect, the military is neglected. One thing the member said really hit me. I could not hold myself back. The member said it and members opposite have talked all day about how well the military is being “taken care of”, and I heard tonight that everyone is being compensated.
With all due respect, I would like the member to explain to me how, in this day and age, right now, coming up to Remembrance Day, the veterans are being compensated in such a grand way. I want to be able to take that message back very specifically now to the veterans who do not have housing, who do not have their false teeth replaced when they need to, who do not have the hearing aids when they need them, who are sick--