Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pose a question to the government with regard to the veterans independence program and in particular, about a promise made by the government when it was in opposition to extend the benefits of the veterans independence program to all Canadian veterans, second world war and Korean veterans. The Conservatives said that this would be done upon taking government.
I will refer a number of times to Joyce Carter. Joyce's name is familiar in this chamber. She is a very special Canadian, a lady who is a war bride, the widow of a second world war veteran. She has done an incredible amount of work on this issue. She is from Sampsonville in Richmond County on Cape Breton Island. She has done a tremendous job on this and we hold her in high regard. She is the bearer of several pieces of correspondence from members across over the years and I certainly will refer to them. Sue King is another lady who has done a lot of work in trying to elicit some action from the government. Certainly the member for Kitchener Centre has been a strong advocate of this program as well.
I will go through a brief chronology. The Conservative Party of Canada released a policy document on March 19, 2005, that a Conservative government of Canada would immediately extend VIP benefits to widows and veterans from the second world war and the Korean war. The current Prime Minister, who was then the leader of the official opposition, wrote a letter, bearing his own signature, to Mrs. Joyce Carter, in which he reiterated that promise to immediately extend those benefits upon taking government.