Mr. Chair, I know there are a lot of people across this country who will be showing an interest in the events of Saturday, November 6, and I am hoping that the minister will make a statement similar to that of the Minister of National Defence with respect to his employees who raised the concern that they have been told not to attend this demonstration and show their concerns that may be raised. I hope he can provide the kind of assurance that the Minister of National Defence did to military personnel in suggesting that it was perfectly all right for them to exercise their freedom by attending this demonstration. I would like the minister to do that same thing.
The minister also, earlier tonight, talked about the distinction between traditional veterans and current veterans. We have DVA pavilions, for example, one in St. John's, Newfoundland that was part of the old General Hospital. It is only available to Korean or World War II veterans. We have peacekeeping veterans, some of whom are in need of the kind of care that is provided by these DVA pavilions, but it is not available to them.
We talk about the dwindling number of veterans going to Ste. Anne's Hospital. If the veterans were entitled to get the services that are provided, the access to these hospitals and to these DVA pavilions, then they would be used and veterans would not have to go elsewhere or do without the kind of service they actually need.
My colleague from Sackville—Eastern Shore mentioned some individual cases. We had a serious one in St. John's, Newfoundland this summer where a person with Alzheimer's ended up in a facility that was inadequate for the kind of expectations that his family had for a veteran who served his country.