Mr. Speaker, 58,000 men and women died in the Vietnam War. The memorial in the United States shows all the names of those who died in Vietnam. What it does not say is that 120,000 returning soldiers from Vietnam killed themselves in the intervening 40 years. How many people actually died in Vietnam? It is more than just 58,000.
It is a tragedy when people who serve their country end up taking their own lives for whatever reason.
In talking to many veterans across this country, I found frustration, and I am sure aboriginal communities feel the same way about the bureaucratic delay. I am not blaming anyone for the bureaucratic delays in processing veterans' claims, but veterans I know of committed suicide because they just felt that nobody was listening, that nobody would help them, and they felt they had no other way out.
When we notice someone has a problem, could the hon. member suggest to the government and to all of us how quickly we should be acting in order to assist them and their families?