Mr. Speaker, there are important needs for the veterans community and their families, and we are always striving to improve our program. That is exactly what we would do in this budget.
I can assure the member that we will not do like the Liberals did, which was to cut those programs, to cut the funeral and burial program. This is the last thing Canadians would expect us to do. Therefore no, we are not doing that. We are not cutting this program.
Instead of speaking of large numbers, let us see what the impact would be for a deceased veteran who had a service-related injury. We are proposing to raise the maximum funeral services rate from $3,600 to $7,376 on top of continuing to provide for the full cost of burial. This means that if a Canadian who has a service-related injury is dying and is in need, this government will cover funeral and all burial costs. This is in the budget. This is why I invite my colleague to support the legislation.
I would like to comment further on the performance and the recognition of the veterans community for the harmonization of our program, but I will share the time with some colleagues.