Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to be able to stand today to lend my voice to those of my colleagues, I hope all of us in this House, for Motion No. 422, as put forward by my Liberal colleague from Random—Burin—St. George's.
I should also congratulate the member for Random—Burin—St. George's. Since her election in 2008, she has been a tireless and constant advocate for veterans and their families. Motion No. 422, of course, is no exception. It would simply continue going in the direction that I know very much she cares about and is very committed to. She is very aware of the challengers that are facing so many of these families.
For too long, this matter has been relegated to the back burner; that is, until my colleague stepped up and put Motion No. 422 right on the table where it clearly belongs. Motion No. 422 is designed to support the Last Post Fund in ways that would ensure that it is properly funded and adequately positioned to help the families of veterans who have given us all so much.
Any effective National Defence strategy must include appropriate supports for soldiers after they return from combat. I am sad to say that this is an area that the government has clearly failed in. We continually hear, on a week-to-week basis, about the number of our soldiers and their families who are struggling with PTSD and other pressures as a result of going abroad and serving for all of us.
Unfortunately, the Last Post Fund is woefully underfunded and the result is poverty, stress and worry for the spouses and the families of our fallen veterans. This is clearly not acceptable in a country as rich as Canada. We can, and must, ensure that each and every veteran has a proper and fitting burial while also ensuring that the burial would not financially break their spouses and their families. Canada has a responsibility to veterans that cannot end with the battle. Properly funding the Last Post Fund is part of that responsibility.
Before I continue, I need to underscore that this is not just my belief. Successive veterans ombudsmen have called upon the government to revamp this program for years. Similarly, the Department of Veterans Affairs has even acknowledged the need for many of these changes.
The Royal Canadian Legion formalized its call for change in 2008, 2010 and again in 2012, yet the government has remained idle, ignoring the need for changes to the Last Post Fund, other than the right words and the right spin. However, the action always counts when we know it is in the budget. That is when we know that someone is really listening.
Most important, veterans and their families have told us for years that the change is needed. The government has been able to ignore this for years but, today, as a result of the work of my Liberal colleague, the member for Random—Burin—St. George's, these calls are finally being heard in this House. I ask all of the members in the House to please listen to the calls for putting some proper funding in the Last Post Fund and act accordingly.
Private members' bills are supposed to be something that we can all act freely upon in the House and vote as we wish. I would hope that all members in the House would support Motion No. 422. Let us stand together to recognize the needs of many of the families of our lost soldiers.
So often the solutions we search for are complex. However, this one, Motion No. 422, is simple. It is comprehensive in its approach. It accepts the recommendations of numerous veterans ombudsmen and expands funding for the Last Post Fund. It similarly accepts the calls made by the Royal Canadian Legion in 2008, 2010 and 2012 and by the Department of Veterans Affairs. It reviews the provisions of the program to ensure uniformity and it proposes to review the means testing provisions of the plan.
According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Last Post Fund is an important program, with a goal to ensure that no eligible veteran is denied a dignified funeral and burial, as well as a military gravestone, due to insufficient funds at time of death. Unfortunately, the Last Post Fund is far from ensuring that all veterans in need receive a dignified funeral and burial because the program is forced to apply outdated eligibility criteria. Motion No. 422 calls upon the government to take the steps necessary to ensure that no veteran, including those who have served post-Korean War, is denied a proper funeral and burial.
The government had a chance to put this in budget 2013, but missed its opportunity to bring equality and fairness to all veterans. Motion No. 422 means that it is not too late to do the right thing. Motion No. 422 has been endorsed by the Royal Canadian Legion. Together all of us in the House on a non-partisan issue can support Motion No. 422 and see that it goes forward to rectify some of the faults of the past.
Doing the right thing by our veterans is not a partisan issue. Some have argued that it is a matter of duty of all of us as Canadians and as parliamentarians. There is no clearer message that we can send to our veterans than to stand behind our them, many of whom spent their military careers standing up for us. On the other hand, there is no clearer message to veterans that we do not support them than by voting no on this important support measure.
The Last Post Fund is a non-profit organization that administers the funeral and burial program on behalf of Veterans Affairs Canada. The primary objective of the Last Post Fund is to ensure that no veteran is denied a dignified funeral and burial due to lack of sufficient funds. This has been its mission for more than a century, but time has taken a toll on what it can do. Supporting Motion No. 422 would ensure that the Last Post Fund has the tools and the resources it needs to show Canadian veterans that their sacrifices will never be forgotten.
I call on all members of the House, when Motion No. 422 comes up for a vote, to do the right thing. We cannot ask people to go abroad, ask their families to be supportive, then lose those members and have them returned without even the right to a decent funeral and proper burial. Therefore, I ask that my colleagues in the House support Motion No. 422 and recognize the great work that my colleague from Random—Burin—St. George's has done in bringing forward this very important issue.