Mr. Speaker, to put it frankly and as politely as I can in parliamentary language, I believe it was not the minister's finest day.
Having said that, I did speak to a 29-year-old Afghanistan veteran and a 92-year-old World War II veteran, from different ends of the spectrum. The 92-year-old said that when veterans call the DVA they need to bring their lunch because it will be take that long before they get through to it. The 29-year-old said he is very Internet savvy and is finding it difficult to access services and forms through that system called My VAC Account.
What they both said, along with the others, is that they knew in their hearts that they might not be able to get the decision reversed, but they wanted the chance to meet with the minister face to face to say that they are very upset, that they do not like what the government is doing, and that they want to be heard.
Only the minister can explain why he was not at that meeting at 5:00. Only the minister can explain his actions in that regard.