Mr. Speaker, last week I heard from a Victoria man who serves in our Coast Guard. After long weeks at sea, his backlog of overtime, unpaid because of the government's new Phoenix pay system, had reached $15,000 and prevented him from buying a house.
For him and his shipmates, financial stress worsens the isolation at sea. However, he is far from alone. In fact, some 400 members of our Coast Guard are waiting for thousands of dollars in overtime pay.
Wednesday was payday at the Coast Guard station, and my constituent heard promises that the problems were over. Instead, he was not paid at all.
These workers want to serve Canada but they cannot afford to volunteer. I ask the government to please reach out immediately to Coast Guard workers in B.C. and offer them straight answers about when this burden will finally be lifted from their shoulders.