Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Barrie—Innisfil for his speech and for acknowledging the family of Master Corporal Alfred Barr. I think our whole country shares the sadness and sends condolences to Master Corporal Barr's family.
I have a family member who just retired after 12 years of serving the Royal Canadian Air Force, Captain Mark Biernacki. He was previously a member of the 5th (British Columbia) Field Artillery Regiment. He made Vancouver Islanders and certainly my family very proud, as we are of all members of the Canadian Armed Forces. They face incredible danger, and the sacrifice they make is second to none in our country.
The mental and social change that occurs when a member of the Canadian Armed Forces leaves cannot be qualified. Easy access to veteran services is critical in helping with this transition.
Could the member talk about how we can better support our veterans when they are leaving the military? We know that the past government closed some seven veterans offices. There was concern that veterans could not get easy access. Could the member talk about supporting the reopening of all of those offices and how we can better support those veterans?