House of Commons Hansard #274 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was agreed.

Topics

March 23rd, 2:45 p.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

Is that agreed?

March 23rd, 2:45 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

March 23rd, 2:45 p.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

(Motion agreed to)

(Motion to concur in the interim estimates for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2019, deemed agreed to on division)

(Bill C-73 deemed introduced and read a first time, read a second time, referred to committee of the whole, considered by committee of the whole, reported to the House without amendment, concurred in at report stage, read a third time and passed on division)

March 23rd, 2:45 p.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

I wish to inform the House that, because it is getting late, the period provided for private members' business is cancelled. The order is therefore deferred to a future sitting.

A motion to adjourn the House under Standing Order 38 deemed to have been moved.

VeteransAdjournment Motion

March 23rd, 2:45 p.m.

NDP

Christine Moore NDP Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House to follow up on the question that I asked about veterans.

VeteransAdjournment Motion

March 23rd, 2:45 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

VeteransAdjournment Motion

March 23rd, 2:45 p.m.

NDP

Christine Moore NDP Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC

Mr. Speaker, could you call for order, please. I cannot even hear myself speak.

VeteransAdjournment Motion

March 23rd, 2:45 p.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

Order, please. I would remind members that a member is speaking.

The hon. member for Abitibi—Témiscamingue may continue.

VeteransAdjournment Motion

March 23rd, 2:45 p.m.

NDP

Christine Moore NDP Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC

Mr. Speaker, I asked a question about veterans because I wanted to find out whether the Prime Minister and the Liberal cabinet intend to keep the election promise they made to restore lifelong pensions. Unfortunately, at the time, all they gave me was another general answer. They said that more details would follow.

They have given us those details, but unfortunately, veterans will have to wait until April 1, 2019, to get what they were promised during the election campaign. That seems like a long time to me. I would like to remind the parliamentary secretary that the election campaign took place in 2015. The Liberals will not fulfill their promise until 2019 and even then there will be a choice to make. The Liberals seem to want to save money at the expense of veterans by failing to implement the promised measure.

I think that the government's attitude toward this situation is totally unacceptable. During their careers, veterans became accustomed to discipline and structure, and when they are faced with such an unbelievable amount of government red tape, they always get discouraged. It saddens me that veterans always have to lug around three or four binders full of information about their case. They always have to fight to have their sacrifices recognized, even though they gave up dozens of years of their lives to serve our country. I will never understand this government's attitude.

It is high time the government kept its promises and perhaps it could do better than waiting until a year from now do to so. It is time to do some housecleaning. We need to stop forcing veterans to fight against their own government and against the country that they served with a pride and willingness rarely seen in other occupations. The government is making them wait and is not addressing the real problem, which is the endless red tape at the Department of Veterans Affairs. These men and women deserve better.

I would therefore like the parliamentary secretary to show that she is prepared to find solutions so that veterans are never again kept waiting and are shown more respect. The government has to stop keeping veterans waiting because many of them are suffering.

VeteransAdjournment Motion

March 23rd, 2:50 p.m.

Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne Québec

Liberal

Sherry Romanado LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her question and for serving our country. I sincerely thank her for all that she did when she was a member of the Canadian Armed Forces.

This government takes our commitment to the members and veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces seriously. We have invested significantly in programs and benefits to support Canadian Armed Forces members and veterans and their families since October 2015.

In December, the Minister of Veterans Affairs and I announced a new package, the pension for life, to compensate Canadian Armed Forces members and veterans for service-related pain and suffering. It replaces the disability award with a monthly benefit, adds a new additional monthly benefit payment for pain and suffering, and consolidates several existing financial benefits into one. This streamlined package will enhance Canadian Armed Forces members' and veterans' well-being and will empower them to better manage their transition to post-military life.

I would like to summarize this new plan for the benefit of the House. First, the pension for life gives back the option of a monthly benefit payable for life in recognition of and in compensation for the pain and suffering associated with a service-related injury or illness. This benefit will replace the disability award and will be called pain and suffering compensation.

Soldiers and veterans will be eligible for a tax-free monthly benefit of up to $1,150, or they can combine those monthly payments into one lump sum. Our soldiers and veterans will be able to choose the option that works best for them and their families.

The additional pain and suffering compensation is a further monthly, tax-free payment for veterans that recognizes the struggles they go through in trying to re-establish themselves in post-military life following service-related severe and permanent impairment.

The income replacement benefit supports veterans who experience barriers to re-establishing themselves after service as a result of a health problem resulting primarily from service. It consolidates six financial benefits into one, providing up to 90% of a veteran's military salary at the time of release.

The pension for life package is an integral part of the veterans' well-being initiatives this government has introduced. They include the caregiver recognition benefit, the veteran emergency fund, the veteran and family well-being fund, removal of the time limits on vocational rehabilitation, the veterans' education and training benefit, and expanded access to military family resource centres across Canada. All of these come into effect in less than two weeks. This government is also investing in a centre of excellence on PTSD and related mental health conditions.

This holistic approach empowers veterans and their families to make the choices that make sense for them, streamlines the delivery of service, helps to enhance veterans' well-being, and helps them transition successfully to life after service.

When it comes to our veterans, we can never be fast enough. We know that this is going to take time. We just spent 22 hours voting in the House on a budget bill. Unfortunately, it will take time to do this right, and therefore, we are looking forward to putting the pension for life in place on April 1, 2019.

VeteransAdjournment Motion

March 23rd, 2:55 p.m.

NDP

Christine Moore NDP Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC

Mr. Speaker, my colleague said in her speech that veterans will have to wait until April 1, 2019. I still do not understand why they have to wait. Why that date? Why will it take a year for the Liberals to keep a promise they made during the election campaign? Why were they not already prepared to do this?

My colleague's speech did not mention any action or measures the Liberals plan to take to address all the red tape veterans have to cut through time and time again. It is a real problem.

For veterans who have a pension for life but cannot access it because they go crazy trying to deal with the department and bureaucrats, that is extremely problematic.

It is important to remember that these men and women are often accustomed to fighting with their hands and the physical skills they have learned. These are men and women of action. They are not specialists in dealing with government red tape—

VeteransAdjournment Motion

March 23rd, 2:55 p.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

The hon. parliamentary secretary.

VeteransAdjournment Motion

March 23rd, 2:55 p.m.

Liberal

Sherry Romanado Liberal Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne, QC

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for her question.

As I just mentioned, the legislative process takes time. For example, we just spent 22 hours dealing with the budget. It takes time to implement legislative measures and to put in place the processes to fulfil our promise of a pension for life.

Regarding the issue of increasing services to veterans, budget 2018 includes $42.8 million to improve services provided by Veterans Affairs Canada.

VeteransAdjournment Motion

March 23rd, 2:55 p.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

The motion that the House do now adjourn is deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly, the House stands adjourned until Monday at 11 a.m. pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 2:57 p.m.)