Mr. Speaker, I am glad and proud to be here tonight, not just on behalf of the constituents of Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound but also on behalf of all veterans across Canada and their families.
I asked a question a while back with respect to the Liberal government's policy. I will read the actual policy that my question was about, which said, “Veterans Affairs Canada is pleased to supply, upon request, two commemorative wreaths to members of Parliament who will be representing the Government of Canada at Remembrance Day ceremonies”.
I am sorry, Mr. Speaker. That was not this year's Liberal government policy; that was the Liberal government policy for October 2017. Therefore, needless to say, I was shocked that, after the Liberals backtracked and did the right thing back in 2017, in 2025, they basically brought back the same policy again. Therefore, I questioned the minister on October 3 and asked why, with many ridings having dozens of cenotaphs, the Liberals are telling Canadians and telling members of Parliament that the government will now pay for only two. The minister responded as such, and I am grateful for the response, to a point. She said:
Proposed changes for the Wreaths for Parliamentarians program were made with the understanding that MPs would work directly with the Royal Canadian Legion, with proceeds supporting their local branches. I am learning that the changes could be significantly disruptive to Remembrance Day.
I have instructed my department to revert to the previous format for this year.
I have been a member of the Royal Canadian Legion since 1993. I have 25 cenotaphs in my riding. I have never had a single Legion member ever approach me asking me to purchase a wreath through the Legion. In fact, Legion members come to me asking to get a wreath from the government in order to recognize the over 100,000 Canadians who have made the supreme sacrifice in service to this nation.
My question on this issue to the Liberal government is pretty straightforward: Does the Liberal government think that having Veterans Affairs Canada provide a wreath at every single cenotaph for the over 100,000 Canadians who have made the supreme sacrifice in service to Canada is too much to ask of the government?
As a follow-up question, considering that the Liberal policy of trying to limit the number of wreaths provided by VAC keeps being brought forward every few years, will the government confirm that it will not try to have this limiting policy ever again?
I am now going to go on to something else. I know the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs is very up to speed on stuff with this year's budget and the impact it would have on Veterans Affairs. Considering that the second-largest cut in this Liberal budget, of $4.4 billion, is to Veterans Affairs Canada and that the government is claiming that spending less on cannabis will somehow result in these savings, but last year only spent $245 million, how is the government going to do that?
People at the Royal Canadian Legion and veterans right across this country are confused. Even today, the Legion spokespeople just put out a press release that they are “hearing concerns and confusion.... Without clear details and simple explanations, many Veterans are in the dark...about what it all means for their benefits”.
Could the parliamentary secretary please clarify the impact this would have on the backlog in disability benefit applications; cannabis access and research; calculation of long-term care costs, which is more about a lawsuit than actually taking care of our veterans; confusion over the index of pension calculations; and any legislative amendments that would have an impact on the RCMP?