Bob Wood

[Veterans Affairs, March 10th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, estimates are estimates. I can tell the hon. member there have been no reductions or cuts under the veterans independence program. Any change that may occur will be as a result of a reduction in the client base.

[War Veterans Allowance Act, February 12th, 1999]

Madam Speaker, I am delighted to be here today to speak to the improvements to veterans' legislation which are contained in Bill C-61.

Because we will be debating the specifics in committee in the days to come, today I would like to focus my comments on the general reasoning behind the bill and, in so doing, show that these amendments are in keeping with our longstanding tradition of providing the best service possible to Canada's veterans.

A bit of background is in order. To understand the history of our country we need only to know the sacrifices of those who served in peacetime and in war throughout this country.

From the very early days of our nationhood, Canadians served their country with distinction, often in places far from home, and veterans' benefits were few and far between. The first world war changed all that. We lost 66,000 of our young, which was catastrophic for a nation of just eight million. The utter devastation on the lives of those who survived that terrible carnage demanded action on the home front. Military hospitals, vocational training, re-establishment and job placement were the orders of the day.

Another 45,000 Canadians were lost in the second world war and, with the anticipated return of one million service men and women, the government at the time recognized that a single department devoted exclusively to veterans was needed.

In 1944 the Department of Veterans Affairs was born. In the early years it was the repairing of broken bodies and shattered spirits that took precedence, putting interrupted lives back on track and bringing them back to the country where these heroic men and women longed to be. For all those suffering permanent injury, disability pensions were guaranteed.

Further, for the first time these pensions were given to members of the women's auxiliary forces, the merchant seamen, commercial fishermen, Canadian overseas firefighters and other civilian groups which contributed to winning the war.

When body and soul were patched up as well as possible, it then became a matter of making sure these valued citizens got a chance to live the Canadian dream. For some it was assisting in the buying of a small piece of property and for others it was education and training.

We have come a long way since the veterans' charter that codified these programs for veterans, from rehabilitation to re-establishment, from land settlement to home construction, from pensions to allowances and beyond. Canada provided then and provides now a package of benefits that rivals any in the world.

The Department of Veterans Affairs remains committed to providing the very best care and comfort to veterans whose average age is now moving from the old to the very old. The mandate continues to be quite simple: to take care of those who took care of us; to take care of those who answered this country's call in a time of desperate need. Although our commitment to veterans has never wavered, the ways in which we meet that commitment as we approach the millennium have changed.

In all that we do we try to look at our programs from a veteran's perspective and ask the question: What do they want and need at this stage of their lives? We have talked to veterans and veterans organizations and they have responded.

They want to see a continuation of current programs, those with which they have become familiar and often which they have come to count on. So we continue to provide war service allowances to those whose life circumstances have left them at the lower end of the income scale as they live out their senior years.

We continue to provide an innovative veterans' independence program which allows veterans to remain in their homes as long as possible. VIP provides a cross-section of services to ease some of the heavier burdens associated with living and taking care of a home. With Meals on Wheels, housekeeping, grounds maintenance, transportation and personal care, our at-home vets are able to enjoy the comfort and dignity of independent living.

We continue to provide disability pensions and as a result of new technology and internal improvements, and a lot of hard work by a team of very dedicated staff, we have reduced the processing time for pension applications by more than 50%.

By the way, applications for disability pensions are not limited to wartime veterans. Regular force members are also eligible and their numbers are up, which is not surprising given Canada's significant contribution to keeping peace around the world.

Disability pensions for the forces now make up almost 50% of new applications in some of our district offices. Of course we continue to provide for eligible veterans a broad spectrum of other services, including comprehensive health care, targeting the needs that the frailties of old age bring to us all. These include the provision of prescription drugs, dental care and access to long term care community beds.

Veterans want to be treated with kindness, dignity and respect, as we all do. To this end, we work very hard to be sure that we become their path of least resistance, not only when it comes to getting information about our programs but, if need be, about other government programs as well.

Our front line staff make sure that from the minute veterans walk in the door, whatever the problem or question may be, from veterans' benefits to income tax forms, from CPP to old age security problems, we steer them in the right direction from the start, and that is exactly how it should be.

With the millennium the average age of our remaining war service clients will approach the 80 year mark. Their medical needs are changing. Frankly, this is unchartered territory. We are entering an era of health care never before known to governments, taking on the needs of a substantial and very elderly population. It is in this context of change that we are constantly examining our legislation to make sure it keeps up with the times and continues to be fair, timely and responsive, all of which brings me to the bill before us today.

Its measures are consistent with our past practices and look to the future needs of our treasured veterans and their dependants. This is an omnibus bill, covering a cross-section of current legislation.

Let me turn first to the prisoner of war recommendations. As hon. members know, many of our veterans receive disability pensions arising from an illness or injury they incurred as a result of their service in peacetime or wartime, and if their disability is sufficiently serious or disabling they may be eligible for special benefits such as an attendance allowance that assists those veterans in need of day to day personal care.

Similarly, exceptional incapacity allowances are awarded to pensioners who are extremely incapacitated by their disabilities. The dollar amount is based on the extent of the helplessness, pain and loss of enjoyment of life and the shortened life expectancy.

At the present time veterans who receive prisoner of war compensation are not entitled to receive these special allowances unless they are also in receipt of a disability pension. The amendments to this bill will remove this bar. Former prisoners of war will now be allowed to receive the special allowances if they meet the eligibility criteria. These provisions recognize the very particular needs of POWs, all of whom suffered greatly by their incarceration, some for periods lasting throughout the war years. In passing these changes the House will respond positively to a key priority of the National Council of Veterans Associations.

Another major provision of this legislation will result in more Canadian survivors, more often than not widows of veterans, becoming eligible for increases in their pension payments. This change will potentially affect over 35,000 survivors where the disabilities had been assessed at less than 48%. The Pension Act will be amended to permit an application for increased pensions for these survivors if they believe that their spouse's disability should have been assessed at a higher level at the time of their passing. In passing these changes the House will respond positively to the number one veteran's priority of the Royal Canadian Legion.

Bill C-61 also brings merchant navy veterans under the very same legislation that applies to armed forces veterans, namely the Pension Act and the War Veterans Allowance Act. This is by its nature largely a symbolic change. I say this because merchant navy veterans have been receiving identical benefits to their armed forces counterparts since 1992. Symbols are important and this change of status is one that this group of veterans has been requesting for quite some time.

By using the same acts to respond to the needs of both merchant navy and armed forces veterans we send a powerful signal that we value the service and sacrifice performed by the merchant navy during the wars. There are other actions which have been taken in recent years to underscore the value placed on the contributions made by merchant navy veterans.

In 1993 merchant navy veterans joined armed forces veterans in a pilgrimage to Liverpool to commemorate the battle of the Atlantic. They also accompanied the delegation that went to the pilgrimage last year to commemorate the battle and have participated in pilgrimages marking the 50th and 55th anniversaries of the second world war.

Merchant mariners are also recognized in other veterans affairs commemorative initiatives, including a teacher's kit, a CD-ROM on the second world war and a recently released publication entitled “Valour at Sea”.

Perhaps among the most significant symbolic gesture was the instalment in 1994 of the merchant navy book of remembrance in the memorial chamber. It lists the names of Canadian merchant mariners who gave their lives during the first and second world wars.

I want to assure members that merchant navy veterans are veterans in every sense of the word and this bill underscores that fact. There are other provisions in Bill C-61 dealing with allied veterans residing outside Canada, changes to the administration of the funeral and burial program, continuing assistance to certain survivors of the Halifax explosion of 1917, and amendments to the Veterans Review and Appeal Board Act. Although important in the scheme of things, they are perhaps better left to committee debate.

Canadians have always felt that of all our citizens who made sacrifices for their country, it was those who defended our freedom in war we should honour above all others. Of those veterans who returned from the two world wars and Korea, over 400,000 are still with us today. A good number of them receive benefits in one form or another from veterans affairs. Over the years we have been called upon to implement a substantial body of legislation designed to meet their changing needs. One of our strengths has been our ability to anticipate challenges and as a result our programs in Canada have been ahead of the times.

So today we are called on once again to make changes to meet these challenges. It is to the credit of successive governments and parliaments that whatever their political make-up they have continued in the tradition of providing Canadian veterans with benefits that remain second to none. Let us continue in that tradition by giving this legislation speedy consideration and passage.

[Veterans Affairs, October 9th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I cannot express how pleased I am that these men will be home with their families for Thanksgiving.

I would also like to thank members on both sides of this House, especially the Minister of Veterans Affairs and the hon. member for St. John.

I would also like to report that beginning next week a consultation process will begin with various veterans organizations, including the merchant navy which will expedite the tabling of an omnibus bill.

[Veterans Affairs, October 9th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Leeds—Grenville for the question.

I am extremely happy to report to the House that as of this morning, the four merchant navy veterans have agreed to end their hunger strike.

[Merchant Marine Veterans, October 2nd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the hon. member that the 1992 legislation was introduced by the previous government and supported by members on all sides of the House, including myself. The legislation was introduced by the former Conservative government and it did not provide retroactive benefits to merchant navy veterans.

I for one accept that the legislation introduced by that government was not retroactive.

[Veterans Affairs, October 1st, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the minister is a distinguished military person and he does care and the member knows it.

She is quite right. The Minister of Veterans Affairs is taking a delegation of Canadian veterans of the Korean war back to their former battle sites to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the ceasefire in Korea. Let me tell the member that this delegation is made up of representatives of every—

[Veterans Affairs, October 1st, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, hunger strikes are regrettable. We are talking about the health and welfare of several Canadian veterans. I would strongly caution the hon. member not to inflame the situation with unnecessary rhetoric.

I have spoken to the merchant navy vets, as has the minister, and we have assured them that with the 1992 legislation merchant mariners are veterans in every sense of the word, that they are entitled to all benefits currently available to veterans of the armed forces, and that the 1992—

[Monitor Jet Trainer Aircraft, September 24th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to invite all members of Parliament to join me this evening at the National Aviation Museum for the unveiling of the Monitor jet trainer aircraft. This state of the art jet will be manufactured in North Bay, Ontario, in my riding of Nipissing, by the Canadian Aerospace Group in partnership with Sikorsky Aircraft, creating 140 jobs.

I am very proud of this success story which will see a surplus defence department hangar utilized to build the first Canadian made military jet in over two decades. The hard work of the Air Base Property Corporation using Industry Canada and National Defence adjustment funds has paid off. Their partnership with Canadian Aerospace and Sikorsky will develop a new aerospace industry in North Bay.

I ask all members of the House to join me this evening at the Rockcliffe airport from 6 to 8 to view the future of military aviation manufacturing in Canada. Experts from the Canadian Aerospace Group and Sikorsky will be on hand to explain this unique project. I look forward to seeing all members there this evening.

[Petitions, April 17th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36 I have the pleasure to present a petition.

Members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada in my riding of Nipissing humbly pray and ask the government to guarantee that Treasury Board representing the employer negotiates in good faith, including open and honest bargaining practices; to guarantee that it does not abuse its power by legislating any part of the collective agreement negotiated and signed by both Treasury Board representing the employer and the Public Service Alliance of Canada representing the employees; to guarantee that the pay equity issue be resolved before the next election; and to guarantee that this settlement will not result in further job cuts.

The petitioners request that the petition be read and supported by a democratically elected member of Parliament in the House of Commons prior to the next federal election.

[Petitions, April 17th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I have a couple of petitions I would like to present this morning. One is signed by thousands of residents of my hometown of North Bay, Ontario.

The people of North Bay humbly pray and call on Parliament that there be no further downsizing after 242 jobs are lost over the next 18 months at 22 Wing. Also, the petitioners request that 22 Wing and Squadrons 21 and 51 stay in North Bay, that the government announces the retention of the air base before the next election, that the prototype computer system for air surveillance comes to North Bay in 1998, that the permanent Canadian location site for the new surveillance system remains in North Bay, and there be greater community consultation before any further assets or jobs are terminated, including the underground site.