Kent Hehr

[Veterans Affairs, September 19th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2) I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to the PACP report Chapter 3, Mental Health Services for Veterans of the fall 2014 report of the Auditor General of Canada.

[Veterans, June 16th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, we understand on this side of the House that we do have a sacred obligation to our veterans, and we are doing that daily.

We are fulfilling our mandate commitments. We are fulfilling our obligations to increase financial security for our veterans and for those who are most severely disabled. We did that in budget 2016, and we are going to continue to work on our mandate items, including an option for a lifetime pension.

I would ask the member to understand that what he did was merely kick this problem down the road, and we are actually dealing with it at this time.

[Veterans, June 16th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, as the member knows full well, the lawsuit started under the previous administration. The Conservatives merely kicked the can down the road for our government to deal with, and that is exactly what we are doing.

We are delivering on our commitments to veterans. We are going to fulfill our mandate letter, and we are going to return an option for veterans on a lifelong pension.

I will remind the member that, in budget 2016, we expanded the community impairment access. We expanded opportunities for the earnings loss benefit.

We are delivering on behalf of veterans and we will continue to do so.

[Veterans, June 16th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, in the election, we made strong commitments to veterans to heal the relationship that was sadly broken under the previous Conservative government over the last 10 years. We made great steps in budget 2016, delivering $5.6 billion in financial security to veterans and their families.

We will continue to work on our mandate letter, restoring options for a lifelong pension, and building up opportunities for them in education and retraining to see them fit their new normal and get to civilian life in a dignified, refined fashion.

We will deliver on what we said we would do in the election.

[Veterans, June 16th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to our sacred obligation to Canada's veterans, and this is outlined in the strong mandate given to me by the Prime Minister to repair the relationship with those men and women who have served this great nation.

We made a commitment in our platform to restore the option for a lifelong pension for veterans, and that is what we will do. Budget 2016 took historic steps getting financial security to veterans and their families by investing $5.6 billion.

I committed to work with all veterans and stakeholders to make this happen. We will fulfill our mandate commitments to our veterans.

[Veterans, June 16th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, Veterans Affairs supports allied veterans, including those from Norway, nationwide. We pay for their long-term care in 1,500 community facilities. We can also help them remain in their homes by providing a comprehensive home care service that includes personal health care, housekeeping, as well as yard work.

[Veterans, June 16th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, our government supports veterans in more than 1,500 long-term care facilities across this nation. We support veterans at whatever care level they need, and we pay for that care, and of course, we work with our provincial government partners to ensure they have access to these long-term care facilities. We are committed to veterans and the long-term care that they need and that they get.

[Veterans Affairs, June 10th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, it is often difficult to hear about veterans who believe they are not getting the services they need.

What we have done is that when a veteran believes his claim has been incorrectly assessed, we have set up an independent review process, the Veterans Review and Appeal Board. This has two levels of appeal and we provide the member with a lawyer to properly go through that.

[Veterans Affairs, June 9th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I could not agree more with the member that we have to honour the men and women who have served our country bravely and honourably in our Afghan mission. We will do that in my work with Canadian heritage and, in fact, with the members who served on that mission.

I will remind that party that it announced the project twice and did not get it built under its watch. We will do this and continue to honour those men and women who have served our great nation boldly and bravely.

[Veterans Affairs, June 9th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, that is absolutely not true. The Conservatives had a piecemeal approach, where they had to go back from time to time, year after year, to reinstate it, and, in fact, it had run its course.

This government is so committed to honouring the men and women who have served our great nation that we have committed to this in our full budget cycles, so we can honour and respect those in a regular ongoing fashion. That is what this government will continue to do.