House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2021, with 51% of the vote.
Veterans Affairs June 19th, 2023
Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for her help with veterans, but I can tell her we will not cut vital services to veterans or slash funding to Veterans Affairs like the previous Conservative government did.
The rehab contract will provide over 14,000 veterans access to nearly 12,000 professionals in 800 locations right across the country. As Minister of Veterans Affairs, it is my responsibility to provide for veterans where they need it and when they it, and we will continue to do that.
Veterans June 16th, 2023
Madam Speaker, we have reduced the gap in the wait between francophone and anglophone veterans by 80%. Now, the average French-language application takes about 2.4 weeks longer than an English application, compared with a 15-week gap in 2021.
I agree with my hon. colleague that it is longer than it should be. We are working to make sure that these applications are processed as quickly as every other application. I appreciate my hon. colleague's input and help at the committee to make sure that all veterans receive what they should in an appropriate manner.
Veterans June 16th, 2023
Madam Speaker, our government has invested nearly half a million dollars to allow us to hire hundreds of new staff and speed up the process to ensure that veterans receive what they deserve more quickly.
As of last week, the backlog is currently under 6,000, and we have seen a significant decrease of over 70%. However, there is still more work to do, and we will continue to do it.
Veterans Affairs June 1st, 2023
Mr. Speaker, last week, I was at the Old Brewery Mission in Montreal to announce over $6 million in funding for 21 organizations. Right across the country, they are doing vitally important work to support our veterans and their families. These projects will help veterans in a wide variety of ways, including by addressing homelessness, retraining, employment and mental health and by supporting under-represented veterans.
We will continue to work hard to ensure Canada's veterans have the care and support they need and deserve.
Veterans Affairs May 15th, 2023
Mr. Speaker, our priority is to make sure our veterans have the support they need, and we are committed to a gender-based analysis in designing our policy. We take this very seriously, and that is why we created the Office of Women and LGBTQ2 Veterans. That is also why we hosted the first-ever Women Veterans Forum in 2019 and continue it on an annual basis. We will continue to make sure women veterans are treated properly.
Passports May 12th, 2023
Mr. Speaker, it is this Prime Minister who decided we would reverse the track that the previous government was on in slashing veterans funds, closing veterans offices right across the country and slashing funds to commemorative programs in Europe. We have and this government has put $2 billion extra per year in the pockets of veterans. We have to make sure that we treat veterans properly because that is why we are able to say what we like in this House. We have supported and will continue to support veterans.
Passports May 12th, 2023
Mr. Speaker, it is important that we understand the history and what took place when my hon. colleague's party was in power. In fact, it slashed 1,000 employees from Veterans Affairs. It slashed funding to Veterans Affairs. It slashed funding to commemorative programs. It slashed 17% from the commemorative program, which includes Vimy Ridge. I was at Vimy Ridge a few weeks ago and I announced $12 million to make sure that the commemorative program continues as it should. We have respected and always will respect veterans and make sure we attend to our veterans as properly as we possibly can.
Veterans Affairs May 12th, 2023
Mr. Speaker, it is so important that we pay respect to our veterans. We have, and we always will. What we have to do is pay respect to our veterans and make sure we support our veterans. I can assure the member, on both issues, that this is what the government is doing and will continue to do.
Veterans Affairs April 20th, 2023
Mr. Speaker, I have met with the union leadership and I have met union people. I have met with Veterans Affairs employees. We have increased our funding to Veterans Affairs by over $11 billion. My mandate and this government's mandate is to make sure we take care of our veterans. We have taken care of and we will continue to take care of our veterans.
Questions on the Order Paper April 17th, 2023
Mr. Speaker, to be fully transparent and to ensure that Veterans Affairs Canada has exercised its legislative requirements properly, the following initiatives have been implemented.
During the week of March 27, 2023, Veterans Affairs Canada sent a letter to current or former Royal Canadian Mounted Police, RCMP, members who have had their disability pension offset due to having received a payment under the court-ordered Merlo Davidson class action settlement agreement, to invite them to provide further information about the settlement compensation. In addition to sending the letter, a Veterans Affairs Canada representative has been, or will be, in contact with these individuals to provide support and answer questions. Those veterans affected will also have the option of contacting the Office of the Veterans Ombud on the matter.
Veterans Affairs Canada will update information on its external website to clearly articulate how offsets to disability benefits are implemented. Veterans Affairs Canada implements offsets in accordance with its legislation and the legal requirements of court-ordered settlement agreements.
With regard to part (a), Veterans Affairs Canada conducted a manual review of its files to identify individuals who had reported to Veterans Affairs Canada that they had received compensation under the court-ordered Merlo Davidson settlement agreement. Fewer than 10 files were identified. For those that have been processed, Veterans Affairs Canada is deducting amounts from the monthly pension due to the compensation received, in accordance with the court-ordered Merlo Davidson settlement agreement and Veterans Affairs Canada’s legislative obligations.
With regard to part (b), when Veterans Affairs Canada completes a decision, an official notification is sent to the applicant explaining the decision and the impact relating to their file. The current or former RCMP members associated with the files where Veterans Affairs Canada has offset amounts from their monthly pension have received a letter explaining the decision.
With regard to part (c), disability pensions are reduced by court settlement compensation on a case-by-case basis. Each claimant receives a different level of compensation as set out in the court-ordered settlement agreement. Veterans Affairs Canada cannot comment on individual files due to privacy.
With regard to parts (d), (e) and (f), as of February 14, 2023, Veterans Affairs Canada has not been made aware of any appeals associated with the files where offsets were made. The Veterans Review and Appeal Board is unable to provide this information as the cases in their file system are not differentiated by reason of appeal.