Rachel Blaney

[Business of Supply, February 15th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I certainly have to say that the veterans in my riding are not feeling very thankful. Too many of them are coming to the doors of my office right now to talk about the deep sense of betrayal, and one sense of betrayal is about the promise of pensions.

What I heard in the member's speech was that veterans are very happy because pensions have been reinstated. Does she not understand that the reinstatement of these pensions has been at such a dramatically reduced rate that we are now seeing seniors coming in devastated because they are getting less money than they used to get and their families are not being included?

One veteran in my riding whose name is Max is going to be homeless at the end of the month because his family cannot deal with the realities of his post-traumatic stress. He will not have a home where his two boys can visit him. He is not happy. He is devastated. I really hope that the government and the member will support this motion and ask the Prime Minister to apologize for this very broken promise.

[Business of Supply, February 15th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the passion of the member, and many veterans across Canada are asking the same question. When will we see action, when will we be part of that solution? I hope it is very soon, and I will continue to fight for that.

[Business of Supply, February 15th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, I am going to say their names again, Max, William, and Don.

Whenever a decision is made, we have to remember these are the people that put their lives on the line every single day, that made a sacred oath to Canada that they would stand up, and do whatever they were asked to do. That is not coming back to them.

Yesterday, there was a CBC article stating that there had been 14 different studies over the last few years and over 190 recommendations. We have studied this to death. We need to see action now. Our veterans deserve nothing less.

[Business of Supply, February 15th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, that was what veterans believed to be the promise. This pension that is now the reality is significantly less. It does not include the family, it does not look at the realities that so many of our veterans face.

Again, it goes back to that sacred oath. When we ask people to experience the things they experience, to put their life on the line, whether domestically or internationally, when we ask our military people to do that, when they come home, they need to believe we are going to be there for them, and that this country is going to honour that sacred promise.

The government has not fulfilled that promise. That does not mean it has not done some things right, it just means it has not fulfilled the promise it made.

[Business of Supply, February 15th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Courtenay—Alberni, our spokesperson on Veterans Affairs, for his passion and dedication to this issue. As we share a region, we know what veterans are experiencing in our area, and across Canada.

A great honour for me, in my role as member of parliament for North Island—Powell River, is the fact that I represent 19 Wing Comox. I have spent many times on the base, looking, learning, and listening to military members there. They do so much to protect people across our region, our country, and the world. Right now many people are overseas doing the important work the government has asked them to do. Their families are waiting for them to come home. Every day, they pray and hope they will come home safe and well, which is not always the case.

Another wonderful experience for me is in my role in the NATO parliamentary assembly. We travel to different countries and meet with other NATO countries. We talk about what is happening in the world. What I hear again and again is the deep respect that so many countries have for our men and women in uniform, and the work they do. It is quite amazing to travel and meet people who talk about how our military members are so brave. They say that they stand by them and fight every day for peace. They are so appreciative for what they have brought to their countries and how they have worked with their countries to support peace across the world.

When I think about what we are debating today, I am devastated that we are having this conversation.

The motion reads:

That the House call on the Prime Minister to apologize to veterans for his insensitive comments at a recent town hall in Edmonton and show veterans the respect that they deserve by fulfilling his campaign promise to them, when he said on August 24, 2015, that 'If I earn the right to serve this country as your Prime Minister, no veteran will be forced to fight their own government for the support and compensation they have earned'.

In the last election, veterans across my riding clearly told me that they were devastated by the realities they faced. They felt immensely betrayed by the former government and what had happened in their relationship to veterans.

One of the most powerful moments for me during the election was coming across some signs in one of my communities. Veterans had built them and put them in front of the Conservative candidate signs. It outlined, in detail, the betrayal they had experienced. That is so important. When we were all out campaigning, we heard again and again from veterans who felt profoundly betrayed. They had faithfully gone and done exactly what our country had asked them to do. They came home and were treated terribly.

In the last few months, we have also seen something tragic in our riding office, with veterans coming through our doors, veterans who had a lot of hope. They had been waiting patiently to give the government a little time to set things up. They were facing some distance challenges being part of a rural riding, not having quite the level of services they needed to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder and other health concerns. They were going to give the government some time, but expected to see some fundamental changes. They wanted that sense of value, having served the country. However, over the last several months, more and more veterans have come into the our offices. It is really sad for me, and for the people who work for me, to see how devastated a lot of those veterans are. They have waited, they have been patient, but they nothing has changed for them.

It is important remember that during the last election, the Prime Minister said, “We will also make new and significant investments to meet the sacred obligation that we have to our veterans.” That was part of the Liberal messaging.

Many veterans felt hopeful for that, and now my office hears regularly from veterans that they thought this was a sacred obligation, and things were going to change. They had hope, and now they are having to face reality. We have now heard that veterans will have to wait until April 2019 to choose between the existing lump sum and a new lifelong pension that, when all is said and done, will pay less than half of the pre-2006 pension. This is a very deep betrayal.

Three veterans came to me when they heard about this motion, and said they wanted me to share their stories. I am going to do that, because that is part of my obligation to my constituents. William Webb is one of those veterans in my riding, who served for 20 years before being medically released in 2016.

One challenge for him is that there are few supports for veterans released medically. There is another challenge that is important, and I hope the government hears this, case managers for veterans are always changing because they are on stress leave, and nobody is able to help the veterans navigate the very limited supports available. This is important.

We need to understand that services are falling apart because the people delivering those services leave because of their own stress. In February, his pension was cut significantly due to the pension transition funding. Mr. Webb has been fighting Veterans Affairs for two years, with a 10% success rate. He has PTSD, he tried to qualify for the disability tax credit, and he keeps getting rejected.

The other reality, which I have heard not only from Mr. Webb but other veterans as well, is that they have service dogs that support them with their post-traumatic stress disorder, and Veterans Affairs does not see service dogs as beneficial to veterans, so there is no financial support. It is important for the House to recognize that service dogs are extremely expensive. Getting service dogs is a great expense to veterans. One of the biggest challenges for William is that he cannot find housing. Now that he has a service dog, trying to find housing is increasingly hard. When is the government going to make sure that veterans receive the housing they need?

Then there is Don Choiniere. Don served the military for a fairly short period, but when he enlisted, he had no health issues. During his service, he came into contact with asbestos, and now has significant health issues because of it. He has been fighting Veterans Affairs since the 1980s with regard to the chemicals with which he came into contact. He wants some compensation for this, because the medical outcome, and what he endured for this country, has had a huge impact on him, and always will. Again, he is facing the challenges of so many veterans, whom have very limited supports, because they were medically released from duty.

Finally, there is Max Gaboriault. Max and I have had numerous conversations, and I have a deep respect for how strongly he is fighting for his rights every day. He was in the military, and went to Afghanistan. During his time in Afghanistan, a lot of people around him were lost, and it was really painful for him.

We have to recognize that when this country asks people to do this, we are asking them to risk their own lives, and watch others pass away in tragic circumstances. When he came home, his family and friends noticed a difference, but he felt sort of peaceful, because daily life was so much easier than what he experienced.

However, that peace turned into violence and aggression, and he still struggles with that. Today, he has PTSD, and has been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder. Max continues to struggle. He wants his pension reinstated. He is at risk of being homeless by the end of this month, so when and how will his little boys visit him?

These are the realities. The Prime Minister needs to stand up and apologize, because what is happening across this country is not right, and I ask the Prime Minister to do the right thing.

[Petitions, February 15th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition I wish to table today is from many people in my riding who support Bill C-262, which happily has passed the House. It is important to the people in my riding that the bill be fully implemented.

[Petitions, February 15th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to table two petitions.

The first is e-petition e-1269, which has over 1,000 signatures.

I would like to acknowledge Laurie Gourlay, the originator of this petition, who sadly passed away last fall.

This petition acknowledges the Salish Sea as an ecologically, economically, and culturally rich area which provides critical marine habitat biodiversity and essential ecosystems that have as much importance to nature as the peoples, regions, and nations which reside along this unique ocean environment.

Canada has promised to meet its international commitment to honour the United Nations sustainable development goals by protecting 10% of our coastline by 2020 and there is growing momentum.

[Indigenous Peoples and Canada's Justice System, February 14th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, this is really a question of justice. As a mother of indigenous sons, and as a grandmother of three indigenous grandchildren, Kwastanaya or Naya, Shoshonie, and Little Dude, we have to look at the reality of this case and the beautiful soul that is no longer with us, Colten Boushie. We have to look at our justice system and see what the value of an indigenous life is. That is something that all of us in the House are questioning. All parents of indigenous children across this country are very concerned. We need to know that when our children leave our house their lives are valuable.

I am wondering if the member could talk about how we look at a justice system and how we remind all Canadians that every life, especially those that we have not valued, are valuable.

[Fisheries Act, February 13th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the member has raised a really important question.

I have the honour of representing over 20 indigenous communities in my riding. They range across a broad area. The issues that they face are very diverse and very similar. One of the challenges that a lot of the communities have talked to me about is being able to work and harvest our marine life for traditional purposes, but also as a way of having their own economy, and how many things have changed, and how that has had a huge impact on their ability to have good jobs in their small and sometimes very remote communities.

This discussion of nation to nation, of really looking at working together and governing together is so important. There is so much knowledge. When I sit down with the leadership, with the elders, I hear that knowledge. I really hope the minister will step in the direction of understanding that the first peoples have lived here since forever. They know their territory. Their history goes so far back that 150 years does not even touch it. They want to share that. They want to make sure their locations are cared for, and they want to be a part of that process.

We had a terrible diesel spill in one of the parts of my riding not too long ago. The indigenous community was there on the scene. They said to me afterwards, “We just want to be part of the process so that when this happens, we can activate things, do something, but we were sitting there waiting, being told we couldn't be part of the solution. When are we going to be part of the solution?”

That discussion is really the next step. I look forward to seeing that happen. I know the nations in my riding are watching for that.

[Fisheries Act, February 13th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the reality is, as I work and live in the riding I serve of North Island—Powell River, I hear from so many different communities. Many of the sport fishery folks talk to me about how well they work in that environment. They are watching to see what is happening, because they want to preserve and conserve that region. They want to make sure we have healthy habitat for fish, and a strong fishery into the future.

We hear from those sectors and the indigenous communities that there is so much we could be doing. They say, “We need to protect and maintain, because this is our food. This is the wealth of our communities.” It is a wonderful thing to see that come together.

It is important though to state that the minister still holds a lot of power and we need to make sure that decisions are not based on a minister's opinion but that they are based on science and the information that is given to us. Many people rely on that resource. We must respect it.