Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the veterans transition action plan that I mentioned in question period and that I announced this morning here in Ottawa.
House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2019, with 50% of the vote.
Points of Order October 30th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the veterans transition action plan that I mentioned in question period and that I announced this morning here in Ottawa.
Veterans Affairs October 30th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, it is obvious that our government condemns the comment by the former senior Liberal cabinet minister in the strongest terms possible. This is totally unacceptable. Hiding behind our courageous veterans to avoid one's own potential legal problems is reprehensible. It does not have a place in our country.
I hope that all members of the House, including the members opposite, will join us in condemning these inappropriate comments, which should not be connected to our great veterans who gave their lives for our country.
Veterans Affairs October 30th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to sit next to the hon. member for Edmonton Centre given his unwavering support for our veterans.
Today, I announced a comprehensive veterans transition action plan, including cutting red tape, improving service delivery for veterans and creating new career opportunities. As well, our government is providing funding to support the groundbreaking veterans transition program that was developed by the University of British Columbia. This is a group-based, peer support, soldier-to-soldier approach that provides valuable assistance to transitioning veterans, and we are pleased to designate this program as an official provider from Veterans Affairs Canada and the government.
Veterans October 25th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, the real question is when will the NDP and the member stand up in the House for our veterans?
We have been standing up for veterans, and the one thing I can assure the member we will not do is cut the funeral and burial program, as the Liberals did. We will stand by our veterans.
Veterans October 25th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, the best thing anyone can do here as members of this House to help veterans would be to stand up and support the concrete measures the Conservative government is bringing forward to help our veterans.
Unfortunately, we regularly see the NDP refuse to support our veterans, when it comes to programs aimed at improving their quality of life as well as programs we are putting in place to provide them with services.
We will continue to defend our veterans and work with associations.
Veterans Affairs October 24th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, I hope the member has clearly read the Auditor General's report because what he said in his report is that he acknowledges that we have taken the right steps to cut red tape. That is what he said. He said, “Are you agreeing to cut red tape and cut lengthy processes?”
That is what we are doing. That is why we brought forward the plain language initiative, to communicate clearly with our veterans. It is also why we brought forward the veterans benefit browser that is on the web. A member can go there.
I ask the member to please go to the website and read the report.
Veterans Affairs October 23rd, 2012
Mr. Speaker, I met with the Auditor General about chapter 4 of the report, which pertains to the transition of military personnel to civilian life.
I took the time to thank him for his report because he provided valuable recommendations to ensure that our veterans are able to smoothly transition to civilian life. That being said, I also informed him that we are going to launch an action plan for the transition of our veterans to civilian life.
We will continue to work closely with the Department of National Defence in order to ensure that our veterans are well taken care of.
Veterans Affairs October 22nd, 2012
Mr. Speaker, I can assure the member that over the course of the summer indeed some tribunal members' mandates came to an end, and I thank them. Indeed, appointments are not for life, and our government will work continually to appoint new qualified candidates to this important board.
As of yesterday, our government has moved to appoint four new highly qualified candidates who all hold military or medical experience. These appointments announced yesterday make the number of board members with medical and police backgrounds the highest in the history of the tribunal.
That is what veterans and veterans' organizations have asked us for and that is what we are delivering.
Veterans Affairs October 22nd, 2012
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Prince Albert for his outstanding work with respect to our veterans as we are entering Veterans' Week soon.
Today, I formally asked the Public Service Commission to explore options to give our medically released Canadian Forces members hiring priority in the public service, to assist their transition into civilian life.
I also asked it to take the necessary measures to increase the number of Canadian Forces veterans within Veterans Affairs Canada.
These initiatives will help our men and women in uniform to transition into civilian life. This is still the beginning. There is still more to come for our vets.
Veterans Affairs October 15th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, we launched the Benefits Browser for veterans. I encourage opposition members to visit the website to see that our veterans now have access to an online site to learn about the programs and services they are entitled to.
I encourage Canada's veterans to check out the veterans benefit browser which is a product that we worked on with the ombudsman and—