moved:
That, in the opinion of the House, the men and women who bravely serve Canada in the armed forces should be able to count on the government for support in their time of need, and that the government should demonstrate this support by (a) immediately addressing the mental health crisis facing Canadian soldiers and veterans by hiring appropriate mental health professionals; (b) reversing its decision to close veterans' offices; and (c) prioritizing and concluding the over 50 outstanding boards of inquiry on military suicides so that grieving families may have answers and closure.
Mr. Speaker, I have the tremendous honour and great pleasure of rising in the House to move an important motion that will allow us to address some serious issues that many veterans across Canada will face as a result of the closure of Veterans Affairs offices. I am also honoured to be sharing my time with the hon. member for Sackville—Eastern Shore. In fact, I would like commend him for all of the hard work he does on the issues facing our veterans. He has been doing this work passionately for many years now, and I must commend him for it.
Getting back to the motion, tomorrow will be the last day of operation for several Veterans Affairs Canada offices. The affected offices are located in Corner Brook, Newfoundland; Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island; Thunder Bay and Windsor, Ontario; Brandon, Manitoba; Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; and Kelowna, British Columbia. These seven offices will close tomorrow—in addition to the Prince George office, which has already closed—if the government does not reverse its decision.
These looming closures, which are happening because the Conservatives do not comprehend the importance of the services offered by the Veterans Affairs Canada offices, will affect nearly 20,000 veterans. They will no longer have access to in-person services with a case manager who is familiar with the services offered by Service Canada and who can help them take advantage of the services they are entitled to. For example, they can have their compensation claims filled out. These services are important to veterans, yet they are having to deal with a government that does not understand that at all. The government does not respect them. Closing these offices will force veterans to travel more than 100 kilometres to meet with a case manager. That means five or six hours of driving in many cases.
For these veterans, having access to in-person services is crucial because they do not necessarily know about all the compensation options and services they are entitled to. Government propaganda is seeking to appease the veterans because they are truly frustrated. They are being told that Service Canada will open 662 offices and will offer them services, but that is not the case. In fact, these offices will only give them access to a computer—when the vast majority of them already have one at home—and a telephone number to call for information.
Contrary to what the government is saying, Service Canada will not offer any services to veterans. That will be tragic for the some 18,000 veterans affected by the closure of these offices. It needs to be said.
This motion is designed to tell the government that our veterans and soldiers have many issues and have lost faith in their government. This week, a group of veterans was welcomed—that word is a bit strong considering they were snubbed—by the Minister of Veterans Affairs. He offered to meet with them but then did not even have the decency to show up. He arrived very late and lashed out at a veteran who did not agree with him about the importance of Veterans Affairs Canada offices. The minister's attitude towards those veterans is indicative of the government's insensitivity towards them.
The hon. member for Sackville—Eastern Shore has received thousands of emails from veterans and soldiers who are fed up with the way the government is treating them. I am sure he can elaborate on that.
There is no question people are angry about the way the government is treating veterans. We ask soldiers to fight for their country, and now they have to fight their own government to access the services and compensation they are entitled to.
Over the past few years, soldiers and veterans have launched several class action suits. There will be more in the future because the government is ignoring their needs.
Closing these offices is a big deal. There will no longer be access to case managers who understand the inner workings of Veterans Affairs Canada. The department is complicated and extremely hard to understand online. The government is telling veterans that they will no longer have access to a person who can tell them what they are entitled to and help them fill out the forms required to obtain those services. That access is being taken away, and they feel discouraged. Many of them will not get what they are entitled to. The whole thing is absolutely scandalous. The way this government is treating our veterans, the country's heroes, is completely unacceptable.
As I said, the attitude exhibited by the Minister of Veterans Affairs this week is yet another example of how the government is abandoning our veterans. It is eliminating many services.
I will have more to say about the psychological services provided to veterans and the shortcomings in that area.
The government is making cuts to services that our soldiers and veterans are entitled to. I pointed the finger at the Minister of Veterans Affairs, but ultimately, I think the Prime Minister's Office and the Treasury Board are the ones responsible. All they have been saying over the past few years is “cut, cut, cut”. They are like headless chickens, or maybe heartless ones, heartless when it comes to veterans. That is how the government treats our veterans. The government is taking away services and compensation they are entitled to. They are being forced to go to court to get what they have a right to. That is absolutely scandalous, and veterans no longer trust the government or the Minister of Veterans Affairs.
The government is closing points of service. Veterans need to meet their case managers face to face for guidance, help and psychological support. Quite often veterans are injured and have a hard time getting the services they are entitled to. During a face-to-face meeting, the case manager might help the veteran fill out forms. This is extremely important. Nearly 20,000 veterans are being denied that service.
Not only does government propaganda suggest that the government is providing 500 points of service, but the Conservatives are saying that they have invested an additional $5 billion since coming to power. That is not true. It is more like $3.5 billion, or thereabouts, that was paid in benefits. Most of that money was additional benefits paid out to the very large number of soldiers returning from Afghanistan. It also includes the roughly $800 million settlement paid out in the class action suit filed by Mr. Manuge on behalf of veterans, a suit that the government lost. Not a lot of extra services are being provided.
Over the past few years, the Canadian Forces ombudsman has repeatedly pointed to the lack of mental health personnel to treat our soldiers and veterans. In 2003, the government announced that roughly 400 people would be assigned to that. For a few years now, we have been short at least 60 people to provide our veterans with mental health care. We have seen the crisis this has caused in the past few months. Our soldiers need psychological support, and this government is simply not doing enough.
Since my time is running out, let me offer some help to my colleagues affected by the closure. I encourage them to support this important motion and to tell the autocrats at the Prime Minister's Office and the Treasury Board that they are on the wrong track when it comes to our veterans. They are heading in the wrong direction.
I invite the members affected by these closures to tell the government that it is on the wrong track and ask it to reverse its decision. This is important for the thousands of veterans across the country.
