House debate  Mr. Speaker, I believe perhaps the parliamentary secretary has misunderstood my question. My question was whether she intends to vote on Thursday at committee to kill the public hearings on the budget cuts at Veterans Affairs. I understand her position. I understand the party line that veterans' benefits are not being cut.

House debate  Mr. Speaker, that was an excellent speech outlining the programs that the government has set out but there is still no answer to my question. It is a fairly simple question. Will the government equalize the amount that is afforded for funerals of veterans with Canadian Forces members?

House debate  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs for being here this evening for what will no doubt be a completely non-partisan and transparent response to my question. The issue brought to the House this evening for debate relates to the glaring disparity in support for our veterans when it comes to their funeral costs.

Veterans  Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are shortchanging our brave veterans by cutting more than $200 million from their budget. Today at committee the Liberals fought back and won a small victory for the vets. Our motion to study these massive cuts passed because Conservative members did not show up to the veterans affairs committee on time today to defeat it.

Justice  Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government's crime bill adds longer sentences for drug offences, increases mandatory minimums and cuts conditional sentences.

Justice  Mr. Speaker, however, even the toughest anti-crime advocates in America say that this strategy is just plain wrong. Even the staunchest Conservative Republicans in Texas are repealing mandatory minimums and increasing drug treatment programs because they slash crimes at a tenth of the cost.

Veterans Affairs  Mr. Speaker, the minister is about to defend the gutting of $200 million from Veterans Affairs. I can see that he has his PMO script all ready to go. Why did Veterans Affairs spend $3 million on backdrops--

Veterans Affairs  Why did Veterans Affairs spend almost $3 million on photo ops while gutting the department by $200 million? Why are there millions for PR stunts but nothing but cutbacks for the people who really matter, our veterans?

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, my question for the hon. member relates to the effectiveness of the programs in place. I appreciate his listing the services that are available, but in an environment where there have been 696 suicides by members of the armed forces who have served between 1972 and 2007, clearly there is a problem.

Veterans Affairs  Mr. Speaker, there is a great need to enhance suicide prevention programs in Canada. With respect to our veterans, the data is alarming. The suicide rate in the armed services is nearly three times that of the general population. According to a departmental study of all males who enrolled in the regular forces after 1972 and were released before 2007, a total of 2,620 died and almost 700 of them were suicides.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I am entirely in agreement with the hon. member. In fact, that is precisely what the motion calls for: We need to have a suicide prevention strategy. I take it from the question that she is also in support and I would urge her and members of her party to vote in favour of the motion.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, it is absolutely true that there is a crisis within our veterans community with respect to mental health issues. Of all of the veterans who are receiving benefits under the new veterans charter, 60% of them report at least one mental health condition. That is an alarming statistic.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, a couple of weeks ago, I spent a full hour with a couple of veterans, one of whom was a medical doctor who outlined for me in some detail the difficulty in getting support for mental health issues when one is not discharged as a result of medical reasons. It seems as though, if a person is given a medical discharge, it is much easier to access the support mechanisms.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, it is an honour for me to participate in this debate on the motion proposed by our leader, the hon. member for Toronto Centre. I would like to read the motion again: That the House agree that suicide is more than a personal tragedy, but is also a serious public health issue and public policy priority; and, further, that the House urge the government to work cooperatively with the provinces, territories, representative organizations from First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people, and other stakeholders to establish and fund a National Suicide Prevention Strategy, which among other measures would promote a comprehensive and evidence-driven approach to deal with this terrible loss of life.

Veterans Affairs  Mr. Speaker, a Canadian Forces member receives $13,000 for funeral costs. A veteran receives $3,600. Nineteen months ago we raised this issue. The answer we received was that it was under review. Last year we asked the minister again to fix this problem. Even though his own officials raised it with him, he told a Senate hearing that it was not the time to talk about the matter.