Veterans Affairs  Mr. Speaker, we acknowledge the significant contributions veterans and Canadian Armed Forces members have made and continue to make in protecting peace and security for all Canadians. I was given a mandate to re-establish lifelong pensions as an option for veterans and remain com

Veterans Affairs  Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has been on me since day one about opening these offices, so I am glad to report that budget 2016 is a great one for veterans. Not only will we be reopening the nine offices closed by the previous government, including in Sydney, Victoria, but we wil

Sports  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Scarborough—Rouge Park for his question, and the care and compassion he shows to veterans each and every day. The Invictus Games are a great opportunity for our injured soldiers to take part in competition, as well as to rebuild

Veterans  Mr. Speaker, I can assure the member that commemoration is important to this government. We will continue to honour those who have served from Vimy Ridge to Juno Beach, through peacekeeping efforts in the seventies, eighties, and nineties, from the Gulf War to the Afghan theatre,

Veterans  Mr. Speaker, we have set up six advisory groups to advise us on policy, ranging from financial security to service delivery to commemoration and the like. We have consulted widely with our partners in the various groups, from the Legion through other members abroad. We will be go

Veterans  Mr. Speaker, budget 2016 was a historic day for our veterans. We invested in earning loss benefits, the community impact allowance, and allowing for more access and more supports for our veterans by reopening the nine offices that were closed under the previous administration and

Veterans  Mr. Speaker, we accept all the Auditor General's recommendations and are working toward them through the programs that we deliver. My mandate letter says to get working on our suicide prevention, as well as our PTSD and mental health centres. That is exactly what we are going t

Veterans  Mr. Speaker, what I can say is that Veterans Affairs takes all applications to review veterans' issues seriously. There is a process whereby it comes into the department, and then our veterans also have a chance to appeal at the Veterans Review and Appeal Board at two separate le

Veterans  Mr. Speaker, I can tell the member that budget 2016 was a great day for our veterans. We delivered on many different aspects of our mandate items, including increasing the earnings loss benefit, increasing access to the impairment allowance, and increasing the disability award.

Veterans  Mr. Speaker, I can assure my hon. colleague that Veterans Affairs has an excellent process to review veterans' claims. To reiterate, when a veteran has a claim, it goes through to my department. If that claim is rejected, a member can go to the Veterans Review and Appeal Board

Veterans  Mr. Speaker, budget 2016 goes a long way to addressing some of those issues that have been brought up. We are opening up nine new offices. In fact, there will be more outreach in Surrey, B.C., and the north for veterans to have points of contact. We are hiring staff to replace

Canadian Forces Members and Veterans Re-establishment and Compensation Act  moved for leave to introduce Bill C-12, An Act to amend the Canadian Forces Members and Veterans Re-establishment and Compensation Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts. (Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Veterans  Mr. Speaker, I can inform the member that it is Veterans Affairs' bailiwick to respect and honour those men and women who have served in our armed forces and, in particular, those who took part in the Afghan mission. It was very important to this country, their service and their

Veterans  Mr. Speaker, my apologies, but I would like to take this opportunity to talk about what we are doing in the Veterans Affairs Department. We are working very hard to ensure that our veterans are getting the care, compassion, and respect they deserve. We are finding ways to find

Veterans  Mr. Speaker, in the Department of Veterans Affairs, we understand that it is very important for us to commemorate those men and women who have served in our armed forces. We have done that as a country through Vimy Ridge, through World War II, through our Korean peacekeepers, thr