Veterans Affairs committee  Veterans Affairs Canada needs to stay out of the service dog world, period. It's not the job of Veterans Affairs to get involved with the service dog world. It will work itself out, I believe, through this independent process and a national standards process. Accreditation is a w

Veterans Affairs committee  Once a national standard comes out, an accreditation process can begin. I would leave it up to the individuals to do their research and then make an informed decision. There's so much information right now, and so much misinformation on the web right now, that it's impossible to

Veterans Affairs committee  In B.C. anyone can have a service dog, because the B.C. certification is only an obedience test, and a note from your family doctor or nurse practitioner is the only thing that's required. Few people are aware that the psychiatric service dog program was first initiated in the l

Veterans Affairs committee  In closing, I ask that the committee take all of the information from service dog providers with a grain of salt. Do not rely on the infighting within this multi-million-dollar unregulated industry. Yes, veterans get dogs for free, but somebody has to be paid to rear, feed, kenne

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. I apologize to the Bloc member. I'm going to be reading extremely fast, so the translators are probably going to have a hard time keeping up.

Veterans Affairs committee  I'm not a service dog trainer or a board member of a service dog organization, nor am I affiliated with any service dog companies' operations. I am an end-user. Upon my release from the CAF in 2016, I relocated to British Columbia. This is where my difficulties began with other

Veterans Affairs committee  It needs to be targeted toward local living expenses. The cost of living where I live on Vancouver Island is far more expensive than it is in Calgary. I live in very rural Vancouver Island. I can find rental accommodation in Calgary for half the price that I'm paying in the Comox

Veterans Affairs committee  Without active, targeted funding from Veterans Affairs to deal with housing, it's going to get worse. Some people always say to talk to the local Legion. You're well aware that we live in a rural area like yours, Mr. Shipley. I have three Legions in three very small communities.

Veterans Affairs committee  I could have served in a different capacity. Maybe not in my specific trade, but I could have moved over to a combat support role easily.

Veterans Affairs committee  I don't believe I didn't meet the universality of service. Being put in a temporary category and then being moved to a permanent medical category, I had no opportunity or option to get off the permanent category. Once you're placed on a permanent category, it is impossible to ge

Veterans Affairs committee  Permanent category means that you're permanently impaired. To prove that you're not permanently impaired is virtually impossible in the military medical system. I was provided no opportunity to do so, even though I was having treatment regularly and was meeting my obligations th

Veterans Affairs committee  I could still pick up a rifle.

Veterans Affairs committee  Absolutely.

Veterans Affairs committee  Sorry.