Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, I'm familiar with the My VAC Account. Most of the veterans whom I work with find it extremely cumbersome to log in through the partner program. It can become frustrating for me at times. Emails are typically replied to within 72 hours. I could get a call back, if I'm lucky,

Veterans Affairs committee  No, I have a cellphone.

Veterans Affairs committee  I have access to one.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes.

Veterans Affairs committee  Very little to none. My home unit is in Manitoba. I live in B.C. The association is set up, and it's an officers' association. There isn't an NCOs' or a senior NCOs' association, so that's lacking on the military side.

Veterans Affairs committee  I've applied three times to access that fund. All three times, I was denied because I was homeless and didn't fit the criteria. The fund itself isn't enough. Where I live, the cost of living is so high that you may as well give me five bucks, because that fund doesn't cover the e

Veterans Affairs committee  Where I live, to meet my immediate needs to keep me from being homeless, it would cost upwards of $7,500 for first and last month's rent and to be able to meet basic needs. Cockrell House and houses similar to Cockrell House—there's a house, a couple of places here—are for hard-

Veterans Affairs committee  Every day I wake up and go into my community, and I'm challenged by local business owners and government officials because I don't have the B.C. government service and guide dog ID card. We can't, as I said before, get any traction in B.C. or assistance from MLAs, or anybody who

Veterans Affairs committee  When we put a phone call in to our case manager, the call centre is in Prince Edward Island. It's on Atlantic time. So if I call at 12:05 Pacific time, it's closed. I can leave a message, and that's it. I can't call my case manager directly. They don't provide us a direct number

Veterans Affairs committee  My autistic son is nine and my other son is six.

Veterans Affairs committee  The only other service that was reaching out to my children was the director of the Ministry of Children and Family Development for an apprehension order because of our living arrangement. That's the only outside agency that has stepped in, and it wasn't pleasant.

Veterans Affairs committee  I was eligible for a lump sum pension. Some of that was invested into my kids' well-being. A large portion of it was taken by my now ex-wife, because the strain for support was so great that we're no longer together.

Veterans Affairs committee  It was February 16, 2016.

Veterans Affairs committee  Once we receive 20 years of service, we get a fairly substantial jump in our pension. Because I didn't receive that extra six months and didn't meet that threshold, I'm not eligible to meet that pension bracket.

Veterans Affairs committee  My pension right now is about $14,400 a month. Now that there's the clawback for the top-up on my pension, it's more like $9,800.