Veterans Affairs committee  I went to work this morning. I rushed home so I could be here—not for you, but for Kevin. This is not easy for him to do, so thankfully, my boss gave me the opportunity to come home. That's half a day for which I won't be paid. It's twofold: Yes, I can go, but I'm not being pai

Veterans Affairs committee  That's correct. I'm literally supporting him through this, as he supports me. I'm trying financially as best I can. I just started this job. It's more that he supported the country and now the government has turned its back. I am here, holding the bag, to hold him up. I am his

Veterans Affairs committee  No.

Veterans Affairs committee  That's correct. There are some months where we're living off my credit card or my line of credit.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, I think we've said it already. It's just that unfortunately in general we're going around in circles about the same thing. We give back money every year—not we as individuals, but the government. Veterans Affairs gives back hundreds of millions of dollars, yet the answer is

Veterans Affairs committee  Are you asking me?

Veterans Affairs committee  It is certainly a bigger issue in the long run. No matter how hard we work, not everything is getting paid, and my credit card is getting bigger, my line of credit is getting bigger and there's no relief. This is much bigger than just this.

Veterans Affairs committee  I was in a relationship for 30 years before Kevin. Kevin and I have been together for four. I've had to go back to work in order to ensure that we have some money, to ensure that I take care of my children and my children have what they need before I look at myself and what we ne

Veterans Affairs committee  Unfortunately, if Kevin were to pass away tomorrow, if we go with what Mr. Gill is even suggesting, I would get next to nothing, because we've been together only a short time. You're, again, punishing us for falling in love after the age of 60. If something, God forbid, were to h

Veterans Affairs committee  Hi there. I'm not in the same boat as Pat and Kelly. I don't have a pension. I was married for 30 years, and for half of that time, before I had my children, I worked. Then I stayed home and raised four children. With the grace of whatever you want to call it, I found Kevin, and

Veterans Affairs committee  I'll jump in. As Mr. Boudreau just said, we are being penalized for falling in love and getting a second chance after the age of 60. There are just no words to explain how gut-wrenching that is for someone who was in one that wasn't the best, and then to find someone who is inc

Veterans Affairs committee  Good afternoon. My name is Tracy Lee Evanshen. I would like to thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today. I had the pleasure of speaking before this committee before and recognize some familiar faces. Hello. To the new faces, it's a pleasure to meet you. Last time,

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you. I just wanted to mention that it's great to have more case managers, but the case managers need to have an understanding of the military and how it works, because they don't. They don't understand the scope. They don't take it seriously, and then our veterans are kick

Veterans Affairs committee  I will give you just a brief synopsis. I'm 50, and I applied to go into the military last year. I went through this big rigmarole. There were letters written all over the place. It's almost the end of March, and I haven't heard from the recruiting office in Kingston in nine weeks

Veterans Affairs committee  From what we've seen at this point, it's not the same over everything. If you talk to the military, it's one answer. If you talk to VAC, it's another answer. There's no consistency. For me, being common law, there is no consistency on my status, if you will. Especially since I me