– Pam MacGinnis, February 3 2014

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We have been told that there are somehow 600 points of contact replacing the Veterans Affairs offices. All of us, as members of Parliament, are hearing from veterans. They want these offices to stay open.

However, we now find that these points of contact, of course, are Service Canada offices, which as members of Parliament, we also know about because we have been hearing from frustrated, angry constituents for months. If they call Service Canada about an overdue EI claim or for information they need on pensions, they wait on hold for over an hour. The Service Canada offices are in no shape to absorb the veterans who will want services.

Can the member comment on what he makes of this claim that there are 600 points of service? Is it not in fact 600 clusters of frustration?

Ryan Cleary: Mr. Speaker, that is a very good question. The member is absolutely right. There are 600 points of contact, but those 600 points of contact are Service Canada offices. Will they be able to help the veterans in their time of need? My answer to that is no. In a lot of cases they will be referred to the Internet, for example, and in too many cases that we have heard about veterans who are seniors of 80 or 90-plus years of age cannot use the Internet or the telephone. Theirs skills are not there on the Internet. Their hearing is not there for the telephone.

The member for Sackville—Eastern Shore mentioned a story in his speech earlier. He spoke about how one veteran recommended that when people call these Service Canada outlets, they actually have a lunch with them, because they are going to be on the telephone that long. Also, veterans who are in immediate need of help are being referred to 911. Therefore, the short answer is no. Those 600 points of contact will not do.

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He actually believes officials are encouraging people to commit suicide. I know it is an appalling thing to say, but this is what a veteran said to me. The department needs to be reviewed from the bottom up and top down, to take care of our veterans. These are the words of a veteran. Members can yell at me from across the aisle if they want. A veteran in my riding told me to try to get this story out.

Joyce Murray: Mr. Speaker, I just want to respond to the member and the leader of the Green Party. I am disturbed to hear her account. I have heard very different accounts. I have heard that the people who serve at Veterans Affairs Canada are caring, capable, and dedicated individuals, and that is the case with the armed forces members themselves.

In Vancouver Quadra we had a veteran who was waiting six months for service and told us personally that the service that is provided and the individuals were caring and dedicated, but the capacity had been so much weakened and cut by the Conservative government that this gentleman in his nineties—who was not able to be mobile without some assistance from Veterans Affairs—was housebound for six months. It is because he simply could not get down the stairs, and the elevator that had already been signed off on was not installed, through lack of funds and lack of capacity in Veterans Affairs Canada.

It is not the individuals. It is the government and the lack of capacity, support, and funding, which it is withholding from Veterans Affairs individuals.

The post Opposition Motion—Canadian Forces appeared first on Elizabeth May.

He actually believes officials are encouraging people to commit suicide. I know it is an appalling thing to say, but this is what a veteran said to me. The department needs to be reviewed from the bottom up and top down, to take care of our veterans. These are the words of a veteran. Members can yell at me from across the aisle if they want. A veteran in my riding told me to try to get this story out.

Joyce Murray: Mr. Speaker, I just want to respond to the member and the leader of the Green Party. I am disturbed to hear her account. I have heard very different accounts. I have heard that the people who serve at Veterans Affairs Canada are caring, capable, and dedicated individuals, and that is the case with the armed forces members themselves.

In Vancouver Quadra we had a veteran who was waiting six months for service and told us personally that the service that is provided and the individuals were caring and dedicated, but the capacity had been so much weakened and cut by the Conservative government that this gentleman in his nineties—who was not able to be mobile without some assistance from Veterans Affairs—was housebound for six months. It is because he simply could not get down the stairs, and the elevator that had already been signed off on was not installed, through lack of funds and lack of capacity in Veterans Affairs Canada.

It is not the individuals. It is the government and the lack of capacity, support, and funding, which it is withholding from Veterans Affairs individuals.

The post Opposition Motion — Canadian Forces appeared first on Elizabeth May.

I want to start by reminding us that when we wear these poppies, we are financially supporting the work of the Royal Canadian Legion. I want to publicly thank the Royal Canadian Legion for the amazing work they are doing.

They are providing much-needed assistance to our veterans in post-traumatic stress disorder assistance, they are providing housing, and they are stretching themselves to meet needs. I am deeply indebted to them for their work. I encourage people to remember to wear the poppy, and when one falls off to be sure to put more money in the box before they pick up their next one.

This is important work they are doing.

The Green Party and I are very aware of the huge sacrifice that soldiers must make to defend our Canadian values.

We have seen many generations go to war. We can think of their sacrifices, and on days like this—indeed, in weeks like this—we pay homage. However, we have, as non-combatants, the very real risk of trespassing the line between remembering and honouring the sacrifice of the fallen and glorifying war. We know that those who have served and those who have been in battle will be the last ones who would ever want us to do that.

One of my closest friends is someone who fought and served in the Second World War. Despite an age difference, I can say that I feel I am one of his contemporaries, although he is 92. Farley Mowat served in the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment, known as the Hasty Ps. In his book And No Birds Sang, he recounts in grim, evocative detail what it was like in the Sicily campaign. He speaks of that period and says:

I came back from the war rejecting my species. I hated what had been done to me and what I had done and what man did to man.

It is in that spirit that we should all recommit ourselves to find the way forward to peace, and in doing so, do it in the name of every son, brother, father, mother, sister, and child who has gone to war without coming back. We do it to say that we are committed to a path to peace, knowing that it is not an easy path and knowing that we do it to honour those who have sacrificed so much so that we have the liberty to try.

Peace remains a realistic dream, but we will have to work hard to achieve it.

Today, with all of us gathered on one of those days when we are truly joined in spirit and in purpose, we say, “Never again. Lest we forget.”

The post Veteran Week appeared first on Elizabeth May.

“Canadians played an enormous role in the D-Day landings, which we should never forget and always be proud of,” said May. “So many gave their lives to fight against Nazi dictatorship and aggression. We owe it to them to protect the values and traditions they fought for, including our democracy, and build a more peaceful world.”

Fourteen thousand young Canadians stormed Juno Beach on D-Day. The battle cost 340 Canadian lives with another 574 wounded. John Keegan, the eminent British historian and author of Six Armies in Normandy, had this to say about the Canadian 3rd Division on D-Day: “At the end of the day, its forward elements stood deeper into France than those of any other division. The opposition the Canadians faced was stronger than that of any other beach save Omaha. That was an accomplishment in which the whole nation could take considerable pride.”

More than a million Canadian men and women were in uniform during the war. Most of them went to war voluntarily even though Canada was in little imminent danger from Nazi Germany, Italy, or Japan. The D-Day landings were the clearest sign of Canadians’ commitment to and engagement with the rest of the world.

“Martin Luther King said that a man who is not willing to die for something is not fit to live,” said John Percy, Green Party Veterans Affairs Critic. “Our freedom was not free. It was paid for in the blood of a generation that we could scarcely afford to lose, that of our nation’s
children.”

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There is money for the burial of our veterans and $8 million for the restoration of Massey Hall. “Public outcry over the savaging of fisheries habitat has lead to a small sop this time around — $10 million over 2 years to work with local conservation groups to improve fish habitat –and a salmon conservation stamp,” said May.

Encouragingly, a number of the Green Party’s recommendations made during pre-budget consultations were adopted. These include:

• new funding to Sustainable Development Technology Fund (although at $325 million over 8, less than what had been recommended by Pembina);
• going after off-shore tax-havens;
• reducing money wasted in Government of Canada travel and greater use of telecommunications and video-conferencing;
• money for First Nations education, although much less than recommended;
• funds to municipal infrastructure, and while less than what the crisis demands, it is certainly a step in the right direction;
• a just transition for asbestos workers with $50 million for 7 years toward retraining of workers in that shameful industry.

Same Direction, New Tone

However, the overall direction of this government is unchanged. Whereas last budget’s only use of the word “climate” was restricted to “investment climate”, Budget 2013 actually references climate change and mentions the Copenhagen target, though predictably repeats the falsehood that we are “halfway to meeting (it).” (p.242)  The same page even boasts of the accomplishments of the ecoEnergy retrofit program – a program they killed last year.

“The problem with the budget documents is that they are increasingly vague documents.  We no longer receive the appendices with the total budget numbers for departments.  So, is the total envelope going up or down?  Who knows?” asked May.

“For instance, VIA Rail is mentioned and gets money — $54 million this year and $58 million spread out over the next five years.  But there is no context to know if the 50% cut in VIA support in the Main Estimates would be redressed in the Supplementary Estimates, or whether the cuts are devastating and these amounts are band-aids on a fatal blow,” continued May.

“What we will not know until we see the implementing legislation is how many egregious measures will be rammed through the House in a 2013 Omnibus bill that claims to derive its legitimacy from this budget,” said May.

“The reality is this is a fudge-it, a PR piece, rather than a real plan. The 2012 budget made no mention of the Fisheries Act, but Budget Implementation Act C-38, destroyed fish habitat.  So it will take a few more months to be sure the second of one of Mr. Flaherty’s new shoes is not about to fall,” concluded May.

The post Flaherty Changed More Than His Shoes appeared first on Elizabeth May.

Justice Barnes ruled that, “The practical consequence of the claimed offset is to substantially reduce or to extinguish the long-term disability coverage promised to members of the Class by the SISIP Policy with particularly harsh effect on the most seriously disabled CF members who have been released from active service.”

Green Party of Canada Veterans Affairs Critic John Percy praised Mr. Manuge’s tenacity on behalf of all injured Canadian veterans.

“Dennis has been on the frontline of this fight since 2007 and the ruling today is vindication for all the veterans who have served our country and were injured in that service,” said Percy.

“I am pleased that Justice Barnes has reached this conclusion after careful consideration of all the facts and arguments presented by both sides. The government has said they will study the situation and there is a real possibility that the government will appeal the decision. Such an action will cement their opposition to fair treatment of those who have given so much to this country,” Percy continued.

“Disability benefits are meant to compensate our veterans for their injuries.  Deducting these benefits from the SSIP defeats the purpose, as Justice Barnes noted.  The government should now accept this ruling and correct the problem,” said federal Green Leader Elizabeth May (Saanich-Gulf Islands).

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The United States DVA offers services to some 20 million veterans and the department’s budget has grown for the past few years.

Of special note to committee members were the type of services that had no Canadian equivalent. For instance, the DVA utilizes mobile vet centres to provide early access and continuous services to veterans especially those who live in more remote areas. They also use mobile units to reach their homeless veteran population, providing them with toiletries, dental and medical evaluations and information on various DVA programs.

Committee members were also interested in the transition processes between the DND and the DVA, an area that various stakeholders in Canada believe needs improvements. The opposition committee members inquired about the direction of service delivery and the decision in the US to exempt the DVA from budget cuts. Witnesses explained that their various branches are focusing on providing more comprehensive and efficient services to their veterans and their growing budget is an indicator of such efforts.

The post Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs (ACVA) appeared first on Elizabeth May.

On Tuesday, the committee heard from David Tilson, M.P, the sponsor of the bill.; John Eggenberger , Vice-President of the Canadian Peacekeeping Veterans Association; Earl Page, veteran; and Terence Whitty of the Army Cadet League of Canada. All witnesses save one (Mr. Whitty) supported the means through the bill attempts to deter crimes committed with respect to war memorials and cenotaphs, namely, through the imposition of a thousand dollar fine and subsequent mandatory minimums of 60 and 90 days for second- and –third-time offences. After questioning the witnesses, the committee suspended and resumed sitting to pursue committee business related to budgetary expenses, and resumed consideration of the Main Estimates for 2012-2013. The Minutes can be found here.

On Thursday, the committee heard from Catherine Latimer of the John Howard Society and Leonard S. Russomanno, Criminal Defence Counsel, Webber Schroeder Goldstein Abergel. Both witnesses were heavily critical of the bill. The committee then commenced clause-by-clause study of the bill and adjourned to the call of the chair. The Minutes detailing the amendments advanced by the NDP and the Conservatives can be found here.

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