44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 5, 2022 10:00AM
- Apr/5/22 11:33:50 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague mentioned recruitment in her speech and the struggles we have. Does she think this is due to the fact that when our veterans complete their duty of service, the government does not provide them with the health services they need to transition back to regular life?
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- Apr/5/22 11:34:13 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, that is not the only issue with recruitment and retention. There are many others.
One of the problems that comes up the most often but that could be resolved quickly and practically is the issue of housing. Forces members struggle to find housing or run into high housing prices in the places they are relocated to. Some make a bit of money, but others lose a lot. There are fewer and fewer military housing units where families can stay. Forces members are increasingly being asked to transfer when it is not necessarily justified.
That is one of the issues we can address. That being said, the entire veterans file is obviously important. My colleague from Rivière-des-Mille-Îles does a lot of work with francophone veterans on the processing times for their claims, which are much longer than average.
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- Apr/5/22 1:06:41 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am really glad that today we are talking about making sure that the men and women in the Canadian military are actually getting support so that they have the equipment they need to do the jobs they need to do. What we are not talking enough about today is the most important piece of equipment we have: That is the men and women in the Canadian military. I want to thank every one of them for their service and sacrifice to this country.
We saw the Conservatives cut a third of Veterans Affairs. They closed veterans offices, which led to a major backlog. Over 40,000 veterans are still waiting for their disability management applications to be opened. Now, the Liberals have promised to fix it, but they have been partially doing it through casework managers who are on temporary contracts.
My question is this. When are the Liberals actually going to rehire all of those employees who were cut from Veterans Affairs and end the backlog, so that veterans who have put their lives on the line to serve our country and do the hard work are getting the support that they deserve and need?
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- Apr/5/22 1:07:44 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, during the early eighties on parade, I would often march with World War II and even World War I veterans. After the parades, we would go to the Legion where we would hear the stories of World War II. Grown men, seniors, were in tears explaining the types of things that they had to go through.
I believe the impressions that I have been given over the years, and from what I understand of my caucus colleagues, we will continue to be there for vets, because we understand the sacrifices they have made.
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- Apr/5/22 1:19:55 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank one of my favourite members on that side of the House for raising this issue. I completely agree with her.
The labour shortage is a problem not only in Quebec, but across Canada. We need to find ways to get employees. We have to make the immigration process easier since that seems to be an excellent solution to this problem. Training people is another excellent solution.
Part of this budget should certainly be devoted to hiring so that we can ensure that we have the necessary number of employees to carry out all the possible roles. I will give the example of veterans to process veterans' files more quickly.
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- Apr/5/22 2:51:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadian veterans have served our country with courage and sacrifice. They deserve our respect, our support and our gratitude. Accessing mental health services is absolutely vital to the well-being of many veterans.
Could the minister please update the House on our recent $140-million investment to ensure that veterans get the treatment they need and deserve as quickly as possible?
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- Apr/5/22 2:52:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Charlottetown for his work on behalf of veterans and Veterans Affairs.
Last week, we launched our new $140-million mental health benefit, which will make sure that veterans get coverage for mental health treatments as soon as possible. This is a significant step, and I can assure my hon. colleagues that we will continue to supply the support and services that our veterans need and deserve.
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- Apr/5/22 4:49:59 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, some of what the member said is factually incorrect. He accused the Liberal government of playing shell games and specifically referenced the fact that the percentage of GDP includes veterans' pensions. Is he aware that in 2018, NATO amended its definition of the 2% to include veterans' pensions? They are part of the calculation now, despite the fact that he uses that as an example to suggest that there is some kind of “shell game” going on.
More importantly, to address one of the comments toward the end of his speech, he said that we need to back up our talk with actions. What is that? Is he referring to when Stephen Harper was a tough guy with Vladimir Putin and told him to get out of Ukraine? Was he backing that up with action at the time? I ask because at the time he was spending less than 1% of GDP on our military.
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