44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 3, 2022 10:00AM
- Nov/3/22 11:03:10 a.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I serve with the member on the veterans affairs committee, on which I have served for many years. I was there when the first report was tabled and then retabled to get a response from the government because it did not get a response due to the election in 2019.
It is too bad that we are not seeing the numbers change. There are 5,000 veterans, it is estimated, who are still without a home or a safe place to be, and those are the people who served our country.
The Auditor General was very clear in her report. One of the biggest challenges is that there is no correct data to identify the places where there are shutdowns of services. When we look at the system, services are not being delivered and we do not know why because the data does not tell us why. That seems like a big concern.
Will the government invest in making sure that the data is there so we can identify the bottlenecks and serve veterans much more effectively?
179 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Nov/3/22 11:04:17 a.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her excellent work. She has been on the veterans affairs committee for four or five years and has been doing some excellent work on that front, which is very important.
Our government, as I indicated in my speech, has invested monies to create programs. One of the programs is the mental health program, in which we invested $140 million. What is important about that program is that it is an immediate program. That means that while veterans are waiting for their applications to be processed, they receive services from day one. That is an immediate program, so there are no wait times on that front.
We also created the office of women and LGBTQ veterans to support those veterans, in particular, though we are not talking about that.
Many of the wait times were created because the Conservatives, let us not forget, closed nine veterans offices that we reopened and fired over 1,000 frontline workers that we rehired as soon as we became government.
172 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Nov/3/22 11:53:40 a.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the member for North Island—Powell River's intervention was quite insightful. She really hit the nail on the head with her comment toward the end which talked about how there are many veterans out there who just do not know that services are available to them. I think the government needs to play a stronger role, quite frankly, in getting in touch with these veterans.
I know that in my riding of Kingston and the Islands a few years ago, there was an effort one Sunday morning, which I believe was happening throughout the country, where we went out into our communities, specifically to the areas where we knew homeless people were living, to get in touch with veterans. For starters, it was to try to locate them and account for them, but it was also to help them become aware of the services that were available.
I wonder if the member could comment further on where she sees opportunities to reach out to veterans, in particular those who are not aware that services are available to them, so we can give them the services they deserve, and which the government should be providing them.
199 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Nov/3/22 11:54:52 a.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, one of the key things we have heard from veterans repeatedly is that the transition period moving from service into their role as veterans is fraught with problems. The information back and forth is fragmented. They often carry the large load of trying to figure out how to make the system work. Therefore, the orientation of what services are available is not clear and is not done the way they need.
When we think about serving people, one of the best and important things we can do, especially when we are in a seat of government, is to listen to people who go through those transition processes, hear where the problems are and fix them. It is not to blame veterans for not being able to ask for help, but to understand that we need to provide better help. That transition period is absolutely key. If the trust is not built there, then veterans will not feel comfortable to come forward to say they need assistance.
168 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Nov/3/22 5:46:01 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, my colleague touched on the lack of action on basic services. When I travel through York—Simcoe, people are talking about the lack of children's Tylenol. They are talking about lineups at airports. They are talking about passports. They are talking about a public service that has increased employees by 30% for worse outcomes.
The government is failing us with basic services, and in my riding, when I go around, people are talking about 15- or 18-month waits to see a specialist. They are saying they do not have doctors. Now we have a dental plan, which the government has come out with, and people are truly saying that, before we spend a billion dollars on that, they would love a doctor.
Why are the Liberals going around the provinces, when there are already provincial plans there? Could the member touch on the failure of the federal government on basic services?
156 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- menumenu
- notificationsnotifications
- home
- mailmail
- searchsearch
