Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): Minister, a 2018 report by the former Veterans Ombudsman found that francophone veterans were waiting longer than anglophone veterans for decisions from Veterans Affairs Canada after applying for disability benefits.

According to an Order Paper answer tabled in the Senate, francophone veterans are still waiting longer than anglophone veterans. As of last February, the average processing time for applications was nearly 39 weeks for francophones and 31.5 weeks for anglophones.

Minister, since your government has been aware of this situation for four years now, why does it continue to accept this inequity in the treatment of francophone veterans when it comes to the services offered?