“Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by thanking all members of this House for allowing me the opportunity tonight to discuss issues concerning the care and support we are giving to our nation's greatest heroes, the men and women who have answered the call to serve our country in times of war and in times of peace.”

This was the opening statement by the Honourable Jean Pierre Blackburn, Minister of Veterans Affairs at the commencement of a take note debate on veterans in the House of Commons this week.

Our Government believes that the Department of Veterans Affairs, which has come under fire lately, has a duty to ensure the members of our Canadian Forces, our veterans and their families have the support they need when they need it, and get the care they need at the proper time.

That is the reason Parliament unanimously adopted the New Veterans Charter in 2005, a Charter that modernized the benefit structure for veterans recognizing that today’s veterans have different needs that those who served in past wars under very different circumstances.

Adapting to the New Charter has had its challenges and the Department has come under fire. 
Nevertheless, assessments, good or bad, motivate our Government to make improvements.

Credit needs to go to all the people locally who advocate tirelessly on behalf of veterans, people like the late Art Brown who will be honoured next week at UBCO, Dale Dirks, our Royal Canadian Legions, our army and navy veterans and former constituent young therapist Helen Gough who is committed to improving the recovery of our injured veterans. 

Like them we want to ensure that the Department of Veterans Affairs is working for veterans and our commitment is to get it right.

We have made significant investments in the programs, benefits and services veterans depend on. In the last five budgets, the Government of Canada has allocated over $2.5 billion in additional funds for our veterans and their families.

Some of these investments have targeted issues that go back decades such as the establishment of the Veterans Bill of Rights, the appointment of the first-ever ombudsman for Canadian veterans, extension of the veterans independence program to thousands of low-income survivors and restoring benefits to pre-1995 cutback levels for allied veterans and the inclusion of Korean war veterans and their families.

Other investments address more recent issues such as recognizing and supporting those with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and doubling the number of Veterans Affairs Canada operational stress injury clinics so that veterans scarred psychologically as a result of their service can get the assistance they need.

These achievements are significant and embody the greatest enhancements to veterans’ benefits and programs in 60 years.

More can and is being done.

Over the past two months, our government has announced more investments, totalling $2 billion, to enhance the Veterans Charter, to help lessen the suffering faced by our men and women living with catastrophic injuries and to ensure that injured and unwell veterans have an adequate monthly income, especially those returning seriously injured from Afghanistan.

We do it all out of a deep sense of responsibility and gratitude to the men and women who have sacrificed so much for our country.

There is no greater service one can perform in Canada than to defend this country's most important values of democracy, freedom, human rights and the rule of law.

As we approach Remembrance Day, it is our duty to remember what they have sacrificed.  It is also our duty to ensure that, once home, they sacrifice no more.

I encourage you to join with our community and honour our veterans at one of our cenotaphs in Lake Country, Lion’s Park in Rutland or join me at Kelowna City Park and thank a veteran by keeping the memory of their service to their country alive.
Ron Cannan is the MP for Kelowna-Lake Country.  If any of you have any questions or comments on federally-related matters, please contact Ron at ron@cannan.ca or by phone at 470-5075.