Letters Feb.13

Feb 12, 2014

Veterans Affairs minister insults veterans

Veterans Affairs Canada states its mandate as: "The Department exists to repay the nation's debt of gratitude toward those whose courageous efforts have given us this legacy, and have contributed to our growth as a nation." Minister Julian Fantino must have missed that part. Instead of respecting and honouring veterans for their service to Canada, and helping them when they need help, the Minister ridiculed and insulted veterans who traveled long distances to seek his assistance, and to stop the closure of eight Veterans Affairs offices across Canada.

It is difficult to imagine what was going through the mind of the Minister. He was very late for his meeting with the veterans. They were immaculately turned out, with very impressive arrays of their hard-earned medals and military badges. He attacked them. He insulted them. He showed open contempt and hostility toward these heroic veterans. This is the Minister of Veterans Affairs. What an inconvenience it must have been for him to have to meet with them, and have them point out that he and the government were failing miserably to provide the essential services they needed. The Minister is not someone who accepts "constructive" criticism. On the contrary, he prefers arbitrary, thoughtless and hurtful decisions to be made in secret behind closed doors without consultation, and released as "my way or the highway" announcements. All in the name of balancing the budget on the backs of Canada's most vulnerable.

But the veterans had a lot more fight in them than the Minister realised. They fought back and fought back hard. They had a just cause and the Canadian people on their side. The Minister was in a lose-lose situation with no way out. He knew he was wrong and was forced to apologize in Parliament to the veterans for his atrocious behaviour. But an apology doesn't change the inherent lack of respect the Minister and the government have for our veterans; these Canadian heroes who have fought for Canada, who have been badly injured in the line of duty, who have been denied their benefits, who have lost many of their friends to war and to despair, and who now demand the bare necessities of life. Many feel they have nothing left to lose and that they have been backed into a corner by Veterans Affairs, and they have come out fighting. They have earned our support and they need our assistance, especially since they are not getting it from Veterans Affairs.

The first thing that must be done is for the Prime Minister to fire the Minister for incompetence, and for lack of respect and empathy for those he has sworn to serve. The next step is to appoint a new Minister who understands what it means to be a veteran, who understands the desperate needs of veterans, and who will stand with veterans, not against them. Appoint an Member of Parliament who is a Canadian Forces veteran to be Minister. Appoint someone who understands the military and the plight of veterans past, present and future. Appoint a Minister with some sense of social justice and compassion. Appoint a Minister who values the needs of veterans way above the need to balance the budget before the next election. Appoint a Minister to serve veterans, not just to serve partisan political objectives. Appoint a competent, hard-working Minister of Veterans Affairs who will respect and serve our veterans in their times of need.

LCol (retired) Phil Somers

Long Lake Skating Rink

Many of you may have noticed the skating rink on Long Lake, it has been a huge labour of love keeping it up but it would not have been possible without the help of our amazing neighbour, Fletcher Young. Fletcher has been over with his plow after each snowfall keeping the rink clean. When the snow got too deep Dan Mallett also came over to help out, thank you Dan. A big thank you to Fletcher, it would not have been possible without you!

Mike and Karen Knott

The "Fair" Election Bill

The so-called Fair Elections Bill will not help to make the processes more fair or more democratic. Under this bill as it is written, Elections Canada would be allowed to tell voters where and when to vote but be forbidden to launch outreach campaigns to encourage them to actually vote. We have seen an unprecedented fall in voting rates in this country. It is crucial for the state of our democracy that citizens be reminded of their responsibility to participate in our elections. An impartial body such as Elections Canada is exactly who should be presenting this to Canadians and urging them to vote.

The bill would require that both houses of Parliament - and not just the committees that usually deal with election-related matters - give the green light to any pilot project that involved electronic voting. This change would interfere with attempts to involve more citizens in the democratic process, especially our youngest and oldest voters and those who would find it difficult to travel to their polling station. This section of the bill should be rejected by all political parties as it makes the prospect of a change to an electronic vote almost impossible to achieve.

The dreadful irony of curtailing discussion in Parliament of a bill that is said to be about democracy and fair elections is unacceptable. Scott Reid is our Member of Parliament and our spokeperson; I challenge him to speak up for our democracy.

Annie Peace-Fast

Money Laundering

Who Knew? According to the Harper Tories, I am a criminal who is money-laundering my hard-earned CPP pension when I make a contribution to an environmental charity. You can't make this stuff up. But the Tories do because their base swallows it eagerly. Hook, line, and sinker.

Wolfe Erlichman