SoVote

Nov/3/22 11:02:05 a.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his question and for his outstanding work on the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs. I also want to acknowledge the work we have done to address the situation for francophones, for whom things seemed to take longer. A unit has been dedicated to francophones to ensure that progress is made on their files and that they will not wait longer than anyone else. We are also hiring more francophones and bilingual people. With respect to many of the recommendations that were made in the reports, we are developing programs to support these veterans. I am very proud of our government. Much of the $11 billion it has spent has been invested in programs to enrich the lives of veterans and to help them.

133 words

Ms. Rachel Blaney (North Island—Powell River, NDP)

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

Mr. Darrell Samson

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

Hon. Judy A. Sgro (Humber River—Black Creek, Lib.)

Nov/3/22 11:05:38 a.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate all of my colleagues in the House who sit at the veterans committee and do this important work. Some years back, I was a critic and I had a great opportunity to learn about what was being provided and what was not being provided. I was quite appalled at the situation we were in. The fact that we are focusing on housing in this report, and that we are doing a concurrence motion, gives us a chance to talk about the good things we are doing and about where there are still unfilled gaps. One of the programs that I helped create was called Helmets to Hardhats. I wonder if my colleague is familiar with it. It was specifically to help veterans position themselves when they came back to get into the construction industry, which had tremendous needs. Could my colleague comment on that program?

149 words

All Topics

Mr. Darrell Samson

Nov/3/22 11:06:33 a.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, there are so many programs and organizations out there helping our veterans. It is quite remarkable, but we should look at what we are going to be studying over the next few weeks or months, the veteran employment strategy. It is exactly in line with many of the organizations that my colleague mentioned that support our veterans. That is a key factor. Some of our veterans have had challenges and this is an opportunity to help them along. I know of a number of private sector organizations now hiring cohorts of veterans. That is the type of thing that veterans need to continue in life with opportunities. This is one way of helping them get back on their feet and supporting them as they are transitioning to civilian life.

131 words

All Topics

Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, GP)

Nov/3/22 11:07:42 a.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, my thanks to the hon. parliamentary secretary and other hon. colleagues in this place. Yesterday, I spoke of war heroes who happened to be my constituents. I specifically mentioned retired commander Charles “Chic” Goodman, who served in France and Belgium and helped liberate the prisoner of war camp in the Netherlands. I mentioned he was near death. He died this morning. The nurse placed a fresh poppy on his chest, next to his French Legion of Honor, an award he received from the French government for his service. He received many accolades from Veterans Affairs but not what he most wanted, which was that his wife, now a widow, would not face homelessness. We must get rid of the so-called “gold diggers clause”. Please, will the hon. parliamentary secretary say the government is going to remove this unfair and absurd anachronism?

148 words

All Topics

Mr. Darrell Samson

Nov/3/22 11:08:42 a.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, that was an important question. My sympathy goes out to the family for their loss of the veteran she mentioned yesterday in her speech. Our government has put forward $150 million to study the data to see how we can best support the survivors of veterans who marry after 60. That report is being studied in the committee as we speak and recommendations will follow, which are so important. Again, I want to thank the men and women who have served and continue to serve. I was in Dieppe, France, this summer to commemorate the men who were lost on the beach. I cannot share enough the emotions of the people of France, Dieppe, the Netherlands and Belgium feel toward the Canadian military. They thank us for their freedom and for their liberation. That is powerful. I was so proud of them and proud of our men and women who have served and continue to serve.

158 words

All Topics

Mr. Blake Richards (Banff—Airdrie, CPC)

Nov/3/22 11:10:06 a.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, in his remarks, the Liberal member made the comment that one homeless veteran is one too many. I certainly agree with him on that, but it is everything that came after that which I disagree with. He mentioned all kinds of dollar figures they are spending on studies and things like that. It is not a question of more money being spent on studies. This is a question of will. It is time for the Liberal government to take action instead of talking about the problem. There are 5,000 homeless veterans and we have almost $1 billion in lapsed funding this year. How much of that lapsed funding was in these programs? When will the Liberal government stop keeping our veterans out in the cold and take action to address this issue, rather than study it and talk about it?

143 words

All Topics

Mr. Darrell Samson

Nov/3/22 11:11:01 a.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, that question gives me an opportunity to share with the House and with Canadians what the former Conservative government did prior to 2015. It is very important to note that it actually cut the budget on the backs of our men and women who served. In 2014, it closed nine veterans offices that were giving services and supports to veterans across the country. What did we do? We reopened them in the first year we were in government. The second thing it did was fire 1,000 frontline employees, which caused a large backlog. What did we do? We rehired those 1,000 employees and we trained them as well. When we talk about wait times it focuses on two things. There is the $11 billion the government put to support veterans, which allows them to have up to $2 billion per year in their pockets, and of course reversing the cuts that were made by the Conservative government.

161 words

All Topics

Mr. Luc Desilets (Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, BQ)

Nov/3/22 11:12:28 a.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, allow me to crack a smile. I would like to start by saying that I will be sharing my time with my admirable and highly esteemed colleague from Longueuil—Saint-Hubert. I have a little story to tell the House. In December 1908, an old man named James Daly was found unconscious at the entrance to a building in downtown Montreal. He was suffering from hypothermia and malnutrition. In fact, he was dying. He was brought to the Montreal General Hospital, where he was cared for by a man named Arthur Hair, who noticed a slip of blue paper in his coat pocket. Mr. Hair, a veteran, quickly recognized the type of envelope sent to soldiers discharged from the British army. He opened the envelope and found to his chagrin that the man in question, James Daly, had served for 21 years and fought in the Crimean war from 1854 to 1856. He had 21 years of service, two of them on the front lines. Now this poor man was on the street. He had lost everything, except for a slip of blue paper attesting to his military service. He was practically a John Doe. James Daly died in the hospital. Horrified that James Daly would not be given a proper burial, one year later, Arthur created the Last Post Fund, an organization that is still active today and whose mission is to provide a proper burial for veterans with no financial resources at the time of their death. Since 1930, many burials have taken place at the National Field of Honour, a private military cemetery in Pointe-Claire, on the Island of Montreal. More than 22,000 veterans are now buried there, including our cherished Léo Major. I visited the site last summer and it is impressive. I invite all members to go visit when they are in Montreal. It is an impressive place. I will go so far as to urge my colleagues on the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs to go see it. The cemetery was created after a homeless man was found dying on the street. I will get back to the subject at hand very soon. The point to my story is to show that, 114 years ago, homeless veterans were dying as John Does on the streets of Montreal. What upsets me is that, 114 years later, a 50-page report describes the same problem, which is even worse now than it was then. When the report was tabled in 2019, homelessness affected between 3,000 and 5,000 veterans in Quebec and Canada. In other words, about one in 150 veterans ends up in this sad situation. That is undeniably shocking. The study we are talking about is entitled “Moving Towards Ending Homelessness Among Veterans”, and it was done during the 42nd Parliament. A total of 23 members of Parliament, some of whom were veterans themselves, sat on the committee during that time. The committee held six meetings on this subject and heard from about 20 witnesses. Nine recommendations emerged from their work. My colleague from Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, who is the Bloc Québécois critic for housing and has a great deal of experience in this area, is in a much better position to talk about the housing situation in relation to homelessness than me. I am thinking about the national housing strategy, of course. The first recommendation in the report is as follows: “That Veterans Affairs Canada work in partnership with community agencies dedicated to helping veterans and establish ways for continual contact between the department and veterans, with the latters’ permission.” Clearly, the department still has a long way to go. Yes, community organizations receive funding, but levels have stagnated and are far below the assistance and money necessary to meet the needs of people experiencing homelessness. I would like to share with my colleagues a small initiative that is of particular interest to me. Each year, in partnership with Montreal’s Accueil Bonneau, the Royal 22nd Regiment veterans association distributes hot meals, clothing and personal care products. Naturally, they do it for people experiencing homelessness. Last year, they served almost 800 meals. It is a wonderful initiative, but much more needs to be done. That is where Veterans Affairs Canada fails to walk the talk. It is unfortunate, but shelters and hot meals are only a band-aid solution for a far bigger problem. It will not address the root cause of homelessness, I agree. I am convinced that preventive measures are needed to address the root causes, including improving services offered during the transition from military to civilian life, hiring more case managers and reducing wait times between requests for assistance and intervention, especially when it comes to the veterans emergency fund. There is a fair amount of money available, but the fund is very complicated. It is not easy for veterans to fill out the documents needed to access it. There is also the issue of access to mental health services for veterans and their families. We need to comply with the 16-week service standard when it comes to applications for disability benefits. Also, I cannot help but mention the need to offer equitable and quality services to francophones. Veterans Affairs Canada needs to address the problem upstream, but they appear to have difficulty doing that. Need I remind members that a veteran who is waiting can become a veteran who gets fed up? Veterans who get fed up can find themselves on the street or at the end of a rope. There is a reason why the suicide rate is so high among veterans, and there is a reason why the homelessness rate is also high among veterans. What is especially disappointing in all this is that, of the nine recommendations made, recommendations that are relevant, logical and based on veterans’ needs, none have really been implemented. I know I am running out of time, but I just have to add to something my colleague said earlier. There is a wonderful initiative to support veterans called the “Repos du soldat”. This non-profiit organization was registered in 2018 and has been struggling to get the Department of National Defence to hand over a parcel of land. Instead, a few years ago, National Defence agreed to allow an English-language school to be built on that land. That is rather odd. We look forward to getting an answer on this, because the project would mean an additional 90 housing units in the Quebec City area, along with space for health care professionals, including psychologists. This project is being led by Ms. Pelletier, the wife of a veteran suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder. We are still waiting for a response to the letter that two Bloc Québécois members and I wrote to the Minister of National Defence about the matter. We have not received a response. I am out of time, but I had a lot more to say on this subject. As a final comment, I will just mention that I would like us to be able, at some point, to make recommendations in these committees that will not be shelved or put on the back burner. This is a perfect example of what we are dealing with. Out of nine great recommendations, not one is actually being implemented. It makes one wonder what the members on these standing committees are actually doing.

1262 words

All Topics

Hon. Judy A. Sgro (Humber River—Black Creek, Lib.)

Nov/3/22 11:22:21 a.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the work that he does on behalf of veterans. I know we all care very much about this particular file. I have to ask if the member is aware that there is a dedicated unit for the issue of francophone veterans who are coming back. There has been a significant increase in support in francophone areas, as well as a dedicated unit. Is he familiar with that? What are his thoughts on that dedicated unit, if he is aware of it?

88 words

All Topics

Mr. Luc Desilets

Nov/3/22 11:23:00 a.m.
Watch

Of course I am familiar with that, Mr. Speaker. For the past three years, I have been fighting so that francophones can get the same type of services as anglophones. The unit was implemented in Montreal, but it is not being managed properly, so the response time for French applications is much longer than for English applications. Francophones have never been treated equitably in that regard. The resource is there, but the results are not.

75 words

All Topics

Mr. Gérard Deltell (Louis-Saint-Laurent, CPC)

Nov/3/22 11:23:41 a.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his wonderful speech and his comment. He is always very interesting and, more importantly, he cares a lot about veterans. Speaking of veterans, I would like to say hello to my father, who is a World War II veteran and who is 99 years, two months, two weeks and two days old today. At that age, one basically starts counting the hours. My colleague mentioned that this report includes nine recommendations. Unfortunately, recommendations often get ignored. What does my colleague think is the first recommendation that should be implemented? Which one does he think is most important?

105 words

Mr. Luc Desilets

Nov/3/22 11:24:26 a.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, that is a very interesting question. I must say that delayed responses are an appalling source of stress for families and veterans. Again, these delays are worse for francophones than for anglophones. That would be the first point. Some may say that this is a bit far removed from homelessness, but it is not. Homelessness is part of a process. In order to address it, we need to tackle issues earlier on and find a way to adequately meet francophones' needs. I think that would be my main recommendation or where the focus should be.

97 words

Ms. Rachel Blaney (North Island—Powell River, NDP)

Nov/3/22 11:25:17 a.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his very important speech. We have worked together on the veterans committee for years and I really appreciate his dedication, especially to francophone veterans. Earlier this year, we were honoured to go with the minister to some important places. We went to Vimy Ridge and we went to Menin Gate. Those are places where there is such a deep respect for the men and women who served Canada and who served in those places during times that none of us can imagine. What concerns me is that we hear this long-standing history of Canada failing veterans. We continue to have over 5,000 veterans today who are without homes. Why do we appreciate their sacrifice, but we do not see the government, or the past Conservative government, recognizing what needs to happen for veterans?

142 words

Mr. Luc Desilets

Nov/3/22 11:26:23 a.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, whom I hold in high regard, by the way. That is a question that I obviously cannot answer. There used to be a slogan that went something like “if you're curious about life, enlist”. People laugh, yes, but I often think of it in committee. One of the questions that both my colleagues and I regularly ask the witnesses we meet is whether they would still enlist if they could do it over again. Things happen a certain way in the military. There is a tremendous amount of respect for people in the military. When people leave the military, their lives change drastically in terms of support, respect, and so on.

120 words

Mr. Denis Trudel (Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, BQ)

Nov/3/22 11:27:27 a.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak today about the important issue of homelessness among veterans. I would like to thank my hon. colleague from Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, who is doing a wonderful job on the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs. He worked on the report and the recommendations. What a shame it is that most of the report's recommendations have yet to be implemented. It is a real shame. I will approach this issue from another direction. When we talk about homelessness, it is difficult not to talk about housing. Ultimately, what we want is to get people off the streets and into a home. We want to give them a roof over their heads. Unfortunately, it is clear that we are not taking care of our own in Canada and Quebec. I am pleased to rise so close to Remembrance Day. Today is an excellent day to talk about this issue. I would also like to pay tribute to certain people. In my riding, an entire ecosystem of assistance for people experiencing homelessness has sprung up in recent years. It is amazing. Take the Halte du coin, for example. My friend Nicholas Gildersleeve launched this initiative during the pandemic. During the pandemic, it became clear that there were Montrealers who were fleeing the city for the area around the Longueuil metro station for reasons that appear to be pandemic related. They believed that there was a serious outbreak in Montreal. They were leaving Montreal and congregating around the Longueuil metro station. There was a risk of a major outbreak and a possibility that the virus would spread outside the community of Longueuil. The people who work with the homeless and are involved in housing issues immediately sprang into action. Gilles Beauregard of Table Itinérance Rive-Sud did an incredible job. Everyone banded together as part of an ecosystem that cares for people. I should also mention Marlène Harvey of La Casa Bernard-Hubert, a men's shelter that offers six-month stays, and Sonia Langlois, who is doing a fantastic job with L'Antre-temps, a shelter for homeless youth between the ages of 16 and 21. When we think of homelessness, we often picture older people. There are older people experiencing homelessness, and that is a problem. Unfortunately, young people also end up on the street. They run away from home, they get placed in foster care, they run away and end up in the street, and there are organizations devoted to helping them. I would like to give a shout-out to Lucie Latulippe at L'Abri de la Rive-Sud and to Chrismène Joseph at the Centre de support médical et d'assistance sociale de Longueuil. These are people that I know and love. I went to the Halte du coin, which is a resource with a high social acceptability threshold; in other words, they accept everyone. It is accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week. People come in and no one asks questions. Meals are served during the day. I went to help serve the meal and wash dishes one day, and I saw something that I found deeply troubling. People can come to eat, 50 meals are served, but, unfortunately, there is not enough room. This problem is related to what we are talking about today. There is not enough funding to deal with homelessness. We are not helping people enough. The resource has 20 beds in the summer and 30 in the winter. Winter is coming and it is a serious problem. They serve 50 meals without any issue; 50 people show up and are fed. It happens in a former church that has been turned into a support centre for the homeless. That is quite remarkable. It is a wonderful resource. However, there is not enough room for everyone. There is not enough room to house everyone. There are around 50 seats at suppertime. After the meal, the people leave, go outside, smoke a cigarette or a joint. As we know, homelessness can be related to drug use. After the meal, the space is turned into a place to sleep. The tables are replaced by beds. When I left the resource, everyone was there outside, about 50 of them. Unfortunately, not all of them would be able to get in. They were all waiting to spend the night in a warm bed, but there is not enough room. We are not providing a place to sleep for our own. We do not care for our homeless veterans in this country. That is a big problem. Ultimately, the way to address the issue of homelessness is through housing. That is also noted in the report. Unfortunately, Canada is failing in its duty to house its citizens. The system is not working at all in Canada. The national housing strategy was launched five years ago with much fanfare. The goal was to spend $72 billion. We were told that people would be housed. When the Liberals talk about the great $72‑billion strategy, they never mention the fact that it includes the money that cities, provinces and organizations will invest. It is not all federal money. Five years on, Scotiabank estimates that Canada has a shortfall of 3.5 million housing units. Moreover, Canada has the lowest number of housing units per 1,000 people of all G7 nations. That is scandalous. We saw this week that Canada is one of the worst countries in the G20 in terms of fossil fuel investments, which is a downright scandal. All the Liberal ministers keep going on and on about the sustainable economy and the ecological transition, yet Canada is the second-worst country in the G20 in terms of public investments in fossil fuels. That in itself is shameful. Canada's record on housing is also shameful. There are 424 housing units per 1,000 residents. Canada is the worst country in the G7. That is appalling. Last week, we discussed Bill C-31. My Liberal and NDP friends think they are resolving the housing crisis with Bill C‑31. People are being sent a cheque for $500. How much will be required next year? Not a single housing unit will be built with Bill C‑31. Two weeks ago, during the Nuit des sans-abri, an event that raises awareness of homelessess, I met with friends who work with the homeless in Longueuil. When I talked to them about Bill C‑31, they were devastated. How many millions will be spent under Bill C‑31 without a single home being built? We need to build homes. According to a study by Scotiabank, 3.5 million housing units must be built over the next 10 years in Canada to meet the demand. Midway through the national housing strategy, 350,000 units have been built and 60,000 been renovated. That adds up to about 100,000. Can we call that a roaring success? No, it is a total failure. That is not to mention the other problem we have right now. There is a need to build more social housing, more housing that people can afford, and that is the important part. However, last month, a problem arose, a problem associated with the pandemic, rising construction costs and the labour shortage. Projects funded by the government will not be able to move ahead due to a lack of refinancing. It is easy to understand. Some projects that were funded under the rapid housing initiative or the national housing co-investment fund a year or two ago will not move ahead a year later due to rising costs and the labour shortage. Once the builders break ground on a project, it becomes clear that, to complete the 55 or 70 units, another $1 million or $2 million is needed. It is a serious problem. These are good projects funded by the government that will not see the light of day. There are many of these projects in Quebec and it is outrageous that we do not talk about it. Furthermore, midway into the strategy, while the government keeps boasting about spending money, only 30% of the funds have been spent. I said earlier that there is a shortfall of 3.5 million housing units in Canada. An economist at the CMHC told me a few weeks ago that, in Quebec alone, if the market is left on its own, 500,000 units will be built. The market alone will build 500,000 units, but 1.1 million would be needed to meet the needs of Quebec alone. That means we need 600,000 more. One way or another, the government must help. It must intervene in the market to build those 600,000 units, but that is not happening. That is not all. Over the last 10 years, according to my friends at the Réseau québécois des OSBL d'habitation, Canada has lost 600,000 affordable housing units, units that middle‑class people could afford. Those units are now being sold on the private market and have become unaffordable for the average person. Not only is new housing not being built, but the units we helped build, units that were affordable or that the market built over the years, are no longer affordable for average folks. There is a lot of work to do.

1588 words

All Topics

Mr. Mark Gerretsen (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (Senate), Lib.)

Nov/3/22 11:37:51 a.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, I certainly appreciate the passion of the member. There are not a lot of people in this room who can get more vocal than I can at times, but he is certainly one of those members. He brought up a lot of interesting and I think debatable points about affordable housing. This government has done a lot, and even though he says that nothing has been done and nothing has been built, that is simply not the case. I can reference my riding, where a number of projects that have been funded by the federal government are now open and housing individuals who are in need of affordable housing. I will say that unfortunately, and I was listening closely, I did not once hear the member talk about the actual issue, which is affordable housing for veterans. There has been a lot of good discussion today from all sides of the House. I have heard the Conservatives talk about Homes for Heroes, and I have heard many other discussions about housing veterans. I wonder if the member would like to reflect specifically on housing the veterans who are in need right now and to depart from the more general topic of homelessness and focus on veterans.

208 words

All Topics

Mr. Denis Trudel

Nov/3/22 11:39:11 a.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, my colleague seems to expect me to applaud the government's actions, which I certainly will not do. When it comes to housing, I dream of how they do it in Vienna. A few weeks ago, I was in Laval for a conference about housing organized by the mayors of Longueuil and Laval, both of whom are very focused on social housing. I applaud their initiative. During the conference, we heard from the former mayor of Vienna. One hundred years ago in Vienna, people realized that they needed to do something about housing, probably because that is when veterans were returning after the First World War. People realized that the government would have to invest in providing housing for people. In Vienna, 62% of all the housing units are social housing. The city builds real communities, with bike paths and organic shops. It is extraordinary. I have seen pictures. That is my dream. The thing is, it takes the kind of will on the part of the government that we are not seeing right now.

177 words

All Topics

Mr. Alex Ruff (Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, CPC)

Nov/3/22 11:40:16 a.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Longueuil—Saint‑Hubert for his speech, which shows that he cares about our veterans. In his opinion, why did the CEO of Vets Canada state the following earlier this week: “A lot of them have expressed that they don't feel valued, they don't feel important.” She is referring to veterans. “These are men and women who put their lives on the line for our country, so I think we owe them a lot more than what we're providing.”

94 words

SoVote

House Hansard - 124