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House Hansard - 215

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 16, 2023 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 215 - Jun/16/23
Ms. Anita Vandenbeld (Ottawa West—Nepean, Lib.)
  • Jun/16/23 11:03:04 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to James Wilfred Eagle, a decorated veteran and respected community leader among the Ojibwa people, who passed away in April. Jim Eagle served in Korea with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry and went on to serve for 25 years in the CAF, reaching the rank of sergeant. Jim was a residential school survivor. He spoke his language fluently and provided for the indigenous community through his work with the Odawa Native Friendship Centre and the Wabano Centre. He was leader of the Ottawa chapter of the National Aboriginal Veterans Association, where he was instrumental in creating the National Aboriginal Veterans Monument in Confederation Park in Ottawa. Jim left behind his beloved wife Cecilia, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. We owe Jim a deep debt of gratitude. He was a warrior. He was a true hero. He lived a good life. Meegwetch, Jim.
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Context: House Hansard - 215 - Jun/16/23
Mr. Luc Desilets (Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, BQ)
  • Jun/16/23 11:56:02 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, Veterans Affairs Canada has a backlog of 8,365 disability claims. These 8,365 claims exceed the already long service standard of 16 weeks. The Parliamentary Budget Officer presented the solution in 2020, however. Ottawa needed to hire just 400 permanent employees, but it made half of those positions temporary. The result is that thousands of veterans are still seeing these unacceptable delays. Will the minister finally hire permanent employees—
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Context: House Hansard - 215 - Jun/16/23
The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)
  • Jun/16/23 11:56:42 a.m.
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The hon. Minister of Veterans Affairs.
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Context: House Hansard - 215 - Jun/16/23
Hon. Lawrence MacAulay (Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, Lib.)
  • Jun/16/23 11:56:44 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, our government has invested nearly half a million dollars to allow us to hire hundreds of new staff and speed up the process to ensure that veterans receive what they deserve more quickly. As of last week, the backlog is currently under 6,000, and we have seen a significant decrease of over 70%. However, there is still more work to do, and we will continue to do it.
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Context: House Hansard - 215 - Jun/16/23
Hon. Lawrence MacAulay (Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, Lib.)
  • Jun/16/23 11:57:59 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, we have reduced the gap in the wait between francophone and anglophone veterans by 80%. Now, the average French-language application takes about 2.4 weeks longer than an English application, compared with a 15-week gap in 2021. I agree with my hon. colleague that it is longer than it should be. We are working to make sure that these applications are processed as quickly as every other application. I appreciate my hon. colleague's input and help at the committee to make sure that all veterans receive what they should in an appropriate manner.
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