McLEAN: Veterans ill-served by Harper Tories

[Oscar]

McLEAN: Veterans ill-served by Harper Tories

[ http://m.therecord.com/opinion-story/43 ... er-tories/ ]

Motion lost to keep Veterans Affairs offices open — Feb. 4

I served in the Canadian Forces from 1986 to 2000, and as a result I suffer with post-traumatic stress disorder. I now have a service dog to give me quality of life.

Recently, Stephen Harper's government closed more Veterans Affairs offices. I believe the government is being very disrespectful to all veterans.

The job of a veterans affairs minister is to fight for veterans' rights, to ensure they receive the medical and mental health services they need. Instead, Minister Julian Fantino has thrown Canadian veterans under the bus. He did what the prime minister wanted instead of fighting for us.

Fantino should resign his position due to his lack of concern, and his lack of authority, to ensure veterans get the proper mental health help they need immediately to ensure their safety. Veterans who commit suicide decide to take their lives because they feel the government is not taking post-traumatic stress disorder seriously.

In the past, it took at least six to eight months to get my veteran's issues finalized. Now with these cutbacks, I worry it's going to be a lot longer. How the Harper government thinks it is doing its best with the quality of life for veterans with this big turnaround time is totally wrong.

What confuses me is that the Harper government spent a lot on fake lakes and gazebos during the 2010 G8 summit, but now feels it has to make cuts in veterans' affairs. I believe Prime Minister Harper doesn't take care of his soldiers, who provide the freedom in our country. He obviously has his priorities wrong.

James McLean,
Kitchener, ON