The federal government is betraying Canada’s veterans. After putting their lives on the line on behalf of all Canadians, many veterans – especially those living with serious injuries, disabilities and mental health challenges like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder – rely on Veterans Affairs for support.
The Canadian government promised to take care of them from the day they enlisted until the day they die. But drastic cuts to Veterans Affairs staff and services since 2012 mean that veterans are not getting the care they need and deserve.
In January 2014, the federal government shut down nine District Veterans Affairs offices in Corner Brook, Charlottetown, Sydney, Windsor, Thunder Bay, Brandon, Saskatoon, Kelowna and Prince George. Since the offices were closed, veterans say they now must drive for hours to see someone in person or wait on hold on the phone.
- Vince Rigby is a former peacekeeper from Cape Breton who suffers from PTSD. He says he has been struggling to access services since the Sydney office was closed: “I haven't got a counsellor any more so I have no idea what treatments are out there available to me.”
- Robyn Young is 24 years old and from Windsor, Ontario. She is currently fighting a brain tumour, which was misdiagnosed when she was in the military. Her mother Pearl Osmond (a veteran) has been fighting her case and has had to drive to the London office several times (four hours round trip), with her very sick daughter in the car with her.
- Rob Cutbush is a 25-year veteran of the Navy from Thunder Bay, Ontario. He says that his PTSD symptoms have been exacerbated since he has been unable to walk into his local office to get his medical treatments sorted out.
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