- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 110
I myself do not think myself a veteran, even though I have 25+ years with numerous deployments and am still serving. That is part of the issue. When most Canadians, including myself and other serving members, think of a veteran they picture the WWI WWII and Korean vets. This is partly because there are two different systems that serve members depending on when where they served. This segregates us by default. If there was one system covering all veterans it would force us to unite. It's human nature to not get involved in any confrontation unless you it affects you personally. This is why the vets under the pension system didn't appear to be opposing the changes to the charter. When the NVA was passed I think, I hope, the MP's voted the NVA in so quickly was that it was meant to be a living document in which changes could be made quickly as needs changed. Now the NVA is in place it appears that in order for any changes to be made it takes numerous investigations and study groups and think tanks and blah,blah,blah.... until any changes are made.
The Ombudsman has clearly laid out some of the "minimum" changes that should be made immediately. What does VAC, lead by MP Fantino, do? Launch another review, now MP's are stating they should have Canada wide town halls to hear the concerns the vets have in order to conduct this new review of the charter. This has been done to the point of redundancy, yet politicians cannot take their collective heads our of their a**es and see what is obvious. It's almost like they are afraid to make a decision.
I believe the Ombudsman has all veterans best interests in mind at all times. He is our collective voice. If veterans pass on any issues to his office he and his staff do followup with them regardless of how small they may seem. I wish that more vets use the ombudsman's office. They cannot raise any issues that they do not know about. If the Ombudsman's office was used to its full potential there would be less newsclips of veterans and MP's pointing their fingers and yelling at each other, this makes for great news, but in the end nothing gets accomplished and it does little for our cause.
I do believe that Mr. Fantino should be removed as the Minister of VAC I have even wrote my MP on this, surprisingly I didn't get a reply from him, that's one less vote that Scott Reid, MP for Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington (Ontario) will be getting. Mr. Fantino won't be fired as much as anyone may want him to be, and he certainly will not resign as I am sure he feels he has done nothing wrong and is doing a great job. He appears to have little regard for veterans and their concerns. He is almost tied with Rob Ford for publicly apologizing for things he has said and done in the past to upset veterans. When asked questions he keeps stating the same facts over and over again hoping that if he says it enough it will become reality.
As I approach release I really hope that there are changes made to the NVC that will improve the ability for veterans to have easy and fast access to services they desperately need.
End Rant
Have a good weekend everyone :nod:
The Ombudsman has clearly laid out some of the "minimum" changes that should be made immediately. What does VAC, lead by MP Fantino, do? Launch another review, now MP's are stating they should have Canada wide town halls to hear the concerns the vets have in order to conduct this new review of the charter. This has been done to the point of redundancy, yet politicians cannot take their collective heads our of their a**es and see what is obvious. It's almost like they are afraid to make a decision.
I believe the Ombudsman has all veterans best interests in mind at all times. He is our collective voice. If veterans pass on any issues to his office he and his staff do followup with them regardless of how small they may seem. I wish that more vets use the ombudsman's office. They cannot raise any issues that they do not know about. If the Ombudsman's office was used to its full potential there would be less newsclips of veterans and MP's pointing their fingers and yelling at each other, this makes for great news, but in the end nothing gets accomplished and it does little for our cause.
I do believe that Mr. Fantino should be removed as the Minister of VAC I have even wrote my MP on this, surprisingly I didn't get a reply from him, that's one less vote that Scott Reid, MP for Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington (Ontario) will be getting. Mr. Fantino won't be fired as much as anyone may want him to be, and he certainly will not resign as I am sure he feels he has done nothing wrong and is doing a great job. He appears to have little regard for veterans and their concerns. He is almost tied with Rob Ford for publicly apologizing for things he has said and done in the past to upset veterans. When asked questions he keeps stating the same facts over and over again hoping that if he says it enough it will become reality.
As I approach release I really hope that there are changes made to the NVC that will improve the ability for veterans to have easy and fast access to services they desperately need.
End Rant
Have a good weekend everyone :nod: