Fantino apologizes for treatment of veterans

Vaughan Weekly
February 5, 2014
By Angela Gismondi

Veterans Affairs Minister Julian Fantino said he is sorry for the way he treated veterans at a meeting last week.

The Vaughan MP found himself in hot water last week after a meeting with veterans turned into an angry confrontation.

Last Tuesday (Jan. 28), the minister was supposed to meet with a group of veterans who travelled to Ottawa to discuss the closing of nine regional Veterans Affairs offices across Canada including locations in Kelowna, British Columbia; Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; Brandon, Manitoba; Thunder Bay, Ontario; Windsor, Ontario; Sydney, Nova Scotia; Charlottetown, P.E.I.; and Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Fantino originally cancelled the meeting but showed up just as the veterans were about to hold a press conference, over an hour after the meeting was scheduled to begin. A heated exchange ensued and Fantino left the meeting abruptly. The veterans were in Ottawa with representatives from the Public Service Alliance of Canada union.

“Due to a Cabinet meeting that ran long, I was very late in meeting a group of veterans that had come to Ottawa to discuss their concerns,” reads a ministerial statement issued by Fantino’s office on Jan. 29.

“I sincerely apologize for how this was handled. I am reaching out to those veterans to reiterate that apology personally. I have been committed to having an open dialogue with the men and women who served Canada in uniform, but I realize that yesterday’s regrettable delay has brought that into question. Veterans across Canada should know that I remain deeply committed to meeting with them and listening to the issues that matter to them and their families, and to continue to do what’s right to support those who have stood up for Canada. Our country’s veterans deserve no less.”

The Minister also reiterated his apology in the House of Commons Thursday and called each of the veterans personally to apologize. Despite his apologies, the controversy led opposition parties and veterans calling for his resignation.

“I absolutely regret yesterday’s events,” said Fantino in the House of Commons after NDP Leader Tom Muclair demanded  the Prime Minister fire Fantino. “I apologized directly to veterans and again I apologize to them now. I wanted to meet with them to hear their case and their stories and explain to them the changes that we’re making will in fact look after their interests and their families interests.”

The Veterans Affairs offices closed their doors for good this past Friday. Hundreds of veterans have been rallying against the office closures. Veterans believe the changes will leave them without access to the services they need. Veterans Affairs Canada offers a range of services and support to injured Veterans, including snow clearing, grass cutting and home cleaning, support for career re-training and much more.

According to the Conservative government, the Veterans Affairs offices that were closed were under used. The closure of these offices was not a budget cut, it was a reallocation of resources to where they can be better used.

This is not the first time Fantino has had an issue with the Public Service Alliance of Canada. The minister issued a statement in mid-December regarding the misinformation being put out by the union. He stressed veterans will still be able to access the services they need

“Contrary to the utterly false and irresponsible claims made by the Public Service Alliance of Canada, Veterans Affairs Canada is placing a full-time client service agent, on an ongoing basis, in the nearest Service Canada location to the eight offices that are closing. This position will be there for as long as necessary in order to support veterans in the communities where they live,” said Fantino in a statement. “By making this unfounded allegation, this union has once again blatantly put its own interests ahead of the veterans it claims to be protecting.  This reprehensible attempt to spread misinformation has impugned the reputation of a hard-working public servant, has sowed anxiety amongst Canadians and has done a serious disservice to veterans and families who deserve the utmost clarity on the services that are available to them. All options are being considered on how to address the spreading of these falsehoods.”

There are now over 650 locations across Canada where veterans can receive in-person service from the Government of Canada, an increase of over 16 times the number of locations that were available in 2006.

In addition, case-managed veterans will continue to have access to the same personalized visits from VAC case managers, whether in their own home or at a location of their choice.