Veterans fare better with the Liberals

I recently read a post that showed veterans slamming Justin Trudeau and his Liberal government for saying “veterans are asking for more than the government is able to give them.”

I am a veteran and served the Canadian Armed Forces/ Navy for 27 years. When I reached 65, it was the Conservative government, in its imminent wisdom, that decided to claw back veterans’ pensions at age 65. I would also like to remind veterans that it was Stephen Harper who refused to give veterans back their full military pension. Our local Conservative MP at the time told me “the government couldn’t afford the cost” even though this was an employee/employer pension fund.

Under Harper, hundreds of Veterans Affairs employees were let go and many Veterans Affairs offices were closed, forcing veterans across Canada to travel farther for necessary services. They also stopped full life disability pensions for veterans while taking billions of dollars out of the veterans’ pension fund. If this wasn’t enough, it was the Harper government that also had the nerve to give Canada pension executives million-dollar bonuses after this board lost the veterans and taxpayers several billion dollars in failed investments.

During the past four years under the Liberal government, Trudeau has at least attempted to address veterans issues. The Liberal government has reopened nine Veterans Affairs offices across Canada. He increased the veterans survival benefit to 70 per cent.

This is not intended to be a plug nor endorsement for the Liberals, but the facts do not support this group of Alberta veterans (if indeed they are veterans) who are throwing the blame for the state of Veterans Affairs solely on the sitting government.

Tom Walton, captain (ret’d), Lethbridge