Veterans affairs of the heart

Some compromise likely needed to maintain Veterans Affairs services in Cape Breton

Apair of Progressive Conservative MLAs from Cape Breton — Alfie MacLeod and Eddie Orrell — are taking a bit of heat from veterans and the union that represents Veterans Affairs workers.

Veteran Ron Clarke sums up those concerns in a letter on this page, arguing that MacLeod and Orrell should have checked in with local veterans and Veterans Affairs workers before discussing the impending closure of the Sydney Veterans Affairs office with Veterans Affairs Minister Julian Fantino in Ottawa.

MacLeod and Orrell suggested to Fantino that some of the local Veterans Affairs employees who now work with Cape Breton veterans could be moved to a local Service Canada office when the federal government closes the Sydney Veterans Affairs office, which is supposed to happen early in the new year.

Not surprisingly, Clarke and Yvan Thauvette, national president of the Union of Veterans Affairs Employees — a branch of the Public Service Alliance of Canada — would like the status quo maintained in Sydney. So would we.

But the federal Conservatives seem determined to close a number of Veterans Affairs offices across the country — including Sydney’s — and have veterans and their families taken care of via Service Canada offices, a toll-free number and “innovative mobile apps” for “customized mental health support.”

But the local veterans, Veterans Affairs workers and supporters that we’ve heard from are overwhelmingly against losing that relationship between the current employees and the veterans.

The most compelling argument is that veterans should continue to be served by the workers who know the Veterans Affairs system and the individual veterans.

So, if a compromise must be made, losing the physical office space and retaining dedicated Veterans Affairs employees certainly isn’t the worst-case scenario.

Of course, it’s not as simple as that. Other Veterans Affairs offices are slated for closure across the country, and if the feds make concessions in Cape Breton, it would set a precedent. And if you bring Veterans Affairs and Service Canada workers together in the same space, issues around office layout, seniority and duties would have to be worked out.

MacLeod and Orrell already know that the community overwhelmingly wants the Veterans Affairs status quo maintained. But with little indication that the feds are listening, it’s hard to blame them for trying to reach a compromise at the 11th hour.