Veteran Affairs workers slam cuts

Spending reductions will see a third of staff laid off

OTTAWA — The federal government is fooling itself if it believes that veterans will increasingly want to go online or on the phone to access services they need, department staff said Tuesday.

The union representing workers said one in three front-line service workers will be eliminated by 2015 as the result of spending cuts, and now veterans will have fewer chances to meet in person with Veterans Affairs Canada employees as the department closes nine regional offices in Prince George, Kelowna, Windsor, Ont., Saskatoon, Charlottetown, Thunder Bay, Brandon, Man., Sydney, N.S., and Corner Brook, N.L.

Instead, veterans are being directed to a toll-free number that allows them to speak with a representative from a private, American-based insurance company.

“Our clients will not be dealing with Veterans Affairs employees,” said Michelle Bradley, a client-services worker. “Personal relationships will soon be a thing of the past.”

Spending cuts announced in the 2012 budget will lead to the elimination of 252 jobs at Veterans Affairs over the next three years, with 75 of those jobs being eliminated by the fall.

Those cuts don’t include the 552 jobs the department is eliminating over the coming three years resulting from its internal reshuffling of how it provides services to veterans.

“Our government will continue to ensure our nation’s heroes receive the best possible care,” said Codie Taylor, a spokeswoman for Veterans Affairs Minister Steven Blaney.

The department believes that 80 per cent of its clients will be able to handle the majority of their needs either through contact with the department online or on the phone by 2014.

“We don’t believe it’s feasible,” said Yvan Thauvette of the Union of Veterans Affairs Employees. “There won’t be any services any more. They’ll have to