Trudeau vows to reopen regional veterans affairs offices, including in BC
Posted August 24, 2015 12:13 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
KELOWNA – Canadian veterans in Kelowna and Prince George will be interested in the latest election promise from Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau.
He is pledging to reopen nine regional veterans affairs offices closed by the Conservatives and to hire an additional 400 staff to process claims.
The regional veterans affairs office in Kelowna was shuttered about 18-months ago, while the Prince George office was closed in 2012, with Prince George-Peace River MP Bob Zimmer defending the closures on the grounds there was not enough work to maintain the offices.
Speaking at an event in Ontario this morning, Trudeau also promised to restore life-time pensions for injured veterans or give them a choice to accept the current program which offers a lump sum payment.
The Liberal leader lashed out at Stephen Harper, accusing him of selling veterans short.
“Harper likes to wrap himself in the flag, but he has betrayed the brave men and women who laid down their lives for it.”
Trudeau says Harper did that by closing veterans support services offices and firing hundreds of their staff.
