On Monday, June 19, North Island-Powell River MP and NDP veteran affairs critic Rachel Blaney, joined by the Union of Veterans Affairs (UVAC) president Virginia Vaillancourt, called on the Liberal government to cancel its veterans’ outsourcing contracts, following the tabling of a parliamentary report that shows veterans have been suffering as a result.
Last summer, the minister of veterans affairs agreed to outsource veterans’ rehabilitation services to a private company owned in part by Loblaws; the contracts total more than $560 million, according to a media release from the NDP.
“What’s happened over the last year at Veterans Affairs is another example on a long list of disastrous Liberal outsourcing,” stated Blaney. “While the Liberals cozy up to their rich CEO friends, Canada’s veterans have paid the price. Veterans who fought for our country now can’t access the mental health and rehabilitation supports that they need and deserve. It’s time for these outsourcing contracts to be scrapped.”
According to the release, veterans have faced monthlong backlogs, confusing processes, slow delivery and an inability to get much-needed services. The company the minister selected received hundreds of millions of dollars despite not being ready, and veterans are being forced to reshare their experiences and trauma with a company without service delivery experience, the release stated.
UVAC notes that this contract is 25 per cent more expensive than if the minister had just agreed to hire more case workers, according to the release. While Blaney is critical of the current Liberal government’s approach, she also notes that the previous Conservative government contributed to veterans’ hardship by creating this horrendous backlog of services at Veterans Affairs by making cuts and closing nine offices.
“Consecutive Liberal and Conservative governments have gladly enlisted people to protect our country, but the minute our veterans retire or leave service, they’re neglected. It’s shameful,” added Blaney. “Now, the government is negligently handing out contracts to private companies – at the heart of which is profit-making, not service delivery. New Democrats will always put veterans before companies’ profits. That’s why I’m fighting to see these contracts thrown out and instead invest the money into our public service.”
