MP Blaney and the NDP call for better support for Indigenous Veterans

Read her letter to the minister.

CAMPBELL RIVER—On Wednesday, NDP Veterans Affairs critic Rachel Blaney (North Island—Powell River) called for trauma-informed, public support for Indigenous Veterans and rebuilding Veterans Affairs.

Blaney says Liberals have let Indigenous Veterans who need help fall through the cracks by selling off Veterans Affairs to private, for-profit companies.

“Veterans fought to protect our country, and under the Liberals and Conservatives watch – our country has turned its back on them,” said Blaney. “For Veterans looking to access the services they were promised, like mental health support, they have to go through a bureaucratic system only to have their claims denied by companies that only care about their bottom dollar. This is even tougher for Indigenous Veterans who can’t access sensitive, culturally appropriate care.”

Over the last decade, the Liberals, like the Conservatives before them, cut funding to Veterans Affairs and instead have outsourced the work to private companies. Now, 9 out of 10 applications for Veterans services are wrongfully denied, and this is worse for women and Indigenous Veterans.

An NDP Government would rebuild Veterans Affairs as a trauma-informed care and support centre and ensure that VAC workers are properly trained in trauma-informed practices.

“Our Veterans deserve better than the deal they’ve been getting with Liberals and Conservatives,” added Blaney. “It’s time for Veterans Affairs to actually benefit Veterans, not rich companies who are padding their pockets.”