CANOE COVE, P.E.I. — Standing in front of a flagpole on at Canoe Cove, P.E.I., Andrew Scheer pledged that a Conservative government would clear a lengthy backlog of benefit applications for military veterans within two years.
As of last November, almost 40,000 veterans were waiting for disability benefits, an increase of 11,000 over the previous year.
The Conservative leader said Sunday the long wait times for veterans amounted to a broken promise by the government of Liberal leader Justin Trudeau.
"In 2015, he stood with veterans and used our men and women in uniform as props. He promised that no veteran would ever have to fight for the support and compensation they have earned, that no veteran would have to fight in court,” Scheer said.
“Today that promise lies in tatters."
On Sunday, the Parliamentary Budget Office in Ottawa said Scheer’s promise to clear the backlog of Veterans Affairs applications would cost more than $50 million.
Scheer also promised to pass a military covenant, a piece of legislation that would require veterans receive services in a timely manner.
Scheer chose to make the announcements in P.E.I., which is both the home of current Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay and the headquarters of Veterans Affairs Canada.
The previous Conservative government of Stephen Harper implemented significant cuts to staffing from the department and shut down nine Veterans Affairs offices across Canada.
When asked about why veterans should trust the Conservatives after the cuts to veterans’ services by the Harper government, Scheer said his commitments came after he had spoken directly to veterans.
"This is my solemn engagement with them,” Scheer said.
“I’ve been working closely with them to come up with these types of practical changes that will make their lives better."
The Liberals had promised to re-establish lifelong pensions as an option for veterans as part of their 2015 platform. Since then, the Liberal government has increased Veterans Affairs staffing levels, and re-opened the nine Veterans Affairs offices.
Despite this, backlogs remain. The Union of Veterans Affairs Employees has estimated between 300 and 500 additional staff would need to be hired to clear the backlog of veterans’ applications.
Scheer also pledged to improve the Pensions for Life program, and pledged veterans with severe or permanent injuries would not receive less support than under previous programming. He promised to set up an inquiry into the exposure of military veterans to mefloquine, and to provide service dogs for veterans dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Mefloquine was administered as an anti-malarial to Canadian Forces personnel who served in overseas missions prior to 2017. Eight veterans have filed a lawsuit against the federal government related to side effects of the medication.
Scheer also addressed the Northern Pulp pipe controversy. Earlier this month, a Nova Scotia Court of Appeals ruling suggested the Nova Scotia government could not be counted on to provide an unbiased environmental assessment of the proposed effluent pipe. The Nova Scotia government has provided at least $250,000 to fund the costs of Northern Pulp’s environmental assessment, court documents showed.
When asked whether he thought the federal government should step in to conduct an independent environmental assessment of the project, Scheer said responsibility still lay with the Nova Scotia government.
"It's really up to the provincial government to determine how they're going to respond to that. It really is important to note that they have mis-managed this file for so long," Scheer said.
When asked whether a Conservative government would reduce commuter tolls on the Confederation Bridge, Scheer did not commit.
"I understand that the toll is an impact on families here. We are hearing that feedback and we will have more to say on affordability measures throughout the rest of this campaign," Scheer said.
