Members of the local Legion are pleased to hear that Federal Veteran Affairs Minister Julian Fantino is out of his role.
Branch 43 President, Bruce Gabrielle says Fantino was never looking out for Veterans’ interests.
“He was not a very trustworthy man,” Gabrielle says. “He showed that when all of our veterans went to Ottawa, we had veterans from right across our country, and as the Minister he never even had the decency to show up on time. It showed people what he was worth, right there.”
After veteran’s offices were closed, job cuts, and pensions were fumbled away, Gabrielle feels the current system is a shell of its former self and is just not working.
“When you’re calling somebody on the phone and your main problem is your hearing … the person on the other end is getting frustrated because you cant hear them, the person that needs the help most, can’t get the help they need,” he explains. “This idea that you can set someone over in the corner with a computer, well, a lot of people are illiterate when it comes to a computer.”
Members of the local Legion will ask Prince George City Council to support re-opening the Veterans office at Monday night’s meeting.
“Our goal is to see the office re-opened in Prince George, people have to travel so far, it’s ridiculous ,” Gabrielle says, as the nearest office for anyone in Northern BC is located in Kelowna.
Fantino is being shuffled out of Veterans Affairs to become the new Associate Minister of National Defence.
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