News from the Office of Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster.
(A Brief Foreword Note from NAL publisher Doug Draper – A sincere word of gratitude here for Niagara provincial legislature Cindy Forster for fronting a bill for supporting Canada’s veterans that is thankfully being greeted with non-partisan support at Queen’s Park.
Having said that, here is another example, like climate change, education, health care and infrastructure renewal, of an area our provinces and municipalities are taking over funding for as our federal government backs away.
We no longer live in what has been Canada for most of the past century and a half, but in a Harperland where the spirit of a true confederation of provinces and territories is all but dead.
As for the Harper government, how disgusting to use deaths of Canadians in uniforms to pass a bill that threatens all Canadians’ rights and freedoms, yet not offer our veterans the support they need when it comes to physical and pscholgocal challenges they are facing, along with the challenges of finding gameful employment in our country.)
Like Environment Canada and Canada’s Department of Oceans and Fisheries, Veterans Affairs Canada is rapidly becoming a body in name only.Harper might just as well be honest and get rid of it completely.
QUEEN’S PARK – This past April 16th, 2015, Welland Riding NDP MPP Cindy Forster’s bill, calling for priority access to Long-Term Care for veterans, successfully passed second reading in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario with unanimous consent.
“We have a duty of care to ensure that all veterans who have sacrificed on our behalf are given the care they need and rightfully deserve, regardless of when or where they served. The rules need to change to give priority to veterans regardless of service,” said Forster, MPP for Welland.
Forster’s legislation would amend the Long-Term Care Homes Act, ensuring modern day veterans receive equal priority access to Long-Term Care beds, alongside their traditional veteran counterparts, when they need it.
“We’re being misled into thinking that there’s no longer a need because the number of veterans is declining. What people don’t realize is that the definition of veteran that’s being used in current legislation only refers to pre-1953 veterans, which is fundamentally wrong. Once the modern veteran population is factored in, the need for priority access to long-term care beds becomes dire,” explained Forster.
According to the Veteran Ombudsman’s 2013-2014 report, modern day veterans have the least access when it comes to long-term care.
It’s the first time a bill of this nature has been introduced at the provincial level. Similar bills have been attempted at the federal level by the NDP in recent years but were defeated by the Harper Conservative government.
“These are veterans who left their loved ones behind to make the ultimate sacrifice for our communities, and in doing so, risked paying the highest price. They come home having born physical, mental and emotional wounds. For that reason they need to know we’re behind them with the health care supports they need,” said Forster. “Instead, our modern day veterans are faced with a system that tells them they aren’t ‘veteran enough’ for priority long-term care – this is plain wrong and has to change.”
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Niagara At Large 
We have a duty to care for everyone and while I am opposed to the refusal to provide veterans with adequate medical care I am concerned about privileging any class of citizens. Why not have an all party resolution to create an anti-war government for Canada.
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The treatment of soldiers by the Harper crew, reminds me of a Rudyard Kipling poem, about the British Soldier, when there is a war going on they , the public treat them like hero’s, when the war is over, they are treated like trash. and nobody want’s to know them. That just about how Harper treats our vets.
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