Dick Harris Questions Need for Veterans Office
Prince George, B.C. – Cariboo-Prince George Conservative MP Dick Harris has reacted to calls for the re-opening of the Veterans Affairs office in Prince George.
And the veteran MP questions whether or not it’s needed.
“I’ve been in touch with Service Canada. I’ve been in touch with Veterans Affairs in Ottawa and have been told that the numbers of people into use Veterans Affairs had been on a very sharp decline.”
Harris says the numbers of veterans seeking help here had dwindled to an average or one or two people seeking help a week, three tops before the closure.
He adds he’s aware of the letter the City of Prince George plans to send to Ottawa to protest the closure and plans to meet with local legion representatives as a result.
“I’m hoping when I have a discussion with Bruce Gabriel and John Scott that we’ll be able to identify those needs clearly then I can go to Service Canada and say okay, here’s the actual on the ground numbers.”
Harris adds the door isn’t closed to the re-opening of the office either.
“When it comes to looking after veterans doors are never closed. They never have been. It’s a little known fact that Veterans Affairs never runs out of money if there’s a need. There’s never been an increase in funding that’s been turned down as long as I know and I was on the Veterans Affairs Committee.”
Still, he finds the complaints odd, claiming he hasn’t heard them through his office.
“I can tell you we haven’t had a single complaint into our office from a veteran. I find that really strange if there’s a need there.”
But Royal Canadian Legion zone commander John Scott disputes that claim.
“I don’t buy that at all. As a matter of fact I sent an open letter that he got and it’s funny but Tom Mulcair (NDP Leader) got a copy of my letter and phoned me at home and thanked me for it.”
Comments
Doubt the fogs gonna lift anytime soon, perhaps Todd will be able to lift it.
I don’t know what cloud Mr. Harris is perched on. Well, goodluck getting the office re-opened. It would actually serve the whole Northern area of the province; and talking to someone local beats trying to deal with a phone call to Ottawa/Toronto.
How many people did the Veteran’s Office employ? If they were only fielding one or two calls per week it seems like a waste to keep it open.
The number of calls may be misleading, depending on the nature of the call. Some could take 10 minutes, some could take 10 hours, some could take 10 months to resolve.
Customer service is weird. The more it is available the more people will use it. Sort of like puic transit. If you keep reducing it or making it inconvenient, you actually drive the demand down. People eventually get sick of trying to get help and they just stop seeking it. It doesn’t mean the demand isn’t tere, it means you did a horrible job of meeting the need and people gave up on you.
Why not just assign the Veterans Affairs portfolio to one of the numerous bureaucrats we already house?
Anyone who thinks we should cut back anything to our veterans should leave our country, the one they put their lives on the line for. It’s not about money it’s about people.
They don’t all put their lives on the line. Many of them never see any action at all other than practice, or office work. Also, they picked that line of work, no one forced them to. I think it would be a huge waste of money for 2 to 3 calls a week.
Duffer all persons in the armed forces are soldiers first whether they are an admin writer, cook or supply officer. Yes they picked that line of work and you should be very glad some people are willing to go over the fence to protect your soft butt. These people are at the beck and call of the government so therefore should have support of that government.
For your comment on action you are speaking from ignorance. “action” as you call it is not required for service personal to experience ugly situations or be put into very hazardous situations.
That being said, with very few office visits I understand there is always communication and a veterans official does make trips into town.
Would like to hear from someone who uses these services and what they have to say.
They may have only seen a few people per week, but staff would have spent hours a day on the phone, talking to people all over Northern BC. The number of in-person contacts is misleading as to how much the office was needed here.
Phone call can as well go to Kelowna.
The Harper government is full of anti Semitic’s wanting no more to destroy the Earth out of greed. Bottom line end of games. NDP no different and most of the Liberals all the same.
I question the need for Dock Harris.
Posted on Wednesday, January 7, 2015 @ 6:52 PM by changeit
The Harper government is full of anti Semitic’s wanting no more to destroy the Earth out of greed. Bottom line end of games. NDP no different and most of the Liberals all the same.
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See what happens to your brains kids once the fluoride has been removed…
Dick who ??
Would like to hear from someone who uses these services and what they have to say.
Hey seamut I can help you on that one know you were waiting for my call.. As a veteran I get a small pension from Veterans Affairs. I phoned the Service Officer at the Legion and he mumbled something about not knowing anything about Korean veterans.
I got all my applications to proceed from the Korean Veterans Association and guess what I never ever could find the veterans office in Prince George. Application and stuff were done by correspondence through the Penticton office and some to the Vancouver office and the Ministry in Charlottetown PEI.
Besides there are very few veterans that use the Legion its all filled with club members. The last Armistice day parade I attended there were three or four of us veterans and the other 30 were club members. I never did attend another parade.
Cheers
So you are saying that you never used the office and didn’t need a local walk in office.
axman: Calling me down doesn’t change the fact of my comment! It’s stating a simple fact!
Posted on Thursday, January 8, 2015 @ 5:27 AM by changeit
axman: Calling me down doesn’t change the fact of my comment! It’s stating a simple fact!
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There is a big difference between fact and libel.
Libel! Come on! Bunch of haters in the government and it spans all parties not just the cons. Furthermore I am not going to argue with a fool. A fool is someone that see’s and then just turns a blind eye to destruction. Polly Mine is one example. They knew there was a leak. Yet did nothing to stop it from happening. Just one example of anti Semitic’s out to kill the Planet.
Harper loves Israel. Polley mine is a bit out of his jurisdiction, so I don’t understand what you are trying to say changeit.
I can post a link hopefully. http://www.stopracism.ca/content/stephen-harper-and-his-northern-foundation-past All of a sudden he’s at the wailing wall. Something up there I think.
Who cares right! Let them kill the planet! Whatever! Just a joke. Not engaging you folks any longer now. Sorry to bother you all. Have a good day.
I was just hoping for some clarification on your “anti Semitic” statement. Oh well.
Gee I thought we were talking about veterans services here but some always spout off and loose direction.
Cheers
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