No Mr. Zimmer, your office is not a replacement for a real veteran affairs office. Your government closed ours and you did nothing about it.

Thanks for putting your lives on the line for your country… But now we are done with you go away.. We have refugees to take care of…

Harper should be locked up

Still waiting to hear how many Veterans are in the greater Prince George area that need this service.

Understand that the Kelowna office was closed in 2012 and that they have to deal through a regional office in Penticton. Wonder how that’s working out.

If an office was kept in Prince George this does not necessarily mean that the outlying areas would deal with Prince George. The new system is set up for inquiries to be handled through a 1 877 number for veterans all across Canada.

While this particular issue is about Veterans, we have gone through a number of like minded issues over the years. The 911 office being located in Kamloops comes to mind. EI and Worksafe BC are not exactly easy entitys to contact.

Many business’s use 1 800 numbers for service calls, and who knows where these customer service office’s are located.

I don’t like the trend, however it seems to be the way of the world at this time.

sounds like Zimmer is doing a “CYA” since there is an election on the horizon….

his office in the peace doesn’t help those in PG, except maybe in his own mind

As with Palopu, I wonder where one can find out how many veterans are involved who need the services of a person to speak to.

As far as regional office goes, if one needs face-to-face service it is a long distance to travel from anywhere west, north and east, and even south from Williams Lake to get here.

I am assuming that there are more veterans retired in the Penticton region than even in the Kelowna area.

One thing is for sure, Bob Zimmer’s office is not a replacement for any federal service.

We actually have an office in PG and a very dedicated person in my office who has been going to the hospital to meet the needs in PG. I and we do care about our vets and why my same staffer will be going to the legion (thanks to John Scott for allowing us to be there) to meet vets and get them to the services they need and deserve. Broadening the base of support for vets through the service Canada offices was and is the intent of the changes. We want vets in PG, Dawson Creek, FSJ etc to all have access again to services they deserve. The first quarterly meeting was for VAC to inform vets on what services are available to them and listen for any issues or problems in accessing services. VAC were here as a result of conversations/efforts between myself, Erin O’toole (Minister for Vets) John Scott and Susan Scott.

Montreal just resently did a survey of their homeless people and found that 6% of them are veterans . The cracks have been made so wide by this conjob that 6 % have fallen through in Montreal alone . Talk to the computer ? You might as well , say talk to the hand . Or in lieu talking to the military that you belong to . You know the people that got you shot up . The people you trusted with your life and well being . Instead once a week go to the bar and talk to bobs little helper . What a disgrace . Was dick in the room ?

Ataloss. 12% of the homeless in the USA are Veterans. Approx 1/4 of the homeless in Britain were in the armed services. Im sure there are other such statistics around the globe. Some better some worse.

Lets try and see the big picture and get beyond your favourite pastime which seems to be to blame the present Government for all the ill’s in Canada.

Apparently you missed this comment Bob, just in case…No Mr. Zimmer, your office is not a replacement for a real veteran affairs office. Your government closed ours and you did nothing about it.

The solution is to not vote for them again…vote for the party that says they will re open these offices.

Ataloss. 12% of the homeless in the USA are Veterans. Approx 1/4 of the homeless in Britain were in the armed services. Im sure there are other such statistics around the globe. Some better some worse.

Lets try and see the big picture and get beyond your favourite pastime which seems to be to blame the present Government for all the ill’s in Canada.

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The big picture is that Veterans Affairs Canada is a federal government department and as such, the Harper Government is the one who has to answer when issues are raised. Who else could? Christy Clark? How about the PG Airport Authority? Lynn Hall perhaps?

What amazes me is that Bob Zimmer was actually allowed to post a comment on this site. Guess Harper, and the boys in short pants (PMO), are providing their minions with some latitude to think and speak for themselves.

Not that these Harper minions would ever be allowed to attend a election debate, that would be too much latitude from a prime minister who refuses to attend Canada’s largest broadcasters election debates.

Zimmer..how do you sleep at night… refugees get more monthly income from the government than our retirees who have paid taxes all their life.. you should be ashamed of yourself.. Harper and his dictatorship should be put on a iceflow and sent off to never be seen again.

Zimmer writes: “Broadening the base of support for vets through the service Canada offices was and is the intent of the changes.”

Intent is not what we need. We need actual implementation.

I am told by people who have been using the services of the office on 4th for such things as passports, that the staffing level is down and that the morale is fairly dismal. I have experienced the same frustrations from staff there regarding phone access to offices in Vancouver/Ottawa or wherever they have to call to get directly into the departments they are dealing with.

So, since Mr. Zimmer is responding to comments on here, I ask him what exactly is the intent for veterans at the government service office as far as additional staff, additional training, etc. to look after the needs of veterans and, if there really is such an intent, why was this not actually implemented while the office was still here and a period of overlap allowed to ensure the smooth transition from one to the other.

I intend to do lots of things. I only implement some when I underestimate the magnitude of my intentions. I know the Harper government and its members do the same. However, there is a difference. They have a duty to the citizens of this country and they get paid for fulfilling that duty. I do not have that same duty.

Actually Pval thats an urban myth that just won’t die.

https://www.taxpayer.com/media/Refugee_Benefits(You_Asked%20For%20It_).pdf

Palopu . Remember the bus driver verses the bus drivers passengers responsibility analogy . It applies to the veterans as well . They did not put themselves in harms way . That was harper and company . Also , any level of homelessness is unacceptable . Veterans especially . Or are you saying we don’t have enough homeless vets .

“a prime minister who refuses to attend Canada’s largest broadcasters election debates”

If that is true, he has a very interesting point. Why should he? He gets elected as leader by his party and he gets elected as a MP by his riding. He is not the president of Canada looking for votes from the entire country.

Look at Christy Clark. She did all that campaigning for the party and lost her own riding because she did not pay enough attention to it until it was too late. Perhaps Harper watched that and watched the change in provincial government in Alberta and is working a bit more seriously on his own survival in Calgary Heritage which will be a new riding as a result of redistribution.

Ataloss … Palopu is just getting a bit crotchety in his old age.

My point was that Veterans problems and homelessness seems to be universal. There is no doubt that we need to address this problem, however all the Harper Haters should keep in mind that Veterans have had problems with the Canadian Governments since World War One. So to try and hang this on Harper shows the depth of **tunnel vision** for some posters.

The other side of this issue that is being ignored by some posters (because of their rush to criticize the Federal Government) is the fact that a very small number of Veterans actually attended this meeting. If you read the article you would see that veterans were outnumbered by politicians and political hopefuls.

So in reality what we need is some statistics that show the number of veterans in the Prince George area that would actually use an office if it was reinstated. Seems the numbers were not sufficient to keep the office open.

People like Zimmer and others who are trying to work with this issue to ensure that veterans can get access while the issue of the office closure is debated should get credit.

As for the leftie posters who constantly criticize Harper and the Conservatives, we all (or most of us) know this is the eternal whining of those who have lost, and will continue to lose the election. They have been licking their wounds for so long their tongues have swollen.

When it comes to debates there may be some restrictions on MP’s and perhaps some degree on the various party leaders, however there is no restrictions on members of the community.

For those who are so supportive of debates, why don’t you organize one with supporters of the various parties in the riding, and let the good times roll. Nothing like a good debate to get ideas into the community.

So in reality what we need is some statistics that show the number of veterans in the Prince George area that would actually use an office if it was reinstated. Seems the numbers were not sufficient to keep the office open.

=================

So was the office close as a result of insufficient demand, or was it closed to help reduce departmental costs?

Keeping in mind we have a volunteer army, maybe potential recruits should weigh the promises of the recruiter against the actual treatment of vets and reconsider serving in the military. That more than anything will get DOD’s attention.

If this ideological government would ever make a decision based on “evidence” maybe we would not have to question its moves. Show us the numbers Zimmer, show us how many veterans were using the Prince George office and have been affected by its closure!

Next up, transfer all those veteran affairs long distance phone service centers to India or Taiwan to save even more money!

ski51. You make a good point. Those who volunteer should ensure that they get all the information that they can in regards to what happens if they get injured, and what happens when they leave the service.

“So was the office close as a result of insufficient demand, or was it closed to help reduce departmental costs?”

Who knows. Bob Zimmer likely has a good idea, but even he might not know for sure unless he sits on some committee dealing with veterans affairs. Not every MP can be fully informed on everything that goes on.

I am sure there are a lot of volunteers who are eager to get some cash in their pockets, to get some training that will give them a kick start at a future job, and they really do not think about that.

Remember the slogan similar to “join the armed forces and see the world”. There is a reason they picked that.

Maybe the slogan “join the armed forces and fight to keep the enemy at a distance from our home communities” or something similar exists, but if it does I either did not notice it or I never saw it.

gopg2015 states; “Who knows. Bob Zimmer likely has a good idea, but even he might not know for sure unless he sits on some committee dealing with veterans affairs. Not every MP can be fully informed on everything that goes on.”

Its Bob Zimmer’s “JOB” to know what is going on in his riding. If Bob Zimmer is going to show up at a Veterans Affairs session, he should know some of the basic issues and facts of those issues and come prepared to answer questions… or else what good is he?

There was a time, not so long ago when knowing the issues and the facts around them was an MP’s job, and being able to answer some basic questions; like how many veterans were affected by the closure of the Veterans Affairs Office in PG was expected of them. Not anymore apparently!

All these knowledgeable post and how many of you have ever needed the services of veterans affairs?

As a Korean War Veteran when I needed assistance I called the Legions service Officer. His response was we don’t have any Korean veterans.

I went to Veterans Affairs Website and found that most cases in the BC interior went through Veterans Affairs in Penticton. there were a lot of applications to complete but I did get results. Its not that I got help from a pollution it was simply fallowing Veterans Affairs procedures.

I for one didn’t know at the time that there was a Veterans Affairs office in PG.

It would be interesting to know how many veterans there are In PG at the present time. The Legion is run today be Associate Members all they care about is the club activity. Check out the Parade on November 11.
Cheers

What I still cant get over are the two figures the presenter shared, although shocking us was probably not their intent. When they told us that they were providing disability services to almost 8000 Afghanistan veterans (out of around 11,000 who have served there) it blew my mind that 70% of the people we are sending to that region are coming back badly broken. That number seems staggeringly high to me – it feels like we are doing something wrong to result in that high a percentage. The second figure that shocked me was when the presenter said that they guarantee 75% of pre-enlistment income to permanently disabled veterans for life. Don’t most people enlist at 18ish, so in fact what we are guaranteeing is 75% of a minimum wage part time job? I am NO expert on this subject. I am not pretending to have any true understanding of the issues, but I can’t get those two figures out of my head. Something feels very wrong if I understood what they were saying correctly.

Good comment Tracy, it prompted me to do a little digging. I would imagine higher rates of physical and mental damage (PTSD) would occur in soldiers who undertake multiple tours of duty in the war zone.

Also, I believe the Canadian Army increased the length of Afghanistan tours from six months to nine months. More time spent in a hellish war zone like Afghanistan, the more wounded a person would become, is my guess.

www. cbc.ca/news/canada/military-considers-longer-tours-of-duty-in-afghanistan-1.575425

Bitch, bitch, bitch!

Some people on this site bitch about MP Dick Harris being absent from this area, missing in action so to speak!

Here we are with a meeting in the city. Bob Zimmer isn’t missing in action, he’s front and centre at the meeting, a meeting that I understand Bob and his staff played a part in making it happen! As Palopu stated earlier “People like Zimmer and others who are trying to work with this issue to ensure that veterans can get access while the issue of the office closure is debated should get credit.”

We may never have a Veterans Affairs office here again as we may not have enough veterans in the region to warrant an office! That’s the reality! At least Bob and his staff are making an effort to make the best of what some obviously consider a bad situation! How many of you whiners have ever, EVER spoken with Bob?!

What does he and his staff get for their efforts? More bitching! Just goes to show that “You can please some of the people, some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people, all of the time”!

Hart Guy states; “Here we are with a meeting in the city. Bob Zimmer isn’t missing in action, he’s front and centre (sic) at the meeting, a meeting that I understand Bob and his staff played a part in making it happen!”

Ummm… Hart Guy the meeting was a bust! Even the title of the news story is “No Big Announcement From Veterans Affairs Session in P.G.”

“I was expecting more today” says Mayor Lyn Hall, while saying it’s important the services and benefits be detailed, he thought there would be something more “I was expecting how we were going to resolve the issue about services being delivered to our veterans, some talk about whether or not we are going to open up an office, whether it would be on an intermittent basis or full time office, or how we can utilize the Legion as office space for these folks from Veterans Affairs to come here and deal with veterans in the region.” Mayor Hall says his concern, and that of Council’s is “How do we get that direct contact that we lost, so we’ve been talking to members of parliament about it, and I was hoping to hear something back today.”

I have highlighted the sections of the story that describe how much of a bust this meeting was. Why even have it? What was suppose to be accomplished by having it? Bizarre, we are paying for these Veteran Affairs officials with our tax dollars for travel and accommodation to meet here in PG for what purpose?