I don't have anyone in my family who served in the First or Second World War or in the Korean conflict. In fact, my family has had no military involvement whatsoever, but that doesn't mean I don't recognize the sacrifices our veterans made many years ago and continue to make in wars and conflicts around the world so I can live in a free country.
Every year I've worked for this newspaper, I've had the honour to attend Remembrance Day ceremonies on the Coast. Next Thursday will be no exception as I will once again be at the Sechelt Cenotaph to take photos and pay tribute to our Legion members. Nov. 11 is a day when everyone in the community, young and old, should take the time to attend any one of the four Remembrance Day ceremonies put on by our Coast Legions. It's a time to remember and reflect.
But before the Nov. 11 occasion, an important event will be taking place, one that probably not too many people in this country are aware of.
This Saturday, Nov. 6, veterans from coast to coast will assemble at 11 a.m. to offer support for Canadian Forces as they serve in harm's way, the veterans who have been affected by the consequences of war and the many, many families who are coping with a very different life than they envisioned before the War in Afghanistan began.
I find it absolutely appalling that it has come down to this form of protest, but after three years of lobbying the federal government, many veterans in this country are growing increasingly frustrated by the lack of real government reform with the New Veterans Charter to reflect the realities of the War in Afghanistan and the needs of all generations of veterans.
Many veterans feel betrayed. Many veterans believed Prime Minister Harper personally appointed Canada's first Vet-erans Ombudsman, Col. Pat Stogran, to rectify the Charter's inadequacies.
But that has not happened. The Royal Canadian Legion proposed 13 important changes, and knowledgeable veterans' advocates and other organizations paraded routinely before parliamentary committee. Yet even as Canada's sons and daughters are still being injured and killed in active conflict, the government has refused to act.
There are five central issues veterans are advocating for on Saturday, objectives designed to improve the lives of the widows and families of the fallen. These issues are: to insist that all pensions related to a Killed in Action tragedy be considered tax-free; to replace the pitifully low lump sum award with the same lifetime standard of security that previous generations of veterans enjoyed; to expand the Agent Orange settlement to provide support for all veterans exposed to cancerous chemical defoliant; to improve resources to include comprehensive, family inclusive treatment and counselling options on a 24/7, nation-wide basis; and to ensure justice for the 6,300 peacekeeping veterans who have been disabled as a consequence of duty (and who were awarded Veterans of Affairs Canada pensions for pain and suffering only to discover they are unjustly offset by a wage loss insurance policy).
These all seem like reasonable and just demands, so why has it come to this? Why is the Conservative government dragging its feet? Why are our veterans' voices not being heard?
Some of these questions were posed to member of Parliament John Weston a month ago when he appeared at the Sechelt Legion on behalf of Veterans Affairs minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn. Weston didn't have all the answers, but he pledged to work harder on the issue.
I'm asking the same questions now, Mr. Weston. It shouldn't be up to our veterans to rally and protest for some simple rights, rights that so many gave their lives to protect in the first place. Do the right thing and lobby your party to address the honourable issues the Canadian Veterans National Day of Protest was created to address. You can make a difference. You can provide a voice for those forgotten.
