Conservatives

The Conservative Party believes the government should be committed to providing the best possible services and benefits for veterans and their families, in recognition of their service to Canada. We are also committed to keeping the memory of Canadian veterans' achievements and sacrifices alive through the promotion of public awareness and memorials. We support the Veterans' Bill of Rights to ensure that all disputes involving veterans are treated quickly, fairly and with the presumption in favour of the rights of the veteran. The Conservative Party regards this as an important component of the national commitment to treating our veterans with respect. We would immediately institute a complete overhaul of Veterans Affairs Canada bringing it online with the needs of today's veterans of conflict and peacekeeping missions. This would include instituting a standard of delivery of services, i.e., reviews, payment of services and the like. We support the continuing reform of the Veterans Review and Appeals Board so that it can more effectively respond to the wishes of veterans. To this end, we will work to increase the number of military peers on that Board. We will continue to ensure veterans have the benefits and services they deserve after a life-time of dedication to their country. We are committed to ensuring the veterans of Canada's wars and peacekeeping operations receive their veterans' benefits and health care in a timely fashion. We are committed to ensuring that Canada's veterans' hospital and various veterans' wings in regular hospitals are in top working order. We would immediately extend Veterans Independence Program services to the widows of all Second World War and Korean War veterans regardless of when the Veteran died or how long they had been receiving the benefit before they passed away. We would examine measures to ensure that National military treasures are retained in Canada as a part of our Canadian heritage.