NDP Veterans Affairs critic Peter Stoffer spoke to a crowd of local veterans in Edmonton Friday calling the federal government’s decision to close Veterans Affairs offices “unacceptable.”
Eight Veterans Affairs offices across Canada will close at the end of the day Friday.
Communities affected include Kelowna, Saskatoon, Brandon, Thunder Bay, Windsor, Sydney, Charlottetown and Corner Brook.
A ninth office has already closed in Prince George, B.C.
"They say they have to cut these offices for cost cutting measures. It is absolutely unacceptable that the heroes of our country have to pay for the debt and deficit of this country,” said Stoffer at the Norwood Legion.
Many veterans are worried the office closures will leave them without adequate access to services.
Emotional protests are being held across the country, in Edmonton, veterans are speaking out in solidarity.
“My father just turned ninety years old, he was a WWII veteran and he lives out in B.C. and they closed the office in Prince George which was a three-hour drive for him to go see some of those people and now he has to go down to Kamloops,” said Eric Hjalmarson, who served in Bosnia and Afghanistan. “He has tremendous hearing loss so how can he get on the phone and get the help that he needs? It’s totally disgusting.”
The Conservatives say many of the services that were provided at the offices will be available online.
The government has also promised to provide a Veterans Affairs specialist at Service Canada locations.
“There will be 650 points of services for veterans to access from,” said Parm Gill, Parliamentary Secretary to the Veterans Affairs Minister.
Veterans in the Edmonton-area can access Veterans Affairs offices at the downtown Service Canada location, and at the Edmonton Garrison.
With files from Veronica Jubinville
