Veterans in Saskatoon and throughout Canada fought hard Friday morning, but it was to no avail as the federal government closed eight Veterans Affairs offices across the country.
“I believe there are a lot of veterans that are not going to put up with this crap,” said Saskatoon veteran Bill Dubinski.
Protests to keep the offices open were held in Saskatoon, Kelowna, Brandon, Thunder Bay, Windsor, Sydney, Charlottetown and Corner Brook.
Veterans in Saskatoon called the closures an act of betrayal.
“I just couldn't believe that they would go ahead and do that when this government said they would take care of veterans, and they’re not,” said veteran Don Field.
"What they say is that no service man will ever be left behind. This type of thing is a crock because there are guys being left behind every bloody day,” added Dubinski.
The Saskatoon office served 4,500 clients with 14 staff. Veterans looking to access an office must now travel to Regina.
“You start wondering what they’re doing, why they’re doing this. The figures don’t match up,” said Dubinski.
The government said they’re closing the offices because of changing demographics. Now one client service agent will work out of the Services Canada office and services will be available online.
“Regarding the offices that are being merged with Service Canada, we will make sure that each of the eight offices has a fully trained Veterans Affairs Canada employee to provide the necessary assistance,” said Parm Gill, parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs.
Saskatoon veterans hope the closures are not permanent. They’re worried that they won’t have enough face-to-face services, that they will have to wait longer for help and that they won’t be able to navigate online services.
The union representing Veterans Affairs workers said they will keep fighting to re-open the offices.
