Leader, I have previously raised this with you. Mr. Sean Bruyea, a veteran, was personally attacked in a newspaper column by former Minister of Veterans Affairs Seamus O’Regan. Veteran Affairs also cancelled the reimbursement of child care expenses for Mr. Bruyea’s son after his criticism of the minister was published in the media.

In April, just a few days before Mr. Bruyea’s scheduled appearance before a House of Commons committee, he was contacted by the department and offered mediation in this dispute, as recommended by the Veterans Ombudsman 18 months ago. Leader, I am informed that since then Mr. Bruyea has heard nothing from Veteran Affairs about mediation despite his efforts to reach out to the department.

Leader, was the department’s offer of mediation sincere, or was it made just to pre-empt his testimony before the Veterans Affairs Committee in the other place?

Thank you, leader, for assuring us that you will come back to us with an answer on that — hopefully very quickly, because I suspect it would take a phone call.

Leader, I suspect that if I ever got an answer from your government to this question, it would only say that the department will not comment on individual cases. While that may be true, it shouldn’t be an excuse for their inaction, nor does the government’s silence justify Veterans Affairs ignoring its own policies in refusing to support the specialized needs of children whose parents are veterans living with lifelong disabilities.

Leader, will you press upon the department the need for them to respond to Mr. Bruyea and all veterans in a timely manner?