To the editor;
Today I attended the Remembrance Day ceremony at the Crescent Beach Legion. I came to honour those who have sacrificed much. I had difficulty listening respectfully to the message from our Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Steven Harper’s letter said, “You and your comrades deserve our abiding gratitude and respect”. These words are hollow when you are cutting back the support our veterans deserve. The former compensation provided an average tax-free payment of $31,000 per year for life. Today the average one-time payout has been about $45,000.
You say, “Our veterans are a national treasure”.
These words not only ring hollow but also are disrespectful. These men and woman have risked their lives and their health. Some have given their lives. They deserve to be appropriately compensated, not abandoned by your obsession with government cost-cutting.
“You and your comrades deserve our abiding gratitude and respect” is all fine and good, Mr. Prime Minister, when it doesn’t cost any money.
Mr. Harper, you are our Prime Minister, please act like one and give the veterans the support they desperately need and deserve.
Phil Harrison
Surrey