HALIFAX – A legislative committee in Nova Scotia has invited Veterans Affairs Minister Julian Fantino to attend an emergency meeting Monday in Cape Breton dealing with the closure of Veterans Affairs offices.
The legislature’s veterans affairs committee issued the invitation Thursday, even though the eight offices – including one in Sydney, N.S. – have been closed for two weeks.
Premier Stephen McNeil defended the Liberal chairwoman of the committee, who was criticized by the Progressive Conservative party for reacting too slowly to the closings.
The committee’s chairwoman, Pam Eyking, says it made sense to wait until after the federal budget was tabled Tuesday to confirm that Ottawa was going ahead with a plan that has been widely criticized by veterans.
McNeil says the timing of the emergency meeting had nothing to do with the fact Eyking had taken a four-week vacation in Australia that ended late last month.
Conservative member Alfie MacLeod says the meeting Monday will give people in Sydney a chance to voice their concerns, but he says it’s unlikely Fantino will respond on such short notice.
- B.C. officer alleged sexual assault, CSIS had her investigated
- Alberta to overhaul municipal rules to include sweeping new powers, municipal political parties
- Military judges don’t have divided loyalties, Canada’s top court rules
- Norad looking to NATO to help detect threats over the Arctic, chief says
Comments