Military veterans stage sit-in at Sydney office

SYDNEY — Three Canadian military veterans staged a sit-in at Sydney's Veterans Affairs office Monday in protest of the federal government's decision to close it.

© Cape Breton Post photo
Scott Beckman, along with his dog Sergeant Major, from left, Alfie Burt and Vince Rigby are staging a sit-in at Sydney's Vetrans Affairs office today in protest of the federal government's decision to close it.

The office and several others across Canada are slated to close within a matter of days. Veterans are being directed to make use of services online or through Service Canada offices that they previously accessed through their own case managers.
Vince Rigby of Sydney, Alfie Burt of Glace Bay and Scott Beckman of New Waterford, along with his dog Sergeant Major, have taken up positions in the lobby of the George Street office.
"Do what's right," Burt said, of their message to the federal government.
North Sydney veteran Ron Clarke has travelled to Ottawa where he will take part in a media event on Parliament Hill Tuesday in an effort to gain a meeting with Veterans Affairs Minister Julian Fantino and try to convince Ottawa to reverse the decision to close the offices.
“It’s kid of like the 11th hour, where we’re emphasizing we don’t want them to close these offices,” Burt said. “We’re here saying we’re still not accepting their decision and it’s not right. Hopefully they will reconsider and actually consider the new generation of veterans.”
While the number of veterans of the Second World War and Korea are diminishing, he noted there are many younger veterans who have served in other conflicts who also need assistance.
“I’d like to ask Mr. Fantino why he thinks I’m not a veteran,” Burt said.
Rigby noted that in recent months there have been seven suicides reported among veterans of the military.
“How many more suicides is Fantino going to let happen before he changes his decision to say we have a place to go,” he said. “He said, point black, if you need help, go get it. Well, where do you go now?”
Rigby said he has received no correspondence from Veterans Affairs regarding the upcoming changes in service or outlining how procedures will change. He noted the Sydney office sees 10-20 veterans a day seeking out information about programs.
Beckman said he encountered difficulties when trying to access services online and via a toll-free number.
“It’s very frustrating, you have to have a lot of patience and a lot of us, we sit in front of the computer and we try to navigate through it, and just to send in a travel claim, I actually had to call three times just to get help to access the online travel,” he said. “They say they’re making it easier for us, but it’s not.”
Rigby said at one time he would not hesitate in recommending a career in the military to young people, but that that is no longer the case.
“I would never join the military now, because if you get sick or hurt, you have nowhere to go in the end,” he said.