Sen. Romeo Dallaire, right, here with Sen. Percy Downe outside Veterans Affairs Canada, says he supports the department's employees and doesn't think their jobs should leave P.E.I.
Senator Romeo Dallaire reassured Veterans Affairs staff in Charlottetown Wednesday that he doesn’t think their jobs should move to Ottawa.
It was recently reported Dallaire said it might be time to move Veterans Affairs from Charlottetown back to Ottawa.
“There are some who believe because it’s here it may not be mainstream staffing and processes that you get in the Ottawa sort of milieu and that may be a problem or may have caused a problem,” Dallaire said.
He said his position is quite clear — he thinks Veterans Affairs headquarters should remain in Charlottetown.
Dallaire visited Veterans Affairs Wednesday after a trip to Halifax for the launch of his new book and was greeted by applause after a brief speech to the department’s staff.
During an interview with The Guardian after his speech, Dallaire said he visited the department headquarters because he felt as chair of the veterans committee in the Senate he should meet some of the people who work to apply the government’s policies and legislation.
“To come and say hello and reaffirm my confidence in them and their institution,” he said.
Dallaire said that from his first days working with Veterans Affairs he felt the employees were the main reason to keep the department in Charlottetown.
“I felt that the human touch that having it out here, out of the Ottawa bubble, was an overriding factor in it remaining outside of Ottawa in where it is now and that the technology and that the people should ensure that they’re up to speed with whatever is essential for them to do their job within the Canadian government.”
Dallaire said the subject of moving Veterans Affairs was not something he had been considering before he was asked about it.
“It was just because it had been raised and ethically, when a question is asked by the media, I have been educated not to lie to the media.” |
