The Blueprint: Canada's Conservative Podcast - Our Veterans are fighting battles at home

00:00:00.000 Hello and welcome once again to The Blueprints. This is Canada's Conservative Podcast. I'm

00:00:13.940 your host, Jamie Schmael, Member of Parliament for Halliburton Caworthal Lakes, with you

00:00:17.420 content for you every single Tuesday, 1.30pm Eastern Time. Don't forget to like, comment,

00:00:22.160 subscribe and share this program. Tell your friends. They can download it on platforms

00:00:25.780 like CastBox, iTunes, Google Play and Spotify. You name it, it is out there. On today's show,

00:00:31.020 we are talking about the Liberal government's treatments of veterans and, shocking, it's not

00:00:36.140 very good. To talk about this and so much more, we bring on the one and only Fraser Tomy, the Member

00:00:41.680 of Parliament for Moose Jaw, Lake Centre, Lanigan. I have to get your writing straight, but thanks for

00:00:46.920 coming on the show. Yeah, well thank you so much for having us here. It's been four years, Jamie,

00:00:50.820 and I've been elected and this is like the first time I've been able... Everybody talks about your

00:00:54.420 podcast. I've even watched it, but I just... I'm so sorry. I feel bad, but there is a reason.

00:01:02.420 So, let's cue cut one. Fraser used to be the mayor of Moose Jaw and this commercial that I'm about to

00:01:10.400 tell you, the reason why I didn't invite him on, was taken during COVID. Remember, people were

00:01:15.100 selectively able to travel and politicians were getting away, some getting caught for it,

00:01:20.000 and so you came up with this beautiful marketing idea. I've got to give you credit and your team

00:01:24.720 at The City. Play Cut One.

00:01:26.800 Are you a Canadian politician taking heat for going away at Christmas? Listen up. I'm Fraser

00:01:34.560 Tomy, Mayor of Moose Jaw, and I'm notoriously lucky because I don't need to take the heat to get away

00:01:40.800 from it all. Why? Thank you. Because we have it all right here in Canada's most notorious city.

00:01:54.880 We have all the amenities and no shaming.

00:02:03.280 Well, see, you can understand why. Yeah. Well, we, you know, here in Ottawa,

00:02:08.160 we have the most congenial MPs, but we don't have the best dressed or the best undressed.

00:02:13.440 You take it away. Yeah, yeah. You take it away. You're like, that was impressive.

00:02:17.120 I would have had a fighting chance, eh? And it did prove a pretty, pretty good tourism boost

00:02:22.240 from your, from your city's perspective. Yeah. And it went international, did it not? Yeah.

00:02:26.960 Yeah. A thousand dollar video brought in over $5 million worth of, and plus, you know,

00:02:32.000 of tourism and tourism dollars, right? That was right after the pandemic and, and, you know,

00:02:39.280 people were hurting and, and Moose Jaw is a tourism city. So, you know, we, we did something a little

00:02:45.040 bit creative and that was kind of after the war with Norway of having the world's tallest moose,

00:02:50.480 which was an international thing. So we had some fun, but, you know, I still did my job and, you know,

00:02:56.960 took it seriously, but we were able to have fun because we did good things when- Yeah. A hundred

00:03:01.680 percent. And you could tell it was, it was fun. And the fact that how many politicians, mayors,

00:03:07.200 especially would do something like that to put themselves out there like that, right? Yeah.

00:03:11.760 Not very many. So good on you. Yeah. Maybe I've got a screw loose or something there, but, uh,

00:03:16.960 no shame, you know, the Scottish heritage in me. Yeah. No kidding. Yeah. That, that commercial, it was,

00:03:22.240 it was featured on some late night talk shows on the US, wasn't it? Because I remember,

00:03:26.080 that's where I learned about it. Yeah. Colbert and, and a few others. It was like, yeah,

00:03:31.600 it was funny because I was being interviewed by BBC and, you know, CNN and, you know, all the major,

00:03:38.560 you know, news medias and, and it would be like, I'd be up all hours because there are different time

00:03:44.720 zones and things like that. So it was fun. Yeah. We had a good time. And, uh, and it really,

00:03:49.920 it was for the businesses. It was for the people that are, you know, that are, and you know what,

00:03:54.960 you'd get a little bit of negative flack and saying, well, you know, what are you doing? But

00:03:58.800 when people realized what it created, right? Yes. And what it was bringing. And, um, you know,

00:04:05.920 the biggest, you know, driver of an economy is, is people spending money and, and getting,

00:04:11.120 getting them out. And that's what we wanted to do and, uh, and have fun, right? Make fun of the

00:04:16.080 politicians that were hypocrites and going away to Hawaii or wherever and, and, uh, and telling 0.99

00:04:23.600 everybody stay, yeah, you stay at home. And, uh, by the way, uh, you know, and they've got the, 0.99

00:04:27.760 the little screen in the background there. Yeah, that's right. The blurred out screen.

00:04:31.760 I'm going to call that out. Well, it actually worked out perfectly. Well done for that. But

00:04:37.600 also Canada's most notorious cities. Lots of people don't know what that's about. Maybe a quick.

00:04:42.960 Yeah. So, uh, we were considered, uh, the friendly city, but there's like 150 friendly cities

00:04:50.640 in North America. True. And I wanted to, you know, really capitalize on the history of Moose Jaw. And

00:04:57.680 Al Capone used to hide out in the tunnels of Moose Jaw. And, uh, I had met with John Sleeman breweries,

00:05:05.120 you know, and talked about, you know, uh, you know, our, our history. And, um, you know,

00:05:11.040 we came up with Canada's most notorious city and it really has taken off and it's,

00:05:15.520 it's been a driver for, for tourism as well. So, uh, you know, we, uh, we have a little bit of fun.

00:05:21.520 It's good. It's a good city. It's a, I'm, I'm proud of that community and I'm proud to represent the

00:05:26.560 whole riding of Moose Jaw Lake Center Atlantic. And there's some beauties and gems within that riding.

00:05:31.520 It's five square kilometers bigger than Switzerland. They may have better chocolate,

00:05:35.440 but we've got better hockey players. And that's what counts. And a bigger Moose apparently.

00:05:38.160 And a bigger Moose. The world's tallest Moose, let me tell you.

00:05:40.720 And a mare that won't keep his clothes on. Yeah. 0.90

00:05:43.840 But at the same time, and before we get to our main topic.

00:05:46.080 It's getting hot in here. Yeah, yeah, that's right. No, no, no. Keep the money.

00:05:49.040 Um, you know, tourism is one area where you can build on something that's already there,

00:05:54.960 right? You don't have to create something because you're using the, the amazing stories and

00:06:01.040 opportunities that are already there. And when you build that, more businesses come,

00:06:05.360 more opportunities. Yeah. Yeah. So well done. Yeah.

00:06:08.160 Thank you. Thank you very much. Appreciate that.

00:06:09.680 You and your team came up with a gem. Well done.

00:06:11.680 Yeah. It was a good team.

00:06:12.880 Yeah. It was a good team.

00:06:13.520 Oh, that's awesome. Well, that's, that's what a good politician does. And that's why I have you on

00:06:17.600 your show. Yeah.

00:06:18.720 Sorry it was late, but you know, had to make sure that was out there.

00:06:22.000 Yeah. Well, I'll bring the bathrobe next time.

00:06:24.320 I'll bring the bathrobe.

00:06:25.200 This will be the last time you're on the show.

00:06:26.480 So you're, you're a veteran, uh, Air Force, uh, veteran, um, six or so years in the service.

00:06:34.480 Thank you for your service. Thank you.

00:06:35.760 And you serve on the Veterans Affairs Committee. And so that's what we want to talk about today.

00:06:40.400 We want to talk about the fact that unfortunately, and this is not something we say with great pleasure,

00:06:46.880 very sad that, uh, life for many veterans who are transitioning out of, of the active service,

00:06:53.680 um, aren't having the best time with Veterans Affairs Canada, which is strange because,

00:06:58.640 um, they've, they've grown in size bureaucrat wise, but the results, like many other departments,

00:07:04.640 aren't seeing that same, same upward tick.

00:07:06.960 Yeah. We're, we're hearing time and time again, how bad the service is. And, uh, for those that have

00:07:15.840 served, there's a certain expectation, uh, you know, they've been part of a comradeship where,

00:07:22.880 you know, they've got everybody's back and they get out and they have that same expectation. And

00:07:30.080 the culture within the military is different from civilian culture and they feel betrayed and they

00:07:37.200 feel let down. And there's so much paperwork to go through in order to access just basic necessities

00:07:45.680 as veterans. And they're often denied, you know, delayed. And, and then, you know, we say it's

00:07:53.120 denied, delayed, die. And veterans sometimes just say that they've had enough of dealing with the

00:07:59.600 bureaucratic red tape, uh, in order to just get some basic services that they're actually entitled to.

00:08:06.400 So we have a graphic here. We got the minister talking about, um, the, the delays, um, talking about,

00:08:13.760 issues with staffing, although the department, again, seems to be able to grow. Uh, let's queue up

00:08:18.720 cut one. We have a question from you produced by, uh, Blake Richard's office, who's the veterans

00:08:22.960 critic, but, uh, you're the one asking the question, but a good, good, good lead into what

00:08:27.440 we're going to talk about next. Play cut two. What kind of change are you going to bring to this table

00:08:31.760 here?

00:08:34.960 So change will come with having the investment.

00:08:49.040 to be able to invest in veterans and to have sustainable long-term investment that is ongoing

00:08:55.520 so that we can continue the progress that we are making.

00:09:18.720 So that's something you must be seeing and hearing a lot about at committee.

00:09:32.480 We've had numerous veterans that have been witnesses for us. And, uh, I remember hearing one vet, um, say

00:09:42.480 that, you know, every time he calls, uh, to go over his, his file, he gets a new caseworker.

00:09:51.040 And so when he gets a new caseworker, he has to go through the whole...

00:09:54.640 Yeah, you gotta start from scratch. That's frustrating.

00:09:57.760 When you're just even on hold with like Bell or something like that, and you have to try and go to

00:10:01.760 the next person, you gotta start over it. That's frustrating enough. Can you imagine if, you know,

00:10:05.920 you're expecting benefits or a salary or something like that?

00:10:09.280 A hundred percent. And so, so, you know, you, you think maybe someone's been waiting for three months

00:10:13.280 to get a call back and they don't get it. And then they've got a call and then,

00:10:16.480 well, you know what, your caseworker is gone or, you know, how can I help you? And then you've got

00:10:21.440 to go through that. You know, we're hearing time and time again, sanctuary trauma. And it's something

00:10:26.160 that, that comes up where, um, you know, veterans feel betrayed and we can touch on that a little later on.

00:10:32.160 So, I, you know, had the penny drop when I'm, I'm sitting here. I joke around that I won't,

00:10:39.920 I haven't been on your, you know, podcast in four years that I've been elected, but in the four years

00:10:45.600 that I've been elected, we've had five ministers. Wow. So, you know, when you come from a cultural

00:10:52.960 background of the military, where you take responsibility, you take ownership and you set the

00:10:58.640 tone from the top, well, what kind of tone is the liberal government setting for veterans and what

00:11:06.720 kind of priority are veterans, uh, when they have five ministers in four years, nine ministers

00:11:16.480 in the 10 years since 2015, since they've been in power. That's crazy.

00:11:19.760 So they have no concern. And, you know, when the minister's response is just, you know, throw money,

00:11:28.640 which I don't really believe when the vets are saying, we want compassionate care, right?

00:11:35.040 We want to be able to access the funds that are available to us, but they're being denied and

00:11:41.920 delayed and they're having to fight. So they're not looking at the problems that veterans are facing.

00:11:49.040 And we called her out on that and saying, you know, what are you going to do? You know,

00:11:53.200 what's your mandate? Because I've heard it all before from every other minister that I've had,

00:11:59.040 that sat on that committee and they've accomplished, you know, the square root of zero.

00:12:05.120 And to your point, when the minister leaves and I, yeah, it's shocking when you just laid out like

00:12:10.320 that, how many changes there has been, senior staff usually go with them. So again, when you're not

00:12:15.680 only is a veteran starting from scratch in some cases with different caseworkers, every time they

00:12:21.040 call, the policy set at the top is changing from year to year. Yeah, a hundred percent. You're right.

00:12:28.160 You're losing corporate knowledge. And the minister thinks that she's, you know, you know,

00:12:33.840 coming in to save the day, you're saying the exact same thing as what everybody else has done and

00:12:40.720 you're not accomplishing anything. And so there is a distrust from veterans and there's a lack of

00:12:49.360 belief because they can smell, you know, they can smell the deceit. Yeah. And I think some of it has to

00:12:56.400 do with how the department itself is functioning. It was a few years ago where a injured veteran was

00:13:05.600 calling about a chairlift in their house so they can live there. And they, the person on the phone

00:13:10.560 at Veterans Affairs Canada, have you considered medical assistance in dying? Like what the heck?

00:13:16.480 So maybe to your point, were you changing ministers all the time? There is no

00:13:20.320 rudder here. It's just sailing and this stuff is allowed.

00:13:24.960 Well, you know, and in that particular case, that lady showed up, she's in a wheelchair 0.91

00:13:30.640 and she's got a suitcase, you know, one of those carry on suitcases and it's overflowing 0.92

00:13:36.400 with files that she can't get. And so she's on the phone and she goes, I can't deal with this anymore.

00:13:43.520 Not as in, you know, I want to end my life. It is, I can't deal with this. You guys have got to do your

00:13:49.360 job. And the person goes, well, why don't you just kill yourself? Why don't you take MAID? 1.00

00:13:56.400 And she's like, what? What kind of value? I want to live. I want to, I want to ramp to my house.

00:14:04.240 And, you know, we're in committee and then the liberals and the block, the block who represented

00:14:10.400 that, that, that veteran do some horse trading and it goes away. And she has to get, you know,

00:14:19.440 community partners to actually build the ramp instead of Veterans Affairs. And, and I'm hearing

00:14:25.040 it. There's a, there's a vet in North Bay who needs help in his kitchen and he's got to sell a

00:14:29.680 classic car and you know, he's dealing with it as well. Yeah. Let's go back to that skill cut two.

00:14:36.640 You were talking about veterans feeling betrayed and, and sanctuary trauma. We're going to get into

00:14:42.800 what, what that is. But I think hearing this will answer the next one. Why cut two?

00:14:48.640 But here's the hard truth. My greatest challenges after release were not, it was not the injuries.

00:14:54.640 It's still, it was, and still is navigating Veterans Affairs Canada in bureaucratic delays

00:15:01.440 and denials have compounded my mental health struggles so severely that at one point in my

00:15:08.080 journey, my counselor recommended limiting my contact with VAC to select times each week because

00:15:14.960 of the increased stress it was causing. Just to give you some examples, um, days before my release,

00:15:22.080 I was informed that my approved condition was invalid because the injured limb was no longer,

00:15:27.520 no longer existed. And as such, I would not be entitled to receive any income until my amputation

00:15:33.280 was labeled as an improved condition. Oh my goodness. There is so much there to unpack. It is

00:15:39.760 incredible. So the medical professional tells this veteran limit your contact with the government

00:15:45.200 department tasked to help you access benefits to get you compensation that you earned while in service of

00:15:51.600 your country. And then, hey, by the way, uh, your amputated, your amputated limb, you have to prove it

00:15:59.280 every year. Yeah. What, what is that? So, so... I have some terms that I don't think would probably

00:16:07.280 be used. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh, you know, how, how, how horrific. So number one, let, let's thank that veteran

00:16:14.160 for coming forward and having the courage. I mean, you're, you're exposing your soul and vets find that hard.

00:16:20.720 They're, they're, they're, they're war fighters, they're warriors. And they, you know, to come

00:16:24.080 forward and open up, uh, is tough. But the sanctuary trauma is basically, they fought for a nation,

00:16:31.680 our nation. You and I have had the luxury of getting up in a warm bed and having a good cup of coffee,

00:16:39.840 nice hot coffee this morning. Uh, you know, you know, walk into work, you know, warm office.

00:16:47.280 There are vets out there that are living on the streets. They're living in cars. They're,

00:16:51.840 they're couch surfing. They can't afford, uh, the cost of living is, is astronomical for them.

00:16:58.720 And, and they go to the government that's supposed to be there to help them because they've been told

00:17:04.400 that's what Veterans Affairs is there to do. And they're denied. Or they've got to prove things.

00:17:11.920 And, you know, when you're in the military, your honesty, your word is your bond. And,

00:17:17.200 uh, and you know, it used to be everything was in a handshake, right? We don't live in that world

00:17:23.280 anymore. And the government is making you try and prove it's like the worst insurance company in the

00:17:28.880 world. Right. And, uh, and then, you know, you have, we've heard numerous times vets where they've

00:17:35.280 lost limbs and they've got to fill out the paperwork all the time. You know, we deal with CRA as well.

00:17:42.400 It's like everything you've got to, it's not going to change. It's not going to change. And what kind

00:17:49.520 of value does that put on the vet? How does that make them feel when they've got to do that again

00:17:56.160 and again? I've lost a limb. I've been seriously injured and I've got to prove it to you. Should be,

00:18:03.840 you know, one and done. Is that sort of, this is the first time I've heard of the term sanctuary

00:18:09.760 trauma. Is that the thing, is that what we're talking about here? That they don't feel protected

00:18:14.160 by the country they were signed, they have signed up to serve? It's our job as a nation to protect

00:18:19.360 those veterans that, um, fought for the freedoms that we have. Um, you know, maybe they weren't,

00:18:25.680 uh, you know, shipped overseas or, you know, but they, they put their lives on the line. They were

00:18:30.880 willing to do it. They were prepared to sign the check in full. That's right. And, uh, and, and that's

00:18:35.200 what we put that expectation on them. And they stood up and they said, here I am, here I am I,

00:18:40.880 send me, I'll go. And, and then when they come back, uh, we say, no, no, prove it. You know,

00:18:50.880 uh, and we've got this pot of money that's there. And so when I hear the minister saying, yeah,

00:18:56.640 we're just going to throw more money, uh, or, you know, make cuts, I, I, I go, you, you're missing

00:19:03.600 the point. You're missing the point. It's care. It's looking after our vets. And, uh, right now,

00:19:09.840 the way that this department is being run, uh, you know, we, we can't trust them. We, you know,

00:19:16.400 the cuts that they're going to make to veterans over the next few years is, is astronomical. It's

00:19:22.080 sending the wrong message. And veterans are very, very concerned. They're, they're, they're asking

00:19:29.120 questions and they have every right to ask questions about what's going on in veterans affairs. And so.

00:19:33.440 And the sad reality is the war never ends for the warrior. That's right. That's the sad reality. And it

00:19:39.440 continues. And when you have a country, a department that isn't standing up for you and,

00:19:43.520 and having your back, that's a serious issue. But now we have the veterans, as you just mentioned,

00:19:48.000 homelessness, uh, veterans, homeless program. Um, it was $80 million almost just to put in this

00:19:54.880 program. And, and, and right now, apparent according to this new minister, there isn't really an idea of

00:20:02.880 how many veterans were on the street when the program was created and how many are on the street

00:20:07.760 now. But how, how does the department not know or have a general idea? Do you think as, as they're

00:20:14.320 calling in, they would keep track or keep notes? Clearly that's not happening. If they do, it's, it's

00:20:20.000 haphazardly. Yeah. Well, if you find the answer to that question, then please let us know because it's, uh,

00:20:26.480 it's baffling. Uh, you know, uh, as soon as you, you know, you're released from, and you're meeting

00:20:32.880 with veterans affairs. I mean, I, I remember when I, when I released, um, you know, we had a meeting,

00:20:38.720 you know, cucumber sandwich, cup of coffee. Uh, but everything was, you know, you've got to go

00:20:43.440 onto my back account and you've got to do this. There's no outreach. There should be some, some form

00:20:48.480 of outreach where, you know, the caseworker says, okay, I know these vets. And the vet says, well,

00:20:53.920 guess what? I'm moving to Nova Scotia. Well, you're moving from Saskatchewan to Nova Scotia.

00:20:58.800 I'm going to put you in touch with the caseworker there so they can reach out to you. Then we

00:21:02.800 should be tracking and we should be, that should, that should be. Basic customer service. Basic customer

00:21:07.520 service. That's the first line of, of, of care that, and if the veteran decides against it,

00:21:12.880 that's up to them. But if they say, you know what, thanks so much for checking in, or, you know,

00:21:16.480 we've got to do this every year, um, and just make sure we're, we're no, we know where you are.

00:21:22.240 We know that you're accessing, excuse me, the benefits that you're entitled to. We should

00:21:27.200 be going and saying, you're, you should be entitled to this. You should be getting this.

00:21:30.240 You should be getting that. And, and we're going, no, no, no, prove it, prove it, prove it,

00:21:35.600 prove it. And we don't know where you are. Yeah. Yeah. I think there needs to be some pretty big

00:21:42.160 eye opening here at the, at the department to look inwards and, and just on a human aspect to say,

00:21:48.160 you know, I, obviously I'm, you know, the worker would be Canadian, would be working in Canada,

00:21:53.360 would know about veterans, would know the value that, that we supposedly place on them to say,

00:21:58.880 what am I as a employee at VAC with a stack on my desk of files? How can I make their interactions

00:22:06.080 better and also advance their, their hopes for, for compensation? That, that to me, that's just the

00:22:13.280 human aspect rather than saying, have you considered MAID? Yeah. Unbelievable. VACS mandate has to 0.99

00:22:19.200 change. Yeah. It has to change. Well, thank you for all the work you were doing. You and the team

00:22:22.960 on the Veterans Affairs Committee, you're doing a great job. As you may know, the guests get the last

00:22:29.200 word because we got to get out of here. The floor is yours. Close us out. Well, thanks so much for having

00:22:34.880 us here. I really do appreciate it. And, and for any of the veterans that are watching, I want to let you

00:22:40.080 know that, uh, on the tutelage that I'm under, uh, with Blake has been amazing. And, uh, you know,

00:22:46.880 we're here to, to fight. It doesn't matter what party you're from, we should be looking after our bets.

00:22:52.320 Excuse me. And, uh, you know, it's an honor and a privilege to be representing the people of Moose Jaw

00:22:57.280 Lake Centre Lanning and it's a position of servitude and, uh, and I honor that. So I'm, I'm grateful to be 1.00

00:23:03.120 here and, and I do appreciate, uh, what you do for, for the people of your riding as well and the nation.

00:23:08.880 Well, it's a pleasure working with you, Fraser. And again, keep up the great work,

00:23:11.840 keep shining light on this file so that, that people are, you know, not, who haven't served,

00:23:18.320 understand the scope of what we're dealing with here up in Ottawa. I know things, when people are

00:23:23.120 busy, you know, things get passed by, but this should be something that's front and centre, I think,

00:23:27.760 especially with the work you're doing. So thank you. Thank you. Member of Parliament,

00:23:31.040 former mayor of Moose Jaw and also the member of Parliament for Lake Centre Lanning and, of course, Moose Jaw at the

00:23:36.240 the beginning. Uh, thanks for your time, Fraser. Thank you for yours. Please, like we just mentioned,

00:23:42.160 let's shed a light on what's going on here, but that means more eyes and ears need to see and hear

00:23:48.320 this message. So please like, comment, subscribe, and share. Tell your friends it's available on

00:23:53.600 platforms like CastBox, iTunes, Google Play, and Spotify. New content for you every single Tuesday,

00:23:58.480 1 30 p.m. Eastern time. Until next week, remember, low taxes, less government, more freedom. That's the blueprint.

The Blueprint: Canada's Conservative Podcast - January 27, 2026

Our Veterans are fighting battles at home

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